Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg: WWE Survivor Series 2016 Match Preview and Prediction

On Sunday, Brock Lesnar will square off against Goldberg at Survivor Series. On paper, it's a meeting of the monsters—a "Godzilla vs. King Kong" kind of matchup where the unstoppable force meets the immovable object.

Don't believe the hype. The most impressive moment of this fight will be the entrances, If we're lucky, we'll get an epic, face-to-face staredown before the bell rings. But everything after that will be anywhere from standard to bad. All of the indicators are there.

Lesnar and Goldberg's first match at WrestleMania XX was the evening's lowlight. Both men were exiting the company, and the crowd, which actively booed both wrestlers, hijacked the show. It took forever for the two of them to lock up, and when they finally did, they engaged in a series of dull stalemates where neither individual could gain the upper hand. Commentators Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler openly wondered why the two men were stalling for time.

This was in 2004, when both men were still in their physical primes. We're now 12 years removed from that evening, and time has not done either competitor any good. Lesnar's move set is a fraction of the size it used to be. Everything he does these days is "Suplex City." No more shoulder rams in the corner. No more multiple powerbombs. No more clotheslines or rope combinations. Just one German suplex after another, followed by an F-5.

Meanwhile, Goldberg is preparing around the clock to get ready for this match. But will he be ready? In an interview with the Wall Street Journal (h/t Raj Jiri of Wrestling Inc), Goldberg discussed his awkward fall during a recent confrontation with Rusev, attributing it to "overtraining."

It's been over decade since Goldberg laced up his boots. He's recently had two knee surgeries. And because he's only been training for the past eight weeks, this match has the potential to go very wrong. Goldberg was never the safest worker (he ended Bret Hart's career with an errant kick to the head), and he wasn't technically gifted, either; he specialized in five-minute squash matches. When you combine Goldberg's lack of experience with his ring rust, and you mix it with Lesnar's part-time status, you have an accident waiting to happen.

The finish for this match is obvious. Lesnar is going to win because Goldberg signed for a single match; he can't guarantee he will stick around. The person who beats Lesnar needs to be a young star or, at the very least, a veteran who will then put a younger star over. Lesnar has destroyed everything and everyone in his path. Giving an all-important, career-changing win to a 49-year-old Goldberg just to have a feel-good moment doesn't serve the business on a larger level.

The best way to enjoy this match will be to enjoy the spectacle of it. But be sure set your expectations low in the hopes of being impressed rather than setting your expectations high only to be disappointed.