The aftereffects will echo long after Brock Lesnar and Goldberg crash into each other at WWE Survivor Series 2016.
The Nov. 20 pay-per-view's headline bout will shift the audience's perception of both titans and Survivor Series itself. Goldberg will rewrite his swan song. Lesnar will gain major momentum en route to WWE's premier event.
And Survivor Series, a long-neglected PPV, will receive an injection of adrenaline.
A 49-year-old Goldberg with 12 years' worth of ring rust has inspired an army of doubters. A rematch of his universally panned WrestleMania XX clash against The Beast Incarnate has many fans underwhelmed. Still, Lesnar vs. Goldberg is poised to be a powerful force.
The match will be far from perfect, but it will be momentous and have a positive lasting impact on both men.
Redemption
When Goldberg left WWE in 2004, he didn't do so triumphantly; he stumbled off the stage.
His and Lesnar's WrestleMania XX match left a nasty taste in fans' mouths. What was supposed to be a battle of top-tier stars turned out to be a clunker. Fans seemed disinterested that night in Madison Square Garden, frustrated to find out that Goldberg and Lesnar were on their way out of the company.
The boos and the bad reviews were WWE fans' last memories of Goldberg. Until this year.
The narrative has already changed.
When Goldberg returned to Raw in October, the audience roared. It celebrated him as a megastar.
He now has a chance to build on that—to put on a bout that will replace his first meeting with Lesnar as his farewell bout. The do-over will do wonders for how we remember him.
And some believe Goldberg will outdo expectations—that he will be hungry and focused as he looks to prove his critics wrong. Steve Austin, for one, thinks we're in for a hell of a bout.
Stone Cold said of the match on the PWTorch Livecast, "This is going to be two big bulls in there fighting. We'll just see how they lay it out. I'm not nervous; I'm hopeful that they just kick ass and blow the roof off the place."
If that happens, the Goldberg-WWE story will have a far better ending. This match and rivalry is a chance to rewrite his own history and dramatically change the tone of his exit.
A Well-Fed Beast
Lesnar will emerge from this rivalry a more powerful, more fearsome monster.
After a hard-fought meeting of gladiators, The Beast Incarnate will have quite the name to add to his list of victims. His manager, Paul Heyman, will have one more huge accomplishment to brag about. Lesnar will have ended Undertaker's WrestleMania streak, dominated John Cena like no one else in history and then sent Goldberg riding off into the sunset.
That will equal a robust amount of momentum as he charges toward WrestleMania 33.
Whatever match at WWE's version of the Super Bowl awaits him will be bigger thanks to his beating of Goldberg. WWE will more easily be able to paint him as a force like no other—an immortal toying with mortal men.
And that will do wonders for Lesnar vs. The Rock or Lesnar vs. Kevin Owens.
Should WWE let a key figure in the New Era like Owens then conquer Lesnar, the feat will be made even more significant post-Goldberg. KO would have taken down the man who Randy Orton, Undertaker, Cena and now Goldberg couldn't stop.
That accomplishment will be a career-changer.
Chan
The 2016 edition is shaping up to be the biggest Survivor Series in recent memory.
Brand warfare has been key to that, as has a return to the PPV's roots with three traditional elimination tag team matches on tap. And Lesnar vs. Goldberg is the kind of marquee bout WWE normally saves for SummerSlam or WrestleMania.
All that combined has Survivor Series suddenly feeling important again. It's left fans, the folks at TheHistoryofWWE.com included, excited:
The company is using a PPV that has declined in prestige for years to host Goldberg's return and potential retirement match.
That's huge. It will enrich Survivor Series history and boost its prestige. The better the match is, the more that will be true.
Yes, WWE would have helped build toward the future had Goldberg come back to take on someone like Rusev. Yes, it's risking falling flat on its face by putting Goldberg in such a key spot at his age. But chances are Lesnar vs. Goldberg will set off fireworks that last well after Survivor Series goes off the air.