Kevin Owens Talks Goldberg Rematch; Paul Heyman on CM Punk; Lana Injury Update

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Owens Talks Potential Goldberg Rematch

Many wrestling fans have hoped for Kevin Owens to get revenge on Goldberg ever since the former dropped the Universal title to the latter in a squash match in 2017, but KO isn't interested unless the situation is much different the next time around.

In an interview with Alistair McGeorge of Metro UK, Owens discussed what scenario he would favor should a rematch ever happen:

"I'd love to work with him again if he was here to work. I'm not saying this is his fault, but he's not—his career has never been about long matches or anything like that. To me, I don't see much positive out of wrestling him for two minutes, or 20 seconds or 30 seconds or whatever, you know what I mean?

"I'd love to work with him again if you got to do a story beyond—all we did was, what, two weeks, maybe three weeks? If we got to do some cool stuff, and some cool promos, exchange back and forth, and then have a quality match, that'd be great. But that's just not usually what he's here for."

When Owens and Goldberg faced each other at Fastlane 2017, it essentially came out of left field, as it seemed like the company was building toward Owens vs. Chris Jericho for the Universal title at WrestleMania.

Instead, Goldberg went on to face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania, while Owens vs. Jericho became a United States Championship match.

Both matches were good, but there is no question that Owens vs. Jericho would have felt like a much bigger deal with a world title on the line.

Recently, Goldberg has been in the spotlight because of his comments regarding a match against Roman Reigns. Goldberg vs. Reigns was supposed to happen at WrestleMania this year, but it fell through when Reigns stepped away because of concerns regarding COVID-19.

Owens is facing Reigns for the Universal title at TLC on Sunday, and if he wins, then Goldberg may shift his attention.

It is difficult to envision Reigns dropping the title to K.O., though, which means Reigns vs. Goldberg is likely still the eventual plan.

Heyman Talks Past Partnership with CM Punk

Paul Heyman and CM Punk shocked the wrestling world in 2012 when they struck an on-screen partnership in the midst of Punk's 434-day reign as WWE champion.

In an interview with Inside the Ropes (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Sai Mohan), Heyman discussed the mindset he and Punk had when they were told they would become a pairing:

"I look over at him and he says, 'Can you believe they're f--king putting us together?' And I'm like, 'We're both gonna be f--king fired in the next four weeks, don't you get it?' And he goes, 'But the s--t we're going to stir in four weeks, they don't f--king have a clue!' I loved working with him, I loved it. I had the time of my life."

Punk aligning with Heyman cemented a heel turn, which was a somewhat surprising move considering how popular Punk was as a babyface when his title reign began.

Although Punk didn't need Heyman as a mouthpiece unlike Lesnar, Heyman loved the dynamic since they both favored speaking off the cuff in promos:

"We had a blast working with each other because, just like me, he had no idea what he was going to say when he went out to the ring. He was just doing it, you know, allegedly shoot promos that then get wrapped around into the storyline that we're telling that he fervently believed in his heart that he was telling the truth."

The Heyman and Punk tandem was fun while it lasted, and it led to Punk having rivalries with The Rock, John Cena, The Undertaker and other top stars, but it eventually broke down and saw Punk feud with new Heyman charges Ryback and Curtis Axel.

It wasn't necessarily an ideal way to end such a landmark pairing, but it represented a fun time in WWE history nonetheless.

WWE Provides Lana Injury Update

WWE announced during Monday's episode of Raw that Lana will not be cleared to compete at TLC on Sunday after getting attacked by Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler.

According to Joseph Currier for F4WOnline, WWE reported that Lana suffered "devastating injuries to her elbow and leg" and was taken to a hospital for evaluation.

The injuries are only storyline-related, but WWE is using them as a way to change the scheduled TLC match, which was Raw Women's champion Asuka and Lana against Jax and Baszler for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships.

If Lana can't compete, then Asuka will be forced to find another partner. Dana Brooke and Mandy Rose are options since they are feuding with Jax and Baszler and had a run-in with them on Raw.

WWE could also go with someone who hasn't been used or seen often recently, such as Naomi, Nikki Cross, Peyton Royce or Lacey Evans.

Failing that, WWE may simply be building sympathy for Lana so she can make a hero's return at TLC and compete despite her injuries.

Since WWE is clearly trying to build Lana into a big-time babyface, that would be a logical way to get fans behind her, so Asuka and Lana vs. Jax and Baszler may not be off the table quite yet.

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