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The Road to WrestleMania is reaching its final destination, as WWE Fastlane 2021 will be the final pay per view before WrestleMania 37. This pay-per-view will also be the first WWE event on NBC's Peacock platform for the United States. This is also possibly the last WWE pay-per-view at Tropicana Field, as the MLB season is set to begin shortly before WrestleMania.
Fastlane is in a weird position on the WWE calendar as it is after the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view and usually two or three weeks before WrestleMania. This leads to WWE throwing together a forgettable card as they gear up for the Showcase of the Immortals. This year is shaping up to be no different, but that doesn't mean we won't get a good show.
The main selling point of the show is a long-awaited showdown between Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan for the Universal Championship. As of this writing, there are six matches scheduled for Sunday's show.
On the WWE RAW side of the card, Drew McIntyre will face off with his former best friend Sheamus one last time before he challenges Bobby Lashley for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. In the most intriguing match for the red brand, Randy Orton is scheduled to take on Alexa Bliss in an intergender match.
On the WWE SmackDown side of the card, Seth Rollins will go one on one with Shinsuke Nakamura, Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler will defend the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships against Bianca Belair and her WrestleMania opponent, SmackDown Women's Champion Sasha Banks and Big E will defend the Intercontinental Championship against the refreshed Apollo Crews.
In the main event for the blue brand, Roman Reigns will defend the Universal Championship against Daniel Bryan.
Here are five things that could happen at the upcoming WWE Fastlane pay-per-view.
5.) Jimmy Uso will return to cost Daniel Bryan the WWE Universal Championship
Daniel Bryan v. Roman Reigns has been a match that fans have been waiting to see for years. It was at this very event six years ago that the two had their last one-on-one match, which Reigns won. The match was heavily teased in the summer of 2019 when Reigns had a series of suspicious events happen to him. The plan was for Reigns to take on Bryan, who was a heel at the time, at that year's SummerSlam.That match was canceled and the two superstar's paths never crossed again until late last year.
Bryan was on the receiving end of multiple beatdowns from Jey Uso late last year and the two have had multiple matches since. However, Bryan and Reigns hadn't had any interaction with one another until the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, where Bryan won the Chamber match but lost to Reigns shortly thereafter.
Bryan won a steel cage match against Jey a couple of weeks later to earn this title opportunity. Much like every Reigns match over the past several months, there is little doubt that Reigns will walk out still Universal Champion. The question is, will it be a clean victory or another controversial finish?
With Reigns' WrestleMania opponent Edge serving as the special guest enforcer, the answer to that question is almost certainly yes.
Jey has interfered in many of Reigns' matches in the past which has led to the Head of the Table emerging victorious. While it's safe money to bet on that happening again, this time WWE may change things up and have Jimmy Uso return and cost Bryan the championship.
Jimmy has been out of action for months now and it has been rumored that his return is right around the corner. With many expecting Jey to interfere once again, even with Edge as an enforcer, Fastlane would be the best time to bring him back if he is medically cleared to do so.
The most likely outcome for this match would be to see Bryan have Reigns in the Yes Lock. Just as it appears that Bryan will pull off the upset, Jey comes out and attempts to interfere. When Edge finally takes care of Jey, Jimmy will return and take out Edge. While Bryan is distracted by the chaos, Reigns hits the spear and picks up the victory.
This outcome not only protects Bryan but gives him an opening for a rematch with Reigns down the road. It could also set up Bryan's potential WrestleMania match. Bryan and a partner of his choosing, possibly someone like Kevin Owens who has unfinished business with Jey, against The Usos. This would be a nice opening match for either night of WrestleMania 37.
4.) Sasha Banks will turn heel against Bianca Belair
WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax will once again defend their titles against WWE SmackDown Women's Champion Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair.
This is a rematch from WWE Elimination Chamber, where Baszler and Jax retained after interference from Reginald. Now, the WrestleMania opponents will team up once again to challenge for the gold.
The women's tag team division on WWE's main roster is a complete mess at the moment. Baszler and Jax regained the titles from the makeshift team of Asuka and Charlotte Flair at the Royal Rumble.
The majority of the tag teams are down in NXT, but they recently got tag titles of their own. Then you have actual tag teams like the Riott Squad that are not being used to their full potential. The tag titles are also holding back Baszler, who should be booked as a strong challenger for the RAW Women's Championship.
Meanwhile, Banks and Belair have the potential and star power to main event one of the nights of WrestleMania this year. However, the feud has no fire at the moment and has lost a lot of steam. WWE might use this match at Fastlane to ignite the flames. The best way to do that would be to have one of the two turn heel, and Banks is the best option.
After seeing all of the backstage footage of Belair after her WWE Royal Rumble win and the promos she has done since then, it feels almost impossible to boo her. On the other hand, Banks is a much better heel than a babyface. It also seems like Sasha is already heel even though she is supposed to be a babyface. Her character has not changed much since she feuded with Bayley. So, if anyone is going to be a heel in this feud, it should be Banks.
