Goldberg's appearance in the video game WWE 2K17 set up his in-ring return at the end of 2016. His foe at Survivor Series '16 was a familiar one. Built as "fantasy warfare coming to life," Goldberg and Brock Lesnar were no strangers to each other. They clashed at WrestleMania 20, with Goldberg coming out of top. Both men left WWE following that bout, with many assuming neither would return.
Twelve years later, the rematch took place. It was Goldberg's first match since his 2004 victory over Lesnar. The bout lasted 1:26, with Goldberg hitting two spears and a jackhammer to put The Beast away.
Paul Heyman, who cornered Lesnar in that bout, spoke to Inside the Ropes in New Orleans on why Goldberg was the only man who could believably put Lesnar away in such a fashion.
"The story of this Clint Eastwood-like aging gunslinger, who comes back for one more fight. Who comes back because his wife and his son had never seen him do his thing better than anybody else. That his son has never heard a stadium filled with people chant his own last name that he will carry on to his children and their children after him. That his family had never gotten a chance to experience the whole Goldberg electricity. The whole, Goldberg phenomenon.
Now, the aging gunslinger comes back at 50-years-old. A little bit lighter, a little bit worse for wear. Nursing a few injuries. Still looks like a fucking killer, doesn't he? He comes in and he goes, 'Brock Lesnar, I don't know if you're next, BUT YOU'RE LAST!'"
Heyman talked about the "shock factor" of Goldberg beating Lesnar saying, "Goldberg spears Brock Lesnar out of his boots and you go, 'Whoah, this match started fast.' And he hits a second spear and you go, 'Holy shit. This is going down really fast. Where they going from here?' And he takes that step back and you go, 'Holy shit. They're setting up the jackhammer. Lesnar's going to kick out of the jackhammer. No way Lesnar's getting beat in 86 seconds.' Jackhammer. One. Two. Three. And you sat there and went, 'That fuckin' Goldberg is the man.'"
Heyman went on to say that guys like Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, and AJ Styles are all great in their own right, but none of them could believably "kick Brock Lesnar's ass in 90 seconds." When fans yelled for Samoa Joe, Heyman said, "If we had a chance to work with Samoa Joe two years ago, those would have been 25-30 minute blood baths."
The advocate for the current WWE Universal champion said he "loved working with Goldberg" and thinks Goldberg is "one of the greatest personas in the industry."
Goldberg and Lesnar had their rematch at WreslteMania 33, with Lesnar winning a hard-hitting affair that Heyman believes delivered. It was Goldberg's last match in a WWE ring.
Heyman inducted Goldberg into the WWE Hall of Fame on Friday night. He'll be in Lesnar's corner once again on Sunday as Lesnar takes on Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 34.
