6 mistakes WWE must avoid making at Fastlane

Fastlane has become infamous in the short time that it has been around. It has a reputation for usually putting on one of the worst shows of the year. Fans dread it rather than anticipate it, primarily because of the way it often disrupts the WrestleMania build and makes it worse. The end of Braun Strowman, Nia Jax, and Charlotte's streaks at last year's event are good examples of disappointing booking decisions that subsequently made WrestleMania less exciting.

WWE must avoid the habit of throwing swerves just for the sake of shocking the audience. Here are six swerves that the WWE Universe definitely doesn't want.

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#6 Carmella cashing in

The wrong woman won. If the rumors are true, it's time to rectify that mistake

There have been many opportunities for Carmella to cash in. They've all passed. Carmella's Money in the Bank win was questionable, to begin with, but she's certainly not ready to hold a championship during WrestleMania season, much less so with the rumored Asuka vs Charlotte championship match. In that scenario, Carmella becomes a third wheel absolutely nobody wants hanging around. Now is not the time for 'The Queen' to lose her crown.

If the plan really is for Asuka to challenge Charlotte, and Carmella attempts to cash in, she should fail, and leave no doubt that we're about to see the biggest women's match WWE has ever had at WrestleMania, one that leaves the two top female competitors in the company free and clear to tear New Orleans down.

#5 Squandering Rusev

Not so fast!

WWE has certainly booked itself into a pickle by scheduling this match, but it's seemingly one the company wants, as it very much looks like a deliberate attempt to cool Rusev down.

Obviously, Shinsuke Nakamura must and should win. But how should Rusev look in the defeat?

Shinsuke Nakamura needs to win and look as good as possible in his victory, but should it come totally at the expense of Rusev? Even though it doesn't look like Rusev will be in a WrestleMania match, it wouldn't be wise to squander him for the rest of the year.

Give them 10 minutes to have a good match with Shinsuke Nakamura showing his resiliency and lightning quick offense for the win, which should be a good prelude for WrestleMania.

#4 The Usos losing

Welcome to the Usos Penitentiary!

The time isn't right for The Usos to lose their championships. They've been so dominant for so long that only a loss on the biggest stage will do true justice to the winners for finally taking them down.

That means that temporarily, The New Day must see the bars of The Usos Penitentiary again. They might be able to break out at WrestleMania or start a full-scale riot inside if the Bludgeon Brothers are also involved in the match.

Either way, the champions should be riding high heading into New Orleans.

#3 A Randy Orton title reign

Not today

Randy Orton and Bobby Roode are both better suited as heels, so this babyface feud between them is forgettable. With it obviously being filler to set up a triple threat match at WrestleMania that also involves Jinder Mahal, there's not much to sink your teeth into.

Right now, Bobby Roode is still better as champion than Randy Orton would be since it's at least something newer. So it would be best to keep the title on him until WrestleMania at least.

Jinder Mahal can bring a new dynamic after this match is over, even if it won't be so great.

#2 If Charlotte loses, we Riott

Ruby must bow

As stated before, it isn't time for 'The Queen' to lose her crown, especially if the rumored match with Asuka goes forward for WrestleMania. Certainly, you don't throw away a match like that (or if not, your brand's best female performer) for Ruby Riott, who is still getting her wings on the main roster.

Fortunately, no one expects that Charlotte will actually lose here, but she doesn't just need to win, she needs to win decisively. Charlotte has lost some of her luster on SmackDown, even as champion and she needs to look as dominating as she was on Raw before her WrestleMania match. Now is the time to kick that into high gear.

#1 A phenomenal waste

An obvious winner

No one expects AJ Styles to lose the WWE title on Sunday, but it would be a phenomenal waste if that unexpected meteor hit. John Cena's talk about inserting himself in the title match certainly gave some fans jitters. Will WWE pull a wasteful swerve just to "shock" and manufacture a 17th title win for Big Match John?

Either way, wasting the "dream match" between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura would be a colossal mistake, which would render Nakamura's Royal Rumble win pointless.

AJ Styles must retain at Fastlane and he should do so in impressive fashion. After being cooled off in this build, he needs to be warmed back up before WrestleMania.