WWE Royal Rumble 2017: 5 reasons Goldberg should not win

It’s now official that Goldberg will enter the 2017 WWE Royal Rumble in San Antonio, Texas, but when all is said and done, he should not be celebrating among the fireworks

GOLDBERG! GOLDBERG! GOLDBERG!

After a dozen years, it’s been pretty crazy to once again hear these chants (whether they’re piped in or not) in a WWE arena. And it was certainly crazy to watch as Goldberg decimated Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series in under a minute-and-a-half. But where do they go from there? Well, we got the answer the very next night on Monday Night RAW, didn’t we?

While I think it’s safe to say that most wrestling fans assumed the Goldberg appearance at Survivor Series would be a one-off, we now know that’s not the case. He announced after a backstage meeting with Stephanie McMahon that he would be taking part in the 2017 Royal Rumble match in San Antonio, which returns to the Alamodome for the first time since 1997 when Shawn Michaels recaptured the WWE Championship in front of his home crowd.

Look, I get it, okay? I really do. Goldberg is a draw. Goldberg means money in merchandise and ticket sales, which they’ll certainly need to fill that place in January. But I just can’t get behind him winning the Royal Rumble and going on to headline WrestleMania 33 in Orlando.

I just can’t do it.

5. WWE doesn’t need him to win

As I said previously, I understand the draw to Goldberg. I understand why they brought him in and I’m sure it did help sell a few more video games. But WWE does not need him to win this match. I’m sure they’ve already sold more than a few t-shirts and Goldberg simply being at the Royal Rumble in any capacity would help sell some tickets to the event. But WWE does not need him to actually win the whole thing.

They just want you think that he can. For more than a year in WCW, Goldberg was built as this unstoppable force that could roll over anybody. I mean, he went over Hulk Hogan clean less than a year after his debut. And the streak was what it was, and for the time, it did what it was supposed to do. Goldberg was an instant superstar and was perfect for the Monday night wars. And after a 12-year absence from wrestling, WWE played up how unstoppable he was upon his return, even going as far as calling him the most dominant WCW champion in history, something that Hogan, Ric Flair, Sting and others could probably argue … but I digress.

Goldberg is in great shape for 49 years old. Hell, he’s in great shape for any age. And once again, he’s being built as this unstoppable force, especially after beating the guy that’s beaten everyone else in WWE for the past two years. But WWE does not need him to win this match. Sure, his inclusion in the Royal Rumble may get some old WCW fans to finally subscribe to the WWE Network in hopes that they’ll see their former favorite wrestler win. But I’ll go ahead and say it again — Goldberg does not NEED to win the Royal Rumble.