10 Big Talking Points From WWE Fastlane 2017

That being said, Goldberg’s victory isn’t necessarily the most controversial part of that Fastlane main event. Rather, it’s the way in which that victory arrived that has understandably narked people the most. Goldberg of course won in a mere 22 seconds, hitting Kevin Owens with a single Spear and a single Jackhammer before scoring the 1-2-3.

But, for all the criticism that finish has received (it wasn’t as impactful as Goldberg vs. Lesnar, it was disrespectful to Owens’ run as champion) unfortunately, the company had backed themselves into a corner by placing Goldberg in the title picture.

Having squashed Lesnar at Survivor Series in less than 90 seconds, it would have been almost impossible to believe that it would take him longer to see off Owens. That essentially ruled out the possibility of a back-and-forth match, and so they rolled with the classic Goldberg squash but added in the get-out card of Chris Jericho’s interference.

Obviously, that gives Owens’ something of an excuse and ultimately was just about the best outcome we could have hoped for given the position the company had booked itself into.

In short: a 22-second win for Goldberg may not have been ideal, but given the context of Vince McMahon and company being so intent on putting Goldberg in the title scene and having him face Lesnar again at WrestleMania, it’s essentially a result that was to be expected.

Whether that makes it a good thing or not is rather more open to debate...