10 WWE Champions Who Vanished Without A Trace After WrestleMania

Goldberg’s 2016 return was a nostalgia-fueled fever dream. He squashed Brock Lesnar in 86 seconds, won the Universal Title from Kevin Owens, and headed into WrestleMania 33 as champion. Not bad for a guy who hadn’t wrestled a full match in over a decade.

But after dropping the title back to Lesnar in Orlando, Goldberg cut a heartfelt promo on Raw… and then disappeared. No rematch. No follow-up. No storyline fallout. Just a quiet exit stage left.

To be fair, Goldberg was never meant to stick around long-term. His return was always a short-term deal, and he made that clear. But the abruptness of his exit — especially after being the top champion on Raw — left a weird void. WWE didn’t even try to transition the title scene or build off his momentum. He was just… gone.

It wouldn’t be until 2019 that Goldberg returned again, this time to face The Undertaker in a match we’d all rather forget. But in 2017? He left the Universal Title scene colder than one of his backstage stares.