WWE Fastlane is always the last pit stop on the way to the grandest show of the year- Wrestlemania. As a consequence, one would expect WWE to pull out all stops to make the show feel much larger than life.
As we've seen time and time again, this is never the case. On the contrary, Fastlane seemed like a rushed show that was put together hurriedly and treated as an inconvenience before Wrestlemania. Why else would we be subjected to some of the awful booking decisions that we’ve seen at this Raw exclusive pay-per-view?
#1 Worst: Part time champion
When the company has to rely on part-timers to carry the brand, you know professional wrestling is in big trouble indeed. It reflects one of the greatest issues of our times- the fact that WWE simply cannot get new stars over with the casual crowd like they once used to.
As a result, they are forced to bring in big names from the past during Wrestlemania season and take the belt off full-time talent who've been carrying the company on their backs not only on TV and pay-per-view events but also at live events.
It is a sign of the times that a wrestler who wasn't a good worker even during his youth is more over with the crowd than an absolutely stellar performer like the former Universal Champion Kevin Owens. It is a sign of the times when the main event of a pay-per-view is a squash match.
We certainly hope that heading into Wrestlemania, Goldberg becomes a more regular fixture on Raw, not a special attraction. If not, it is insulting to the WWE Universal title and the locker room too.
#1 Best: The Cruiserweights finally got over
The Cruiserweights could always wrestle their rear ends off.
The one department where they lacked, which caused a disconnect with the crowd, was in terms of character development. At this event, the two best-developed characters of the division locked horns and the jampacked crowd chanted, ‘This is awesome!’ in unison.
Even though Jack Gallagher eventually lost the match, the Cruiserweights won the crowd finally, at Fastlane.
#2 Worst: Braun Strowman’s dominant run ends/ reason behind the decision
Raw’s greatest achievement, since the brand split, was getting a heel monster over in 2017. Not only did Braun Strowman grow as a performer over time, he became one of the few things on Monday Night Raw that we genuinely were excited about, because of his strong booking.
But of course, he was only being groomed to put over Vince McMahon’s golden boy- Roman Reigns. Strowman lost clean via pinfall after a hard fought match against Roman Reigns. The reason could be to make Reigns look strong before his rumored WrestleMania match against the Undertaker.
Is this going to be The Undertaker’s fate at Wrestlemania as well? Will the dead man tremble when Reigns goes- ‘Ooooaaaaaa?’
#2 Best: The return of Chris Jericho
Not all former WCW Superstars are bad in the ring. Chris Jericho interfered in the Kevin Owens- Goldberg match causing the distraction that eventually cost Owens the Universal Championship. The man who once took down Goldberg in a real fight was the only real surprise return on the show, not The Undertaker, Balor or Kurt Angle.
With Goldberg facing Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania, this gives Kevin Owens a genuine reason to go after Jericho and the US Championship, at least in kayfabe. We really do not want to see Owens get squashed in another 10-second match, so maybe this is genuinely the best way out for everyone involved in this scenario.
#3 Worst: The end of Charlotte's pay-per-view streak
Bayley pinned Charlotte Flair after interference from Sasha Banks, in what seemed like quite an unfair deal for the former heel champion. Especially after she asked Dana Brooke to not be by her side so that she could defeat Bayley all alone.
Having Bayley end this 16-0 streak at Fastlane makes absolutely no sense at all. Well...unless it is to get heat on Mick Foley and have Stephanie McMahon take out her ire on the Raw General Manager. That still seems like a very weak reason to end Charlotte Flair’s dominant run. We genuinely hope it has a good pay off in the future.
#3 Best: Samoa Joe’s booking
It’s probably only a matter of time before Joe starts losing to Roman Reigns, much like Braun Strowman did on Fastlane. Until then, we actually like the way he's been booked. We’re glad he beat Sami Zayn clean because he needed the win much more than Zayn did right now.
WWE Fastlane did not live up to the hype. There was more filler than was needed, and the booking really was tepid and uninspired. We genuinely hope that WWE pulls up its socks in time for Wrestlemania 33.
The best thing about this show was Charly Caruso. There! We actually said what you were all thinking!
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