4 things that shouldn’t have happened at Fastlane 2018 

WWE built up the 2018 edition of Fastlane with very little fanfare, as many of the programmes were set up to disappoint the WWE Universe from the onset. While WWE surprised wrestling aficionados with matches that delivered both stellar storytelling and thrilling in-ring action, there were many moments that the company could’ve avoided, as these odd booking decisions will affect their future plans.

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#4 Uneventful matches

Wasting breakout talent in preshow matches is a mistake

Fastlane was a PPV that had many important matches which were going to determine many integral parts of the Wrestlemania 34 card. However, there were many thrown together matches on the show that amounted to nothing.

These are bouts that did not progress any storylines or give these characters any friction on the road to the most important show of the year. As the preshow wasted young rising stars and respected veterans such as Chad Gable, Tye Dillinger, and Shelton Benjamin, while main show wasted the entire SmackDown Live Women’s division in an unnecessary Tag Team match.

#3 Setting up endless triple threat matches for WrestleMania

A match that is set up to disappoint

As it stands, there is already a triple threat Intercontinental Title match that booked for 'the show of shows' between The Miz, Seth Rollins, and Finn Balor, and while that match came together naturally, WWE is trying to mimic the same booking strategy on SmackDown.

As Fastlane set up a potential triple threat match for the US Title and SmackDown Live Tag Team Titles. However, while the clash of The Usos vs The New Day vs The Bludgeon Brother might work, Jinder Mahal vs Bobby Roode vs Randy Orton is being set up for disappointment, as the storyline of the feud isn’t clicking with the WWE Universe.

#2 Shane McMahon’s over-involvement

An attack that had a logical reason behind it

When Shane McMahon sat at ringside to monitor the main event, the majority of the WWE Universe knew that 'the prodigal son' was going to get involved in some ridiculous manner. And that suspicion proved to be correct as, Shane was inevitably super kicked by Kevin Owens, and thus the commissioner cost Owens and Zayn their WWE Title opportunity.

Therefore, the attack on SmackDown Live felt warranted, as McMahon had no reason to be at ringside during the main event, if WWE continues to book Shane O'Mac in a way which presents him as a heel, it is going to be hard to get heat on the real villains who are Owens and Zayn, as fans can relate to their motivations behind the attack.

#1 Presenting Rusev as a heel

Presenting a beloved babyface as a heel is an odd decision

Rusev is currently in a Daniel Bryan stage of popularity in his career, as his Rusev Day gimmick has endeared itself to wrestling fans across the world. However, unlike Bryan, WWE is resisting the temptation to turn Rusev into the hottest babyface in the company, which will eventually cause his white-hot momentum to fizzle out.

On this year’s edition of Fastlane, WWE made the odd choice to ignore the complete roar of approval from the crowd and present Rusev as a heel. Rusev is in the best spot of his wrestling career as he is delivering great matches and connecting with the crowd, however, if the trend of heel Rusev continues, 'The Bulgarian Brute' could be once again reduced into a struggling mid-card talent.