Goldberg, Brock Lesnar and WWE's Mission to Restore Survivor Series' Prestige

Goldberg and Brock Lesnar are key figures in the ongoing transformation of WWE Survivor Series.

A forgotten giant is finally getting some attention. WWE has begun to make the pay-pay-view feel like one of the Big Four again, infusing star power into the event and returning to what made it special in the first place. 

It's been a long time since Survivor Series has felt anywhere near as important as SummerSlam or WrestleMania. It has largely devolved into just another PPV on an overloaded calendar. 

On Nov. 20, Survivor Series 2016 will break that trend.

Brand warfare between Raw and SmackDown will see to that. A celebration of traditional Survivor Series elimination matches will help as well. And pitting Goldberg against Lesnar once more will alter the aura around the event.

As TheHistoryofWWE.com tweeted, WWE seems to be more invested in Survivor Series this time around:

That feeling is punctuated by the marquee matchup. Goldberg vs. Lesnar has its issues, but it's a big match, the kind that Survivor Series has lacked.

A Rematch 12 Years in the Making

Over a decade after Goldberg's last WWE match, he returned to Raw to accept The Beast Incarnate's challenge.

The former WCW world champion is now set for one final match. And it's happening at a surprising time.  

This is the kind of bout WWE normally reserves for WrestleMania or SummerSlam. Not this time. Goldberg's potential swan song will headline a PPV that has seen R-Truth, Ryback and Big Show in the main event over the past few years.

And this will mark a first for Lesnar. 

Since returning to WWE in 2012, he has not wrestled at Survivor Series. According to CageMatch.net, he has wrestled at least three times at each of the other Big Four PPVs:

• SummerSlam (5)
• WrestleMania (4)
• Royal Rumble (3)

WWE chose to rest him at Survivor Series from 2012-2015, making the event seem not significant enough to warrant a Lesnar appearance.

This year, The Beast Incarnate will take on another titan who resides on a sparsely populated tier. It's a matchup that may not be pretty once the bell rings, thanks to Goldberg's ring rust, but there is sure to be major buzz leading up to it.

As Busted Open radio tweeted, this bout has the potential to be huge:

Survivor Series has seen The Rock return to action (2011) and featured a dramatic battle between Team Cena and Team Authority (2014), but its main events have largely been underwhelming of late. 

Randy Orton's clash with Big Show won't get people talking about Survivor Series; Lesnar vs. Goldberg will.

A Return to Its Roots

Survivor Series has too often strayed from its original concept. In its early years, its cards were completely comprised of tag team elimination matches. That helped make the event momentous, unique and something to look forward to every year.

In 2016, WWE is moving back to Survivor Series' origins. 

SmackDown general manager Daniel Bryan and commissioner Shane McMahon called out Raw on Oct. 11, challenging the rival brand to three elimination matches at the PPV. Male Superstars will battle in one match, the female Superstars will contest another and five tag teams will represent each brand in a massive 10-on-10 collision. 

The PPV hasn't seen this type of commitment to the event's gimmick in a long while.

This will be the first time since 2009 that Survivor Series will feature three elimination matches, per the Internet Wrestling Database. And it will be the first 10-on-10 tag team elimination match since 1988.

Leaning on the traditional bouts like this is the key to making Survivor Series buzzworthy again.

Those matches separate the PPV from everything else WWE produces all year. They create unique narrative opportunities and intriguing images.

Survivor Series 2016 will force AJ Styles to team with rival Dean Ambrose. The event will pit Raw's women's champ, Charlotte Flair, against SmackDown's women's titleholder, Becky Lynch. And the battle for brand supremacy will essentially fold the Bragging Rights theme into Survivor Series.

All of this will make Survivor Series bigger and more exciting, something reflected in the amount of hype it has been getting.

Fueling the Hype Train

Ahead of the last Raw before the Hell in a Cell PPV, WWE promoted Lesnar's appearance most. He wasn't on the Hell in a Cell card. Instead, he and manager Paul Heyman showed up to talk Survivor Series...four weeks away from the event.

That's been a running theme for this year's event. WWE started the Survivor Series build early, even if it meant overshadowing Hell in a Cell.

In some recent years, WWE has thrown together Survivor Series elimination matches. They meant little as a result.

In 2013, The Shield teamed up with The Real Americans in a match with minimal buzz. The next year, Team Fox took on Team Paige in a slapped-together contest.

That has not been WWE's approach in 2016.

Both Raw and SmackDown have featured qualifying matches for the Survivor Series bouts. The Usos had to take down The Headbangers to earn a spot on the PPV. Braun Strowman won a Battle Royal to make the Raw team.

WWE is treating inclusion on these teams as a big deal. Natalya even begged to be team coach after she didn't make the cut.

That has injected electricity into the event weeks ahead of its arrival.

This is something WWE has to return to in 2017 and beyond. Big-time buildup for traditional elimination matches will up Survivor Series' status. 

The company won't be able to pull off the equivalent of a Goldberg return every November, but it can continue to elevate Survivor Series with matches WWE might have saved for other shows.

WWE has upped the spotlight aimed at the event and crafted a blueprint for future editions in the process.