Why Goldberg Beat The Fiend At WWE Super Showdown, Explained

Highlights

• Goldberg's victory over Bray Wyatt at Super Showdown in 2020 was widely criticized as one of the worst booking decisions in recent years.
• Fans were left confused and upset by Goldberg winning the match and becoming the Universal Champion, as it seemed to undermine Wyatt's reign and prioritize part-time wrestlers over full-time talent.
• Reports suggest that Goldberg's desire to protect his character and appeal to younger fans may have influenced the decision, but Goldberg himself has denied these rumors and stated that he simply does what the boss tells him to do.

Goldberg’s WWE return all the way back in 2016 sparked several ups and downs over the following years, and perhaps the worst moment came at the Super Showdown event in 2020 when he stepped up to challenge “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt for the Universal Championship. In what is still regarded as one of the worst booking decisions of the last decade, Goldberg won the match and became the brand-new Universal Champion. Fans were left asking “why” upon this result, causing uproar among the WWE Universe. People are still wondering to this day why this result occurred, with the reported reasoning being one which is contested.

Goldberg Squashed Bray Wyatt At Super Showdown

Bray Wyatt was reigning as Universal Champion by the time 2020 began, and whilst his booking had gone up and down during his feuds with Seth Rollins and The Miz in 2019, he was on the back of a decent title feud with Daniel Bryan. For all intents and purposes, it looked as though Wyatt would go on to WrestleMania 36 and defend his gold against Roman Reigns. It was a feud that made sense given that Wyatt was a big unbeatable heel and Reigns was the ultra babyface challenger who was set to overcome the monster.

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On the Road to WrestleMania, WWE had a Saudi Arabia PPV in the form of Super Showdown, and at the time WWE liked to stack these shows with as many big names as possible. Goldberg was drafted in, being thrown into the title scene immediately for a match with Wyatt. At first, fans thought that this would be a good way to further legitimize Wyatt as a champion, especially on his way to battling Reigns. With Goldberg having some poor showings previously, there was little expectation that he would win. However, as the show got nearer and nearer, the potential of a “spear off” between Goldberg and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania seemed like more and more of a possibility.

Goldberg would win the match, becoming Universal Champion in what was nothing more than a glorified squash match, effectively ending the aura around Wyatt and confirming that WWE cared more for pushing part-timers than their full-time wrestlers. There were a few factors as to why WWE went with this result for the title match between Goldberg and Wyatt at Super Showdown.

Goldberg Reportedly Wanted To Protect His Character

As noted, there were a couple reported reasons for this happening. The more obvious one was the desire for WWE to produce a big “dream match” between Roman Reigns and Goldberg, in what would have been a battle of the spears. It wasn’t the fans who wanted to see this, but it is easy to see why Vince McMahon thought this was a WrestleMania-worthy match. There was another, more controversial reported reason though, and it was reported by Bill Pritchard of WrestleZone;

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"We were told that Goldberg going over was a last-minute decision, apparently because Goldberg didn't want to risk damaging his image. It was noted that Goldberg bargained for creative control and pushed for the title win because 'The Fiend' was a monster and the younger fans needed to see him come out victorious, or it would ruin his character."

Goldberg Has Shot Down Rumors Of Him Influencing His Match With The Fiend

A couple of years later, after Goldberg beat Wyatt and went on to WrestleMania 36 as Universal Champion, instead facing Braun Strowman due to the pandemic leading to Roman Reigns sitting out of the show, Goldberg decided to break his silence on the whole situation. Goldberg made it quite clear in an interview with SHAK Wrestling that the reports were false and that it wasn’t his idea, influence, or ego that led to him winning the Universal Championship.

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“I'm a talent and I do what the boss tells me to do. I flew to Saudi Arabia knowing that I was gonna lose. Then somehow it changed and the finish was different. And it surely wasn't me. Because it's an extremely selfish move, number one, to do. Number two, then truly it wouldn't be about the business, it would be about myself. And number three, who the hell am I as a part-time guy to come in and demand anything?” (H/T Sportskeeda)

Goldberg went on to say how he would love to reach out to Wyatt and make it clear that it wasn’t he who made the decision to change the finish. It was certainly a controversial match with an unpopular winner, but it seems as though the reason for it happening was more due to WWE wanting a WrestleMania dream match for Roman Reigns. It will perhaps forever be uncertain if the rumors fueling Goldberg’s influence are without any smoke.