Wow. That was...Interesting. Actually scratch that. It really wasn't. WWE yet again proved why Fastlane is completely pointless as a PPV and that they should really do away with the concept. First lets start off with some simple stuff. These are the best and worst matches of the night as well as the best performer.
Best Match of The Night: Kevin Owens vs Dolph Ziggler
Despite the fact that we have seen these two many times before that doesn't change the fact that they work extremely well together. Had this been the first or second match between them it would have been way more enjoyable. Nevertheless it was still an excellent match.
Worst Match of The Night: Curtis Axel vs R-Truth
I was originally going to go with Charlotte vs Brie Bella but then I saw this match and it was just all kinds of bad. First of all this shouldn't have even been on the card and Alberto Del Rio vs Kalisto should've taken this spot. Secondly, as this match was only here to kill time before the main event, the people involved didn't get much time to do anything of note. Seriously WWE, sort it out.
Best Performance of The Night:AJ Styles
Fastlane was AJ Styles first singles PPV and he didn't let us down. Personally I've been a fan of AJ's work for around 6 years now and seeing him in a WWE ring is still incredible. His match with Chris Jericho was a little sloppy but I think it's because Jericho may finally be showing his age and struggled a little to keep up. We did see a Styles Clash which was awesome and AJ showed WWE why people are so worked up about him.
Now. Time for the rest of the card. This may take me a while...
Kalisto (c) vs Alberto Del Rio
Why did this get moved to the Pre-Show? I personally wasn't expecting much from this but it's a title match and should be on the PPV. The only good thing that came of that decision was that Mauro Ranallo was able to call the match which made it thoroughly more enjoyable. Del Rio got himself disqualified for the first fall which was smart, making him look like the douche bag Heel. Del Rio is still using that ridiculous corner stomp finisher for some reason, in certain situations it can work, in most situations, it doesn't. Eventually Kalisto retained as he should've done. Alberto Del Rio's second run in WWE has been a bit underwhelming and they really need to sort his character out. Kalisto on the other hand gained some good momentum going int Wrestlemania.
Overall rating: ***
Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks vs Naomi and Tamina
The women opened the PPV! I don't even know if that's happened before but good for them! This match was pretty good. Sasha Banks was very over and Naomi and Tamina did well in their role as the Heels. I feel a bit for Becky Lynch because she's still taking a back seat to the whole Sasha Banks push which is understandable because it's Sasha Banks and she's one of the hottest acts going in WWE right now. A triple threat at Wrestlemania with Charlotte/Becky Lynch/Sasha Banks would be potentially an outside candidate to be match of the night if they're given a good 15-20 minutes to work with. It is Wrestlemania however so don't be surprised if they don't get anywhere near that.
Overall rating: ***
Kevin Owens (c) vs Dolph Ziggler
WWE pretty much ignored the fact that this was Dolph Ziggler's hometown here. We've seen these two at least 10 times over the last month and a half but they still put on the best match of the night. There were some excellent spots like Ziggler countering an Apron Powerbomb and throwing KO into the stairs as well as the men trading Superkicks. Eventually KO came away with the win as he should've done and he can go into Wrestlemania as the champ. Afterwards on Twitter Owens teased a potential match with Styles at 'mania which would definitely be a potential Show stealing match, Dolph Ziggler needs a change, most likely a Heel turn. He's been OK in his face role but he more naturally shines as a cocky Heel that acts like he's better than everyone.
Overall rating: ****
The Wyatt Family vs Big Show, Ryback and Kane
This match was just, urgh all kinds of suck. Firstly Ryback kind of botched the ending (surprised?) and it looks like Luke Harper may have suffered a legit injury. Secondly, why on earth did this happen? What do Big Show, Ryback and Kane gain from this match? Is one of them suddenly going to use this momentum to go for a push towards a title? God I hope not. You must feel bad for The Wyatt Family, they make Dolph Ziggler's booking issues over the past years look tame. Bray Wyatt has so much potential as a top Heel. He could create a whole faction of 9/10 people with his Family and could be the monster Heel WWE need to finally get Reigns over. But No, apparently WWE doesn't see any potential in him or the rest of his brethren apart from Strowman because he's big.... No one can take them seriously if they are winning WWE. You should know this by now.
Overall rating: **1/2
Brie Bella vs Charlotte (c)
This wasn't great. It was by no means awful but it didn't set the world alight. It kind of feels like Brie was sort of nudged into this position due to extenuating circumstances. She's been taking losses for months and suddenly she gets a title shot at Fastlane? I don't really understand the logic in that decision. To her credit, Brie did pretty well and she has improved tenfold since she first started in the WWE. I feel like this was one of those matches where the two people involved just aren't able to find any in-ring Chemistry. The whole match just felt disjointed and strange. In the end Charlotte retains and It looks like Brie may ride off into the sunset with Daniel Bryan.
Overall rating: **
AJ Styles vs Chris Jericho
This was just all sorts of awesome for me. Like I said I've been a Styles fan for a long time so seeing him go up against Y2J was the highlight of the evening for me. This probably would've been the best match of the night but there were a few missed spots here and there but nothing really that would thoroughly anger you. One thing that does irk me a little is the Styles Clash. They've been teasing it for so long and he finally hits it and Jericho kicks out? Reigns' generic Spear finisher is tame and yet it seems to put down most guys. Surely the Styles Clash, a move that some people have billed as "potentially dangerous" should be seen as a match ending move? Eventually Jericho tapped to the Calf Crusher and did a wonderful job of selling it I might add. This match was great and one of the few bright spots of the evening.
Overall rating: ***1/2
The Edge and Christian Cutting Edge Peep Show
This was OK but why was it on the PPV. And In the final hour I might add? Edge and Christian did their thing, New Day came out and they were hilarious and then they called out League of Nations. Yes, League of Nations. So what are New Day faces now? They shouldn't be. New Day do their best work when they're insulting people. You can't exactly have the faces go into a stadium saying "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BOOOTYHAM!!!" can you? We were all thorougly dissapointed that we didn't see Enzo and Cass come out. That would've had a much better reaction and got people a little more invested in a night that was continuously going downhill. This was just a strange segment.
Overall rating: ***
Curtis Axel vs R-Truth
My god. Just...my god. Why was this here. I'll tell you why. Because WWE royally screwed up their timing and they had way too much time left before the main event so my guess is they just found the first guys they could backstage and said "Go waste some time for us lads". This match was just dreadful. They had absolutely no time to do anything of note and it was so blatantly obvious that no one cared. Goldust came out and Interfered with R-Truth again. Is this going to be a thing or not WWE? Just get it over with. If I was Truth I would've clocked Goldust round the face by now for not leaving me alone.
Overall rating: *
Dean Ambrose vs Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar
And finally we reach the main event. The evidence that WWE has no idea what the people actually want. It was obvious from the moment that Roman Reigns' remixed Shield entrance music hit that people would not accept him walking out the winner, so what happened? Why he won of course! I will give the guys credit this match was thoroughly enjoyable to watch, thanks in no small part to Brock Lesnar tossing both men around like rag dolls. Still, Reigns winning here was blatantly the wrong decision. The crowd was way more into Brock Lesnar and Suplex City and Dean Ambrose had a vocal majority of support. Reigns on the other hand, struggled for any support from the crowd. Whenever he went on the offense he was roundly booed by the crowd.
Overall rating: ***1/2
Look, I don't hate Roman Reigns. I won't pretend that I'm a fan of Roman Reigns because I'm not. But I don't hate the guy and actively try to boo him at every turn. He deserves a lot of credit for the work he's done. However, WWE need to look at themselves as the root of the problem. Ever since Seth Rollins was forced to vacate the title last November, The booking has been so easy to see. Everyone knew Roman Reigns would win that Surivor Series tournament. We all knew he'd lose at TLC, we all knew that he would lose at the Royal Rumble and we all knew he would win at Fastlane, as much as we don't want to admit it. WWE just need to cool their obsession with Roman Reigns for a while. The more and more WWE tries to push the fans towards trying to accept Roman Reigns as "The Guy" the more and more likely the fans are to rebel against that Idea and say "We don't want him, we want someone else". Reigns needs be naturally liked by fans in order to get over properly and as long as WWE continue to push him as hard as they are, the less and less likely he will be liked.
Now we have a Wrestlemania main event where the Babyface will be seen as the Heel and the Heel will be seen as the Babyface. Granted, I've heard people say that It's only going to be a 40 minute match of a 4 hour show and they're right. the rest of the card may be very good. But this is going to be the main event for one of the biggest titles in the wrestling industry at one of the biggest sporting events of the year. Wrestlemania is one of the few events that hardcore WWE fans from around the world are actually able to go and see in person. Are you telling me that WWE think hardcore fans are going to accept Roman Reigns? No. They won't. Reigns' will most likely be booed out of the building by 90,000 people. WWE are now in a position where people are likely going to rebel against the main event. But this year they don't have Seth Rollins and his Money In The Bank briefcase to bail them out. If Reigns' is being booed by everyone then that's it. Game over and Wrestlemania will most likely be viewed as a failure. I'm not trying to be cynical but it's hard to get psyched over something we all see happening a month in advance.
Overall Fastlane was just not very good. There were maybe one or two bright spots but the majority of the night was just an overwhelming disappointment. This coupled with the fact that WWE Network is still suffering from connection issues and you start to understand why people are saying #CancelWWENetwork again or #Cancel Wrestlemania. Anyone saying that is just a complete moron but still, frustration is understandable.
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