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After the electric ending to SmackDown Live last week WWE had the chance to continue that trend by producing an episode of SmackDown Live that should’ve given the upcoming Fastlane more hype, more anticipation and more intrigue.
However, WWE once again laid the foundation for another disappointing episode for SmackDown Live that got more things wrong than it got right, and that is never a good thing. As the go home episode of a brand is meant to build excitement for a PPV, and in this case, Fastlane is essentially is the most important show on the blue brand's calendar of the year.
As Fastlane on Sunday determines which superstars will walk out champion, who will have the most momentum heading into WrestleMania and how is the brand going to shape their potion of the WrestleMania card. SmackDown Live could’ve garnered considerable heat for Fastlane but they didn’t, and that is due to the blue brand's inability to utilise its greatest assets.
#1 Randy Orton teases a heel turn
Ever since the 2018 Fastlane match card was announced, many wrestling aficionados were convinced that this might be the least exciting card in the PPV’s history. There were many repeated SmackDown Live encounters such as Charlotte Flair vs Ruby Riott, The Usos vs The New Day and the entire WWE Championship scene. Fans have seen those bouts before, except for one, the United States Title match between Bobby Roode and Randy Orton.
Even though Randy Orton vs Bobby Roode's rivalry started in the worst possible way which was courtesy of Jinder Mahal and the forgotten SmackDown Top Ten list. WWE is still committed to building the programme between Roode and Orton in an incorrect manner, as they are portraying Orton as the sympathetic babyface and Roode as the superstar that is eventually going to turn heel. Bobby Roode as a heel is money and that impending turn will rejuvenate his career as it has done down in the Full Sail Arena.
However, when speaking about a superstar in need of career rejuvenation and is a natural at playing a heel, there is no other superstar on the roster that is a better heel than Randy Orton in his prime.
WWE finally portraying Orton as a heel after so many frustrating years can give him the extra motivation he needs to make this programme work and he can build up Roode as a babyface with ease. WWE needs to clearly outline who is the face and is the heel in this narrative and they should’ve taken the first step towards that on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live.
#2 Cena makes an appearance
When John Cena came waltzing his way back into the land of opportunity last week he brought some much-needed spotlight and attention to the brand, which it lacked for quite some time.
Cena's appearance resulted in WWE shockingly giving away another chapter in the excellent rivalry between himself and AJ Styles in the main event of SmackDown Live, and it worked, as it garnered excitement and anticipation for the next episode of the show.
However, the expected appearance from Cena did not come to fruition this week, as WWE once again confused a situation that didn’t need any confusion.The confusion arises from the fact that the company had Cena make an appearance on Raw to hype Fastlane which is a SmackDown Live PPV and then have him not show up on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live which was the go-home episode before Fastlane. The intrigue and excitement Cena could've generated were once again wasted.
An appearance from Cena could’ve made it possible for WWE to set up many interesting prospects and storylines going forward. Maybe Cena could’ve teased a rivalry with Ziggler who is desperate for a Wrestlemania spot himself, perhaps Cena could’ve addressed Nakamura or the 16 time World Champion could’ve competed against Sami Zayn or Kevin Owens in an excellent match. WWE wasted another opportunity to have Cena sell his story of scrambling for WrestleMania match.
#3 Nakamura reminds the roster he is the Royal Rumble winner
WWE hasn’t done a solid job of presenting Shinsuke Nakamura on the main roster as the charismatic badass he truly is, and this week was evidence of that.
While many appreciate the distinct segment of Nakamura and Rusev setting up their Fastlane match in the most hilarious way possible, WWE has been wasting valuable episodes of SmackDown Live where they needed to redesign certain aspects of Nakamura’s main roster career before his huge encounter with AJ Styles.
While Rusev vs Nakamura will be a fun match that might become the highlight of the PPV, Nakamura is the first Royal Rumble winner in almost a decade that a majority of the WWE Universe approved, and WWE is doing a terrible job of giving fans a reason to care about his journey beyond that win.
As Nakamura is being booked into wasteful matches that won’t influence his long-term plans going forward, fans will become less and less interested in his quest for the gold, as his motivations, goals and future direction are not being outlined for fan investment.
Therefore, instead of the one segment WWE eventually produced on the blue brand, the company should’ve had Nakamura involve himself in the main event picture. Whether that would’ve seen Nakamura confront Styles and address their dream match or WWE could’ve had him destroy each of the competitors in the Fastlane main event towards the closing moments of the show.
WWE needed to remind fans that the winner of Fastlane will challenge Nakamura and they needed to showcase Nakamura as a dangerous competitor that should be viewed as a legitimate ass kicker.
#4 The New Day and The Usos build towards their match
The New Day vs The Usos is a classic rivalry and every time these two teams step into the ring against each other they steal the show. WWE has been smart enough to realise this for the better part of 2017 and now they have given these two world-class tag teams one more opportunity to produce a classic at the 2018 Fastlane PPV, which might place the rather lacklustre show on an elite level.
This week on SmackDown Live made the odd decision to keep these two teams off the broadcast, as The New Day took part in dark match action before the show went on the air and Jimmy Uso competed in the Mixed Match Challenge after SmackDown Live.
Instead, WWE chose to build up the final confrontation of this heated rivalry with a video package and to WWE’s credit the video package did a good job of selling the narratives of The Usos fighting to finally make it on the WrestleMania main card after nine hard years and The New Day looking to become 5-time Tag Team Champions.
This heated rivalry needed one last confrontation to send it over the edge. Whether it was the utilization of a contract signing for their match at Fastlane, The Usos cutting another scratching promo or The New Day beating down Jimmy Uso after his Mixed Match Challenge bout, would've sold the desperation of these teams wanting to go to WrestleMania as the Tag Team Champions. WWE has a match of the year candidate on their hands and it needed more promoting than what it actually got on SmackDown Live this week.
#5 WWE refrains from giving away the Fastlane main event
The main reason why many feel Fastlane has shaped into a disappointing show is due to the poor state of its main event. The main event of Fastlane has always been the low point of Smackdown Live for over the past few weeks as it gets more confusing, bloated and hard to follow.
As what was first set to be a triple threat match ended up being a fatal five-way match and now that John Cena is added to the mix, the WWE Title match has become disordered matter.
By booking a multi-man main event WWE hasn’t let any of these superstars tell their individual stories in an ordered pace.
WWE crammed months of good storytelling into one match that has narratives such as Ziggler's last chance, Cena’s desperation to get on the WrestleMania card, Baron Corbin’s hunt for gold, Styles wanting to give fans the dream match they have been clamouring for and Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn’s impending implosion.
WWE trying to juggle too many storylines at once could’ve failed miserably or it could’ve been a blistering success.
However, the surprising thing is that after weeks of building this match, telling those stories and creating anticipation for the eventual winner, WWE gave away the main event of Fastlane just days before the actual PPV.
Even without the inclusion of John Cena, WWE has given away the match, which makes the actual match on Sunday feel like a SmackDown Live main event. Instead of the company making that decision which they might regret, WWE could’ve presented any other match in that place.
Matches such as Bobby Roode vs AJ Styles, Randy Orton vs Dolph Ziggler or Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kevin Owens would’ve been perfect bouts that could've wrapped up Smackdown Live this week.
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