Jackson Free Press

As human beings, we love nostalgia. We love TV series from our youth and get excited about “Twin Peaks” and “Gilmore Girls,” among other shows now getting a breath of new life.

We love listening to music that is considered classic, like those 1990s hits from my high school and college years. We get excited about new sequels such as “Independence Day: Resurgence” that come 20 years after the original.

Our love of the past is why, to wrestling fans, the signing of Sting to the WWE was such a big deal. Then you see his match with Triple H at WrestleMania 31. The match was full of nostalgia, with members of DX and the NWO making appearances.

But the match also showed that the Sting of 2015 wasn’t the Sting of our youth. The WrestleMania match needed all the outside interference because neither him nor Triple H were same men they used to be during Monday Night Wars.

If the WrestleMania match wasn’t enough to convince anyone that Sting was done in the ring, watching his match with Seth Rollins confirmed it. The match between Rollins and Sting wasn’t very good and that was before Sting’s neck was injured by Rollins’ botched powerbomb into the turnbuckle.

Sting was forced to retire after the match, once the injury revealed he suffers from cervical spinal stenosis, a neck condition that could leave him paralyzed or dead if he keeps performing in the ring.

Professional wrestlers normally have long careers, with some working in the ring until they reach their 70s. That doesn’t mean wrestlers should still be in the ring.

Sting was 55 years old when he joined the WWE. That was the last major draw from WCW to join the company. His best years were behind him and not in front of him.

Father time catches up to us all. The Undertaker really shouldn’t be in the ring anymore, and he is nowhere near the wrestler we grew up watching. His last couple of WrestleMania matches were only watchable because that is the only time of year he shows up.

His match with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XXX is mainly remembered for Lesnar winning and breaking Undertaker’s streak of 20-0 at the event. The match was just alright at best and is only notable because Taker lost.

Undertaker is 51 years old and looks to be done after this past year’s WrestleMania 32. It would be shocking if he showed up for WrestleMania 33.

Now comes the return of Bill Goldberg. It has been more than 12 years since Goldberg was in a WWE ring. His last match was against Lesnar at WrestleMania XX.

Goldberg, for those who don’t know, was a professional football player before injuries cut his career short. He was once one of the biggest stars of the Monday Night Wars, as WCW inflated his win streak to 173-0.

Last night (Oct. 17), the 49-year-old returned to a WWE ring to chant of “Gold-berg. Gold-berg, Gold-berg,” just like his time in WCW. He came out and stood in the pyrotechnics and did his familiar walk to the ring.

The former champion was at Monday Night Raw to answer a challenge from Lesnar. During his walk to the ring, Goldberg could barely kick his leg as he began to walk down to the ring.

He doesn’t look as big as he did during his run 12 years ago, nor does he seem to be in great shape. Lesnar on the other hand, is a performance-enhancing drug-popping freak who just had a MMA match, in which he was caught using the drugs.

Everyone was feeling nostalgic, but in reality, the Goldberg of 2016 isn’t the Goldberg of the late 1990s or even of WrestleMania XX in 2004.

Lesnar and Goldberg will more than likely meet at the “Survivor Series” in November. It also seems likely the fans will eat up this match.

Fans will watch this year’s “Survivor Series” to see Goldberg because we love the past. It isn’t until after it’s all over that we realize the past isn’t the present.

Goldberg against Lesnar only ends in disappointment.