Pros and Cons of Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg Headlining WWE Survivor Series 2016

Two of the most fearsome titans in professional wrestling history are on a collision course that leads directly to WWE Survivor Series 2016. Brock Lesnar has dominated WWE since his return in 2012, including one-sided displays against John Cena, Randy Orton and The Undertaker.

One of the few men who can lay claim to having dominated the sport as much as Lesnar is Goldberg, who once held a 173-match win streak in WWE's competitor, World Championship Wrestling, during which he won the WCW United States Championship and WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

Goldberg also is the rare wrestler who holds a victory over Lesnar without a loss, as both men ended their first runs with WWE at WrestleMania XX in a match that Goldberg won with a Jackhammer. Despite the potential in the encounter, it seemed impossible that we would see the two heavyweights clash again.

Goldberg has been out of wrestling for 12 years, yet one small question about one last match in an interview with Jonathan Coachman on SportsCenter caused the wrestling legend to consider the idea of stepping in the ring. Goldberg responded by announcing he'd love to get one more shot at the dominant Lesnar.

Lesnar took the challenge seriously, with Paul Heyman formally giving Goldberg an open invitation to fight The Beast Incarnate any time and anywhere. Small comments escalated quickly, with Goldberg booking his ticket to Monday Night Raw and accepting a match that is now all but official.

While WWE has been slow in building the clash, not yet announcing the location for the showdown, the destination is fairly certain: the next WWE PPV after Hell in a Cell, Survivor Series. What is less certain is where the match will land on the Survivor Series card.

While the importance of the main event spot at each pay-per-view has changed with the introduction of the WWE Network, there is still major importance to what contest headlines the show. In equal measure, Lesnar vs. Goldberg must be and cannot be the main event of Survivor Series. The following are the major pros and cons of the huge match main-eventing.

Con: The conditioning of both men makes a long match impossible.

Goldberg has not wrestled in 12 years, and he rarely wrestled long matches in his prime. For Goldberg to return and put on a 15-minute contest would be shocking. It doesn't help that his opponent has been progressively wrestling shorter matches with each appearance.

The two men are heavyweights with massive frames, which makes it easy for them to get gassed in action. Lesnar will look to put on an explosive showing, where he throws around the veteran with ease. Goldberg is not ready for a long match with that structure—nor has he ever been made for it.

While it is not unusual for WWE to have a short main event match, particularly if the story calls for it, those short matches often fail to feel like the necessary closers. The brutal but odd Lesnar vs. Orton match at SummerSlam 2016 was a recent example of this, with the contest lasting a mere 11 minutes.

Credit: WWE.com

Pro: Makes sure the audience stays attentive until the money match.

As far as money matches go, Goldberg making one last WWE appearance to compete against a man of his caliber is hard to top. It is unlikely WWE will put together a match for Survivor Series that will bring in more eyes than this clash.

No Mercy 2016 showed how an event can be negatively affected by having the matches people are most interested in earlier on the card, and it would be risky to do the same with this PPV. More casual fans, in particular, could tune out after Lesnar vs. Goldberg.

By putting the two on last, WWE would make sure the audience stayed for the entire event in anticipation of the clash of legends at the end. This is the reason matches are generally chosen to be main events.

Con: The in-ring quality of the match is unlikely to be more than decent.

Goldberg was always an attraction star, with his presence and charisma driving his popularity. In his prime, he was fast and explosive but not much of an in-ring technician. Even Goldberg's best matches were not able to outshine other performers on the roster.

In the New Era, match quality is one of the foremost priorities, with the average wrestler in WWE today being far more athletic than they were 10 years prior. There is still a place for massive heavyweights to brawl, but they must be able to keep the pace and storyline going.

Lesnar has put on classics and duds in equal measure in his part-time run. His success comes down to his opponents, with Lesnar succeeding with faster veteran talents. Goldberg is a veteran, but it is unlikely he's fast anymore. Goldberg and Lesnar will need to sell the story of their clash to make this good enough to shine next to many quality affairs between younger athletes.

Pro: Brings in new eyes to the product.

TV ratings are not nearly the indicator of success they once were due to the move away from traditional live television. Still, there is no doubt TV ratings help to show positive and negative trends for television shows. Raw's 0.24 rating increase from the previous week, thanks to the promise of a Goldberg return, was telling.

Wrestling fans are invested in the idea of one last Goldberg run, and this means more new fans will likely pay for the WWE Network next month to see Lesnar and Goldberg clash. With WWE still seeking more attention in the New Era, these two stars headlining Survivor Series should convince more people to tune in and watch the whole roster perform.

While Goldberg will not be around to keep bringing these fans back, the younger talent could catch a few of those eyes and convince them to stay connected. With WWE in the rebuilding and rebranding stage, this is exactly what the company wants: more chances to create new and returning fans.

Con: Sends a bad message to the main roster.

Here comes the pre-eminent issue with part-time talents performing in WWE. While it was endearing to see Goldberg so emotional about returning to WWE one last time, professional wrestling is a dangerous and physical sport where the regular talents are asked to do more than perhaps any other athletes on a year-to-year basis.

It is insulting to the wrestlers who are wrestling 100 to 200 matches in a single year for someone who only worked in the business for seven years to come back and work the main event with a man who only worked eight matches last year. The only real explanation here is that WWE does not believe it can build stars now the way it once did.

This is a running argument that will continue long past Survivor Series. WWE now has the ability to bring in all kinds of talent from the past to put on money matches. Goldberg and Lesnar are just two of many who will take the money and the opportunity. They should not be ridiculed for that, especially when it is the fans who are returning and paying more to see them again.

Seeing the two wrestle should be fun as a moment, but letting them main-event would again show that WWE does not have faith in its dedicated roster. This is a slight that feels unwarranted for a group that continues to improve and gain fan support.

With so many arguments either way, there is no clear right answer for whether Lesnar and Goldberg should main-event. Even legends such as Ric Flair and Jim Ross have weighed in on the issue.

Ultimately, it should come down to whether WWE believes the veterans can make this match worthy of its main event spot. If the veterans have proved to those involved that they can put on a showdown worthy of the hype, then the pros will outweigh the cons.

However, if Goldberg is as limited as he should be after so much time off and nearing his 50th birthday, it may be best to let the contest happen earlier in the night, with the younger talent taking the final spot in what will likely be a stronger in-ring affair.