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Will Goldberg Wrestle On ‘Raw’ Leading Up To ‘Royal Rumble’ And ‘WrestleMania 33’?

By Aaron Sass
Published on: 13:45 PST, Dec 5, 2016

We know that Goldberg will compete in the 2017 Royal Rumble match, along with his biggest rival, Brock Lesnar. We also know that he’ll appear on the first Raw of 2017. But, could we actually see him have a match or two on WWE’s flagship program?

During his WCW days, Goldberg was known for competing in squash matches, where he’d completely destroy a nameless opponent in less than two minutes. Basically, what he did to Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series, is exactly what he used to do to everyone in the late 90s. It was a formula that made him one of the biggest draws during the hottest period in the history of professional wrestling.

It seems like Goldberg is headed towards a third match with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 33. But, will he do a couple of squash matches on Raw leading up the rematch?

On a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said that WWE could, and probably should have Goldberg compete in short, squash matches on Raw leading up to the Royal Rumble, and leading up to WrestleMania 33.

“Goldberg’s gonna be doing a lot of practicing in the ring, but I know that’s not the same as doing a match. They could have him do squash matches, because when he was in WCW and he did all those squashes, it got over, and I think it still could. The idea of a squash wouldn’t be a give and take match, it’d be someone that he’d run over in a minute. So yeah, they could do that.”

Goldberg’s first WWE run — from 2003 to 2004 — didn’t go as well as WWE had hoped, simply because they didn’t book him the way he should’ve been booked. In fact, they did the complete opposite of what got him over during his days in WCW — they had him compete in long, competitive matches, and they tried to add depth and humor to his character. Long story short, it didn’t work.

Now, probably because they’re paying him boatloads of money, they’re booking Goldberg properly. But, at some point, he’ll have to compete in a match that lasts longer than two minutes.

The idea of doing squash matches with Goldberg on Raw isn’t the worst idea in the world, especially if WWE is planning to have him lose to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 33. It’ll give him a string of wins going into the third Lesnar match, so he won’t come off as just another 50-50 guy because WWE already has way too many of those, and Goldberg doesn’t need to be one of them.

There’s also something to the idea that doing squash matches on a semi-regular basis will help Goldberg feel more confident and more relaxed in the ring, so that when he does have to do a long match, he’ll feel a lot more comfortable, which will hopefully mean that he won’t run out of gas in just two minutes.

Goldberg competing on Raw would also help the show’s declining ratings, as the ex-WCW megastar is still a huge draw.

As previously noted, Goldberg’s next WWE television appearance will be on January 2, where he’ll presumably cut a promo about the upcoming Royal Rumble, and, who knows? Maybe he’ll squash someone as well.

We don’t know which number Goldberg will draw in the Royal Rumble, but he could enter the match late because he’s not really in a position to enter early and be forced to wrestle for a half hour.

Goldberg has only competed in the Royal Rumble match once, back in 2004, where he was the final entry in the match. He was eliminated by Kurt Angle, with an assist from Brock Lesnar. The very same thing could end up happening at the Alamodome, as Lesnar is expected to cost him the match, which will lead to them having their third, and presumably final match at WrestleMania 33.

[Featured Image by WWE]

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