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WWE Fastlane had several big matches scheduled in the build-up towards WrestleMania 37. The pre-show of the event saw Riddle defend his United States Championship against the leader of RETRIBUTION, Mustafa Ali.
Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair had a fall-out during their WWE Women’s Championship match against Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler at Fastlane. The two women will compete for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania.
Big E retained his Intercontinental Championship after a sloppy finish against Apollo Crews. Plus, Braun Strowman was unable to get his hands on Shane McMahon at Fastlane but took his frustration out on Elias instead.
The biggest match of the night saw Roman Reigns defend his Universal Championship against Danial Bryan. Let’s take a look at the five things WWE got right at Fastlane this year.
#5 RETRIBUTION broke up early on WWE Fastlane
Mustafa Ali and Riddle were set to do battle for the United States Championship at WWE Fastlane. But WWE decided to put this match on the pre-show rather than on the main show.
RETRIBUTION came out in support of Ali and the match got underway soon after. Ali was focused during the entire match and tried to get the better of The Original Bro. He worked on Riddle’s neck for some time before Riddle made a comeback.
A flurry of moves, including a powerbomb into the Final Flash knee strike, slowed Ali down. However, the RETRIBUTION leader again countered a big move from Riddle when he got his knees up for a Floating Bro attempt.
Both men continued to trade some impressive moves, and a Koji Clutch almost helped Ali win the United States Championship at Fastlane. However, Riddle managed to escape and hit the Bro Derek soon after to pick up the victory.
After the match, Ali blamed the members of RETRIBUTION for his loss. Reckoning walked out on him, followed by Slapjack. Mace and T-Bar then took Ali out with a double-team Chokebomb.
The match was good and showed the skills of both men involved, but it should have taken place on the main card instead. Ali being taken out by RETRIBUTION was the right call as it allows their story to develop further.
Mia Yim (Reckoning) is too talented to remain unused for so long, and the other members also deserve to get a better storyline from here on.
#4 Seth Rollins picked up a victory over Shinsuke Nakamura at WWE Fastlane
Shinsuke Nakamura delivered a Kinshasa to Seth Rollins on WWE SmackDown right before Fastlane. This led to a match between the two superstars at Fastlane on Sunday. Rollins jumped Nakamura early and took the fight to him both inside and outside the ring.
Rollins seemed furious and turned his focus to the 22 times Cesaro swung him on SmackDown some weeks ago.
The Messiah tried to take Nakamura for a swing, but The Artist countered into an armbar. The Artist then took control of the match for some time and started to gain some momentum. He seemed ready to pick up the victory with a Kinshasa, but Rollins managed to counter the finisher and take Nakamura down with an elbow and a kick to the back of the neck.
The Messiah was able to finish things off with a Stomp to pick up the victory. The match was decent and allowed both men to shine on a pay-per-view once again. Rollins needed to pick up the victory to heat-up his rivalry against Cesaro. The two men will now likely compete in a big match at WrestleMania 37.
#3 Drew McIntyre defeated Sheamus at WWE Fastlane
WWE fans were expecting the No Holds Barred match between Drew McIntyre and Sheamus to get extremely physical at Fastlane. McIntyre and Sheamus got going from the opening bell and the fight soon spilled outside the ring.
A number of weapons were introduced into the match early on. Kendo sticks were the weapon of choice for both men as they struck each other repeatedly.
McIntyre tried to pull off a Seth Rollins with the kendo stick and nearly took out Sheamus’ eye with it at one point. The fight went all around the Thunderdome, and McIntyre threw Sheamus through a set of screens in the stands.
The Scottish Warrior tried to take Sheamus back into the ring, but Sheamus knocked him over the barricade with a Brogue Kick and followed it up with White Noise through the announce table.
McIntyre recovered to hit a Future Shock DDT followed by a Claymore to pick up a hard-fought victory. This was arguably the best match from the RAW brand at Fastlane. The two have shown great chemistry inside and outside the ring and deserve a headlining match at some point.
McIntyre’s victory helps him gain momentum ahead of his WWE Championship match against Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania.
#2 The Fiend finally returned at WWE Fastlane
Randy Orton seemed confident walking into WWE Fastlane for his match against Alexa Bliss. However, his confidence took a hit during his entrance as he vomited black liquid once again.
The Viper decided to attack Bliss as soon as the match began but Bliss moved out of the way. Outside the ring, The Goddess signaled the lighting rig to fall, which nearly took Orton out.
Bliss and Orton got back in the ring and The Goddess somehow shot some fireballs. A burned hand emerged from a hole in the ring and grabbed The Viper’s ankle before The Fiend shockingly emerged through the canvas.
The Goddess shoved Orton into him, and he hit Sister Abigail before Bliss covered him for the three-count to pick up the victory at Fastlane.
The match was decent and allowed The Fiend to finally return at Fastlane before WrestleMania. Bliss was amazing once again and has proven that she can carry a rivalry extremely well. She’s been a star on RAW and has developed this storyline excellently.
The Fiend seems to be completely burned, and it will be interesting to see whether Bray Wyatt chooses to bring out this charred version of himself at WrestleMania.
#1 Edge cost Daniel Bryan his match against Roman Reigns at WWE Fastlane
The final match of WWE Fastlane saw Roman Reigns defend his Universal Championship against Daniel Bryan. Edge played the role of a special enforcer during the match. Bryan displayed his skills early on and kept Reigns down for the initial part of the match.
Reigns’ power eventually helped him come back into the match as Edge watched on from ringside. The Tribal Chief took out his frustration on The Yes Man and beat him down. Bryan finally made a comeback with a series of kicks and tried to hit a hurricanrana, which was countered into a Boston Crab by Reigns.
Reigns lost his cool and did not listen to the referee as he continued to attack Bryan in the corner. The Yes Man fired back and took him down with some strikes before locking him into a Yes Lock.
But a running knee from Bryan took out the referee instead of Reigns. The Tribal Chief hit a Spear and Edge slid in the ring to count the pin but Bryan kicked out. Reigns argued with Edge and allowed Bryan enough time to lock him in a submission maneuver, followed by the Yes Lock.
Jey Uso then ran in and hit Edge and Bryan with Superkicks before grabbing a steel chair. Bryan took him out with a running knee and tried to hit Reigns with the steel chair. However, he struck Edge by mistake and this got more chaotic from there on.
Reigns tapped out to the Yes Lock soon after, but Edge hit Bryan with a steel chair and then struck Reigns before storming off. A new referee arrived as Reigns crawled to cover Bryan for the three-count at Fastlane.
It looks like this match at Fastlane will make the main event of WrestleMania a Triple Threat Match for the Universal Championship. The match was well done and allowed all three men to tell their stories well. Bryan’s work in the ring shows why he’s known by many as one of the greatest sports entertainers of all time.
