Bill Goldberg Set To Return To WWE At Raw, Will Address Brock Lesnar Challenge

After an absence of more than 12 years, Bill Goldberg will make his long-anticipated return to WWE programming on the Oct. 17 episode of Monday Night Raw.

Bill Goldberg Set To Return To WWE At Raw, Will Address Brock Lesnar Challenge

Goldberg announced the news Monday on Twitter:

His tweet followed a segment during Monday’s episode of Raw in which Brock Lesnar’s manager, Paul Heyman, issued a challenge to Goldberg.

Goldberg, 49, the former WCW and WWE world heavyweight champion, last competed in a match at WrestleMania XX in March 2004. That fight against Lesnar was widely criticized, and it appeared as though Goldberg’s wrestling career had ended on a bad note.

Rumors surrounding Goldberg’s potential return have run wild in recent years, although it wasn’t until his involvement with the video game WWE 2K17 that it became a strong possibility.

After years away from WWE, Goldberg was included as an exclusive downloadable character in the video game, which stirred up more speculation that there could be more to his deal.

Fittingly, Lesnar was the cover athlete for WWE 2K17, and the game was used as a means to exacerbate the rivalry between ‘The Beast Incarnate’ and Goldberg.

Commercials for the game featured Easter eggs hinting at a potential rematch, while Lesnar and Heyman called out Goldberg with the following promo:

Goldberg refused to stand idly by while The Conqueror and his advocate ran him down:

Goldberg was also questioned regarding a potential rematch while doing press for WWE 2K17 prior to SummerSlam in August, and although he didn’t confirm anything, he didn’t back down, either.

This in turn led to several rumors suggesting Goldberg might interfere in Lesnar’s match against Randy Orton. However, this never happened, although the groundwork for Goldberg’s eventual return was there.

Before an appearance by Goldberg on ESPN to promote the video game and discuss his role within WWE, Hall of Fame announcer Jim Ross revealed on Twitter that a source stated a match between Goldberg and Lesnar was a “done deal” and likely to be held at Survivor Series on Nov. 20.

There remains a strong desire among WWE fans to see Goldberg mix it up in the ring nearly 20 years after his undefeated streak ended in WCW, and given his imminent return to Raw, another Goldberg match certainly seem close as well.