The most likely outcome for this would see Belair get beat down for the majority of the match. Towards the end, when she goes for the hot tag, Banks steps off of the apron and walks to the back. This would add more intrigue and fire to a feud that is severely lacking it at the moment. It would also give fans something to talk about in what may not be a noteworthy event.
3.) Drew McIntyre will defeat Sheamus in the Match of the Night
In a feud that had the potential to be the WWE Championship Match at WrestleMania 37, Drew McIntyre will face off one last time with his former best friend Sheamus.
The feud began brewing last year when Sheamus started appearing in backstage segments with McIntyre. The segments seemed out of place at the time since Sheamus had been a heel on WWE SmackDown.
The question quickly became when would Sheamus turn heel? The answer to that came the night after the Royal Rumble when he Brogue Kicked McIntyre. Since then, the two have had two matches on RAW.
The first match between the two occurred on March 1st, where McIntyre defeated Sheamus in an excellent one-on-one match. The second came a week later in a no disqualification match. The encounter ended in a no contest as both men were unable to continue the match after a steel steps spot. Now the two will face off one last time at Fastlane.
This one is predictable as McIntyre will need a win heading into his WWE Championship Match against Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania. It will also probably be the match of the night. McIntyre and Sheamus have great in-ring chemistry, as proven in their first two matches. Furthermore, the rest of the card leaves a lot to be desired aside from this match and the Universal Championship Match.
The most likely outcome for this match will be a clear-cut McIntyre victory. As mentioned above, McIntyre will be in the WWE Championship Match at WrestleMania next month. Regardless, expect this match to be nothing more than a stepping stone for McIntyre as we close in on WrestleMania.
2.) Apollo Crews v. Big E will end in controversial fashion
The WWE Intercontinental Championship title picture has quietly become one of the most interesting angles on WWE SmackDown lately. Much of that has to do with the always entertaining champion Big E. However, Apollo Crews has gone through a complete character transformation and is gaining a lot of momentum.
The feud began when Crews answered Big E's open challenge. Crews lost the match but wanted one more shot at the title. Big E turned down his request in favor of Shinsuke Nakamura. Crews attacked both men during the match and officially turned heel.
The following week, he debuted a new "Nigerian Royalty" gimmick, which he says is him embracing who he really is. The match was made official for Fastlane after the March 12th edition of SmackDown.
Crews has been an interesting wrestler since last summer. He began to show signs of his true potential during his United States Championship reign and feud with the Hurt Business. He did cool off a bit after dropping the title to Bobby Lashley, but with this current feud with Big E and his new character, we are seeing a whole new side to him.
As for their match at WWE Fastlane, this has all of the ingredients for a controversial finish leading to a final match at WrestleMania. Apollo has a fresh new character that should not be losing cleanly this soon. Big E has been booked fairly strongly since winning the title and it feels like he is waiting to be elevated to the main event. With WrestleMania being two weeks after WWE Fastlane, there will be no time to build up another feud for the IC title.
The most likely outcome for the Intercontinental Championship Match will see another finish involving the steel steps. However, this time it will not be Apollo using the steel steps, but Big E. When he returned to WWE SmackDown after the steel step attack, Big E cut a serious promo on being after Crews' head. What better way to go "eye for an eye" than for him to attack Apollo with the steel steps?
This finish protects Apollo's new character from taking a loss right out of the gate and extends the feud to WWE's show of shows. It also shows that Big E should not be taken lightly.
1.) The Fiend will make his long-awaited return to WWE
The Fiend has not been seen or heard from since being burned at WWE TLC back in December. Alexa Bliss has essentially taken over his role in the feud with Randy Orton. However, we have seen signs of the Fiend's return being imminent and Fastlane seems like the time for that to happen.
Bliss has been tormenting Orton for the past couple of months. The two are scheduled to have an Intergender Match at WWE Fastlane. Whether there will be a legitimate match or more hocus pocus magic tricks remains to be seen. The one thing for certain is that the Fiend will rise from the ashes.
When Orton goes to attack Bliss, the lights will likely go out and she will reappear with her dark makeup and outfit on. Orton will be shocked but will try to attack again when the lights go out once more. When they come back on, Bliss is in the ring in her Goddess attire. Orton goes to attack one more time and the lights go out. This time we hear a voice telling Orton it is time for him to pay for what he has done and it is time to "Let Him In".
When the lights come back on, the Fiend is in the ring to lay out Orton with the Mandible Claw and Sister Abigail. He will also have a new burned mask to sell the damage done from the Inferno Match.
With this outcome, we finally see the return of the Fiend to WWE with a new look. It will also finally get the Orton-Fiend going again, which has grown stale lately with Bliss doing the same thing week in and week out.
It will also set the stage for one last showdown between the two at WrestleMania, most likely in a WWE Firefly Funhouse Match. If last year's match between Wyatt and Cena is anything to go off of, it will give WrestleMania a much-needed interesting match.
