#2 Shinsuke Nakamura def. Rusev

Storyline: Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Aiden English on SmackDown two weeks ago, damaging his opponent’s vocal chords in the process. This led Rusev to challenge the Royal Rumble winner to a one-on-one match at Fastlane.

Match: After English got the crowd warