WWE Fastlane Review 03/11/2018

Hello Misfits! It’s the Wrestling Classic here with my Fastlane Review. I was 4-1-1 with my predictions for this event. It was the first PPV of 2018 where I didn’t have a perfect score. The only prediction I had wrong was for the United States Championship match which I did change my mind last minute on with my predictions. The draw was for the tag team championship match because of the way it ended in a no contest. This was Smackdown Live’s final stop before Wrestlemania and all the championships are on the line. AJ Styles has to defend his WWE Championship against five other talented top guys. Bobby Roode goes toe to toe with the legendary Viper. Charlotte must face an opponent like no other in Ruby Riott and finally The Usos renew an awesome rivalry from 2017 with The New Day. Let’s see how everything played out.

Fastlane 2018 comes to us from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH.

– The kickoff featured Breezango and Dillinger defeating Mojo Rawley, Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin. I didn’t catch the kickoff but I heard the match was decent and what you would expect.

– The opening video package aired.

– The announce team is a combination of the Raw and Smackdown Live team as its Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton and Corey Graves.

Shinsuke Nakamura def. Rusev w/ Aiden English
in 14:50 via pinfall
I really enjoyed Aiden English’s song before the match. He had the crowd in the palm of his hands and turned on them mid song by insulting their city. This was one of those matches where both guys came out of it looking strong. The live crowd was split down the middle chanting for “NAKAMURA” and “RUSEV DAY.” I feared that they might have this be more one-sided and with Shinsuke looking more dominant but they actually had us believe that Rusev could have actually beaten Nakamura, There was no question about the outcome. There was no way they were going to have Nakamura who is the Royal Rumble winner and fighting for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania lose this close to the event. However, they made sure to protect Rusev here. This was a great opening match that set the tone for the rest of the show. Rusev hit some deadly kicks on the “King of Strong Style” himself where Shinsuke seemed to be toning down the aggression on his moves which I dislike. The finish was expected but it was great. The crowd being so into this match and participating obviously increased the quality. Watch this match.
Rating – ****

United States Championship
Randy Orton def. Bobby Roode
in 19:15 by pinfall
The video package before the match was tremendous. I read online that Randy Orton is like three years younger than Bobby Roode but yet Orton feels like the vet and Roode feels like the rookie. Roode by no means is a rookie though because he’s been in the business and in TNA just as long as Orton’s been in the WWE but just because he’s new to the WWE it feels that way. Anyway, this was a solid match. It was your old school technically sound wrestling match. There wasn’t any highflying or suicide dives but two really crisp wrestlers wrestling and telling a story in the ring of who is going to catch the other one off guard. These two work great together and I think it because they both have over fifteen years of experience and there has to be some level of respect between the two. There was beautifully executed superplex in this match as well. I dig how they have been showing replays in slow motion as well. It was interesting to hear Byron begging “Kevin” as in Kevin Dunn in the production truck to show it again, only to be quiet the remainder of the match. I wonder if he got in trouble. Anyway, there was a point where I felt like the match was going a bit long and even the fans were losing interest. However, one RKO outta nowhere got them right back into and Randy Orton was crowned United States Champion for the first time and is officially a Grand Slam Champion. Good match.
Rating – ***1/4

– Jinder Mahal was shown watching the US Championship match backstage during the match and made his way out during Orton’s celebration. Orton and Mahal begin to brawl. As “The Modern Day Maharaja” gained the upper hand Roode came back into the ring and hit him with a Glorious DDT. Roode then hit the DDT on Orton as well. This was the most character we’ve seen out of Roode as of yet. This was great and it looks like we are heading to that triple threat match at Wrestlemania.

Natalya & Carmella def. Becky Lynch & Naomi
in 08:55 by pinfall
This match was more fun than I expected. All four women looked amazing. Carmella is something else and Becky in her new ring gear…wowza. Anyway, they all played up their characters and showed the spirit of competition. There isn’t much heat between the two teams to really dive into a great in ring story but it was simply the two babyfaces wanting to beat up the two heels. It was the old school tag formula where Naomi played the role of taking the beat down to create heat. Becky Lynch was the one to get the hot tag but in the end the bad guys found a way to win with a quick distraction by Natalya and Carmella hitting a super kick on Becky Lynch. I like Carmella doing the super kick just as much as I like Rusev, Owens, Ziggler and the Usos doing the super kick. Maybe I just like the super kick but a lot of people do it these days. It doesn’t feel as special as it used too but at the same time everyone’s kicking out each other actual finishes these days but can go down to a super kick so what do I know? This match started off hot but got a little messy near the end but overall it was good. I enjoyed it. I was glad Carmella picked up the victory as she’s Ms Money in the Bank and we need to believe when she does cash-in that she has the chance of winning.
Rating – **3/4

Tag Team Champions
The Usos (C) vs. The New Day
in 09:00 as a No Contest
This rivalry was so intense between these two teams last year and they somehow managed to tap into that intensity in the weeks building up to this match. I was looking forward to this match because I know how well these two teams work with each other. The match was solid showcasing how well both teams know each other as they were stealing each others moves and finishes to try to beat the other team. This match was non-stop action and finally slowed down after a high spot dive to the outside. Cue the Bludgeon Brothers to end this match by destroying everyone. That is exactly what they did. I guess they might be setting up yet another triple threat match for Wrestlemania but this time for the tag division and I enjoyed it. I read some people complaining that it ruined the match, could have happened after the finish or on TV on Tuesday. I think this was perfectly fine though. It protected both The Usos and New Day from a loss and added something unique to this Fastlane PPV. Plus, now The New Day have a reason to still stay involved in the tag team title picture. The beat down was great and it really made the Bludgeon Brothers look dominant. The selling from Woods after taking the back bump on the steel steps was an Oscar-winning performance. The only thing I disliked about this was at one point Rowen tried using the “steel” hammer to smash one of The Usos head against the steps but the Uso moved and it totally sounded like rubber hitting the step but whatever. It’s not like we didn’t know already. I enjoyed this segment and it was well done.
Rating – N/A

– Styles cuts a promo on tonight’s main event, and says his WrestleMania begins tonight. Nakamura wishes him luck and say he hopes he wins, Styles says he will win and beat Nakamura at Mania.

Women’s Champion
Charlotte (C) def. Ruby Riott
in 13:45 by submission
There was something about this match but I just couldn’t get into it. The video package before the match was great and it helped me get invested in the story more than everything that happens the weeks leading up the match has. It finally made sense of everything that had happened this past month but I just couldn’t get invested in the story being told in the ring. This was a great showing for Ruby Riott’s as this was her first big singles PPV match and was impressed that she came out without Morgan and Logan to start off. I think Riott might not have been ready for this spot though. That is just my opinion as an outside spectator. Charlotte was Charlotte and did her best to make Riott look like a star. The moonsault off the barricade was awesome too. I just don’t think they mesh well together as opponents. I dont know but there was just something off with this match. I guess it was because I just knew there was no way Charlotte was losing here but I also knew that about some of the other matches but was still entertained so I’m not sure why I was just so disinterested in this match. Eventually we saw the members of the Riott Squad make their way out causing Becky and Naomi to come out. They did get involved a bit which led to them all being kicked out. Charlotte ended up hitting a vicious spear on Riott and then making her tap out to the figure eight. It was good but not great by any means.
Rating – **1/2

– As Charlotte is celebrating Asuka’s music hits and she makes her way out to the ring. Asuka points to the Mania sign to make her challenge official. The fans seemed into this, and I am all for this match. Will the streak continue or will Charlotte add another accolade of ending the streak with her already long list of accolades?

Six Pack Challenge
WWE Championship
AJ Styles (C) def. John Cena, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler & Baron Corbin
in 21:55 via pinfall
Shane McMahon was at ringside for this match with absolutely no explanation to why. I didn’t know it became a thing for the Smackdown Live Authority figures to sit outside the ring for the WWE Championship matches on PPVs. It was just Shane as it was mentioned that Bryan wasn’t there for the night. Interesting enough there has been rumours that Shane O’ might be facing Ziggler at Mania, so this could kick-start that rushed rivalry. However, I’d like to see a finish this feud with Zayn and Owens. Remember when the draft happened and the theory was that the show would be about the superstars and not the Authority figures? Good times.
This was everything you expected it to be as an absolutely chaotic car wreck. The way it kicked off with Cena hitting the AA on everyone but Styles was a bit odd but it set the tone for the match. Everyone had moments to shine, all six of them busted their asses and delivered a fun main event for the audience. The crowd was invested in the match the entire time which always helps. I think everyone was rooting for Styles here even though some other fan favorites were involved. They did a great job of keeping the pace by constantly moving to the next part. AJ Styles took a nasty AA table bump from Cena. Corbin threw Ziggler into some of that NHL plexi-glass and it didn’t sound very giving but Dolph is. The Sami & Kevin angle played out well and I almost thought we had a finger poke of doom moment only to have the tension between the two grow with Zayn trying to roll up Owens as a trick. There were tons of big moves to play into the match stipulation as well as near falls only being broken up by someone else in desperation. Shane McMahon got involved after getting hit with a brutal superkick that looked and sounded like it really connected from Kevin Owens. He made it his goal from that point on to make sure that Owens and Zayn didn’t win the match. There was zero interaction between McMahon and Ziggler thankfully. Speaking of Ziggler he did this cool thing where he turned a AA into a fameasser. Cena went a little crazy with the steel steps as he’s determined to get on the Wrestlemania card because you know…they don’t want the face of their company on the card. The finish came with Cena hitting the AA on Corbin right onto the steel steps but is hit with a superkick by Ziggler which he no sells and lays out with an AA. Kevin comes in and hits a pop up powerbomb on Cena only to be met with a phenomenal forearm from AJ Styles, allowing Styles to pick up the victory. It was a really entertaining match.
Rating – ****1/4

Final Thoughts
I really enjoyed this show. I think compared to the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber, I came into this show with lower expectations and it over delivered. There was a lot of good wrestling infused with great story telling. It finally feels like Smackdown Live is on the Road to Wrestlemania. A lot of their contributions to the card have become clear. It will be Styles vs. Nakamura and Charlotte vs. Asuka at Wrestlemania. It is almost guaranteed that we are getting a triple threat for both the United States and Tag Team Title matches at Wrestlemania as well. This was a really good show with every match being entertaining in its own way. The only match I didn’t enjoy that much was Riott vs. Charlotte, and that itself wasn’t a horrible match. Everyone you expected to win or the way you expected things to play out happened that way. It’s a show you could skip but I recommend checking it out because it was fun to watch top to bottom.
Final Rating – 7.5/10

What were your final thoughts on Fastlane? What final grade would you give the event? Where would you rate it on a scale of ten? Do you agree with my review? Leave your comments, opinions and thoughts below in the comments section.