6 years ago today: Goldberg defeats Lesnar in 1:26 mins

[The Rick Jericho]

So 6 years later, how does this match and the booking hold up to you?

It certainly gave Goldberg new life. Lesnar didn't really take a step back as he got the title again by Wrestlemania.

So was it all a fun and good story that was told or do you still absolutely hate this decision today?

I wasn't around the boards at this time, how was the forum like when Goldberg won in 1:26?

[Ben Wyatt]

Lesnar's "Well....f***" reaction after getting tossed down made Goldberg look like a monster.

So perfectly done

[Lizuka #BLM]

Still floors me that they decided that to rehab Brock's image after his drug bust they should just have him shoot try to murder Randy Orton and then immediately turned around into having him get squashed.

[A Little Doo Doo]

I was so fed up with Lesnar's shtick at the time, I thought this was great.

Wish Goldberg would've called it quits after the awesome WM rematch like he said he would, but eh, can't blame him for taking the money.

[Captain Stud Muffin (BLM)]

Those 2 matches with this and the Mania match was some really good stuff that WWE has tried to duplicate and hasn't

That sprint match at Mania for sure is something they would love to do be able do consistently

[mc74]

I have mixed feelings. One one end, this made me laugh my ass off when I saw it, but considering how it led to more part-time appearances from Goldberg, ugh.

[Friday Night SmackOwn]

The peak of Goldberg in WWE, and it’d just gradually go down faster than Bret Hart’s opinion on Goldberg himself.

[EoE: Well There's Your Problem]

And nobody took Lesnar seriously ever again.

[Zone Was Wrong]

Goldberg is one of my least favorite wrestlers and still is. I know Brock's stuff was dumb but this was shit.

[bluebeach25]

At first i really loved this. In retrospect i have mixed feelings about this. Brock was never the exact same after that squash and it's pretty sad that an 50 year old had the power to squash the Beast! Should have been saved for Samoa Joe the year later that would have had impact.

[chazraps]

Absolutely perfect booking. Made Goldberg an attraction and showed a believable weakness in the otherwise impenetrable Lesnar. Through Mania (outside needlessly making it for the world title) they booked this perfectly.

[Bo Rida]

The streak, Cena, anything that meant something in WWE was sacrificed to Lesnar.
So whichever upcoming star easily beat Lesnar in return was a made man.

So of course it was Goldberg.

What a waste.

[chrom]

Very cathartic to see after Lesnar spent years doing the bare minimum.

[David-Arquette was in WCW 2000]

6 years already?

It's amazing how quickly time flies in the WWE when you don't actually watch the product. Also, how as much things change they really stay them same. At least in the last 6-7 years.

[DichEvans]

Nov 21, 2022 3:10:17 GMT -5 David-Arquette was in WCW 2000 said:

6 years already?

It's amazing how quickly time flies in the WWE when you don't actually watch the product. Also, how as much things change they really stay them same. At least in the last 6-7 years.

God, we're all getting disgustingly old. I was on the other version of the forum during Goldberg's first WWE run wayback when

[ThankGodForSidJustice]

I loved it. I was so sick of Brock at that point (and unfortunately we were only about half way home with him as there was still like five more years of the same crap over and over with him) and it was something that was so unexpected. Nobody could've foresaw that happening.

[Pooh Carlson]

That match was great, but the fact that it became a blueprint for things to come was everything else boring and predictable. I engender there being videos of Goldberg doing i think muay thai training to get ready to return, so the fact that they went with this squash concept going forward and he didn't show off anything else he could potentially do at that point was lame.

[chronocross]

I loved it and thought it was great to see Brock get squashed that way.

[Jindrak Mark]

I remember a lot of us wondering how the crowd would react. Toronto often had a smarkier crowd back in the day and Goldberg was known for ending the career of Canadian hero Bret Hart. He had always been booed in Canada but then on this night (and Summerslam 2019 too) they loved him.

This was probably when Bret decided to start hating Goldberg again. In his book and in countless interviews over the years he had always forgiven Goldberg and said he was a good man who does a lot of work for children and charity and it was just an unfortunate incident. Then in the past 5 years or so after Goldberg's return he started blasting him constantly. I honestly think some people are taking advantage of Bret at this point with it. Like they're egging him on to make the comments because they find it funny and Bret being older and not really understanding meme culture doesn't get what's going on.

[Finish Uncle Muffin’s Story]

I'm not a huge Goldberg fan today, but I think at the time this did what it was designed to do and the Mania match that followed was a good one.

They ran the formula into the ground after that, but in isolation, it worked.