Goldberg made his return to WWE on the February 4 edition of SmackDown to face off against Universal Champion Roman Reigns.
The 55-year-old hasn’t been seen on WWE programming since October when he brutalised Bobby Lashley in a No Holds Barred match at Crown Jewel.
Fightful.com’s Sean Ross Sapp had reported earlier in the week that Goldberg was set for a WWE return. What fans didn’t know, however, was when it would happen.
Roman Reigns interrupted by Goldberg
In his first SmackDown appearance since retaining the Universal Championship at Royal Rumble, Roman Reigns had plenty to say to the WWE Universe.
Flanked by his ‘special counsel’ Paul Heyman and cousins The Usos, ‘The Tribal Chief’ meant business.
Heyman opened the promo by explaining why he turned on Brock Lesnar at Royal Rumble. The turn of events caused Lesnar to lose the WWE Championship. Bobby Lashley pinned him.
Reigns then took to the mic. But he was quickly interrupted by the sound of Goldberg’s music hitting the speakers. The crowd in attendance erupted, with ‘Goldberg!’ chants as he made his trademark entrance to the ring.
The former two-time Universal Champion made his intentions clear. He was ready to take his title back from Reigns.
Thus it was made. Goldberg will take on Reigns for the Universal Championship at the Elimination Chamber premium live event on February 19.
Goldberg makes return to WWE
Taking to Twitter following SmackDown, WWE fans reacted to the news that Goldberg was back.
One fan simply said: Goldberg v Reigns at Elimination Chamber. Now, this I gotta see.”
Another said: “One man I’ve looked up to since childhood. One man I’ve admired since his debut a decade ago. Leave it all in the ring.”
On the r/WWE subreddit, fans also noted unfinished business between the pair after a planned Universal Championship fight in 2020 never took place. Reigns took time off due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
One fan wrote: “This was supposed to happen at Mania two years ago, so there’s a story there. I was actually excited to see the match at the time.”
Another said: “Makes sense that Roman would face the man who beat Lesnar twice as a build-up before going against The Beast at WrestleMania.”
Other WWE fans were not quite as convinced about the choice of Reigns’s next opponent or whether he should win the match.
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