For quite a while now, Brock Lesnar's match at WrestleMania 33 has been set in stone as he will face off with Goldberg in their third and final match. After Goldberg won the WWE Universal Championship at Fastlane, their match turned into one for the title and it will likely main event the pay-per-view. That wasn't always in the cards, though, and rumor has it that this came about due to Lesnar refusing to work with a big name.
After Goldberg returned for Survivor Series, everyone thought he was done once he squashed Lesnar in under two minutes. Then, he returned for the Royal Rumble and issued the challenge to the "Beast Incarnate" for WrestleMania 33 which now has them facing off for a major title.
While it seems as if this match has been months and even years in the making, that isn't actually the case. WWE had other plans in place at first, and it is only due to Brock Lesnar's refusal to work with Shane McMahon that brought about the final match in the Lesnar/Goldberg series.
That's right, there had been rumors going around for months last year that Lesnar was to face Shane McMahon at WrestleMania 33. PW Mania is now reporting that match was pretty much booked, but it was scrapped after Lesnar let it be known that he didn't want to work with Shane-O Mac.
Now, the exact reason for him not wanting to work with Shane McMahon isn't entirely known, but it is strange to know he voiced displeasure in a proposed bout.
Last year at WrestleMania 32, Shane McMahon took on The Undertaker in Hell in a Cell for his first company match in almost a decade. He ended up losing the battle, but it was an iconic match that saw him take a huge bump off the cell and he held his own against the legend.
Now, the company is heading toward a match between Shane and AJ Styles at WrestleMania 33, and that was only furthered last week on SmackDown Live. As reported by Sports Keeda, Styles feels slighted and that he should be facing Bray Wyatt for the WWE Championship at the big PPV, but that right is going to Randy Orton.
AJ Styles promo with Shane to open up #WWEMSG pic.twitter.com/DQDSbD52nbEver since Survivor Series, there have been seeds planted for Styles to take on Shane-O Mac, but only in the last month or two have things been built up more. Once the plans for Brock Lesnar to face McMahon ended up being officially squashed, WWE moved in different directions for both men.— Nelbow Shlabotnik (@noslenisnelson) March 12, 2017
Lesnar's refusal to work with McMahon kind of worked in his favor as he is now in a big-time title match at WrestleMania 33. He's also facing a champion who isn't expected to be hanging around the company much longer after the PPV concludes.
As PW Mania continued on, Goldberg's contract is up after WrestleMania 33, but it is always possible that he could sign a new deal. If he does, though, it is not in the cards for Goldberg to defeat Lesnar yet again and never have the beast get his revenge.
That is why a title change is very likely at the WrestleMania 33, but this is WWE and anything is possible.
WrestleMania 33 is going to be a huge event for Orlando and the world, but it is always interesting to see how things might have been. Fans may not be overly thrilled with seeing Goldberg take on Brock Lesnar again, but this time, the WWE Universal Championship is at stake and that raises the odds. It is interesting to know that Lesnar was against facing Shane McMahon, though, and one has to wonder just how much of a defense he put up against it.
[Featured Image by WWE]
