Goldberg, Kevin Owens Have Final Confrontation on WWE Raw Ahead of Fastlane 2017

Goldberg traded verbal barbs with Kevin Owens on Raw Monday night less than one week prior to their Universal Championship match at WWE Fastlane.

WWE shared a brief replay of their interaction:

Goldberg challenged Owens to a fight Monday, but the reigning champion said he'll wait until Fastlane to step inside the ring.

WrestlingInc.com praised Owens' work during the exchange:

Bleacher Report's Chris Mueller was also a fan of the segment:

Goldberg interrupted a promo involving Owens and Chris Jericho a few weeks ago on Raw and challenged KO to a match for the universal title.

While Owens was reluctant to accept, Y2J did so on his behalf, which set the wheels in motion for the Prizefighter to turn on his former best friend.

During Jericho's Festival of Friendship two weeks ago on Raw, Owens went on the attack and forced Jericho to leave the arena in an ambulance.

Owens and Jericho focused largely on comedy during their time as a team, but KO can be one of the most dangerous Superstars in WWE, and that was on full display when he destroyed Jericho.

It was a callback to Owens' time in NXT and his early tenure as part of the main roster, and it represented the type of attitude needed to defeat Goldberg.

Rather than explaining his actions the following week on Raw, Owens turned his attention to Goldberg and spewed vitriol in the direction of his opponent, according to WWE Universe on Twitter:

KO even attempted to agitate Goldberg by putting his own spin on the "You're next" catchphrase:

It was fair to wonder if Owens' tactics were wise considering the remarkable roll Goldberg has been on since returning to in-ring action in WWE for the first time in 12 years.

Goldberg shockingly defeated Brock Lesnar in 86 seconds at Survivor Series and doubled down by eliminating him with relative ease in the Royal Rumble match.

That prompted Lesnar to challenge Goldberg to another match at WrestleMania 33, and while Goldberg accepted, he has a huge bout ahead against Owens at Fastlane.

Although Owens likely has something up his sleeve entering Fastlane, Goldberg proved on Raw that he is ready for one of the biggest matches of his WWE career.

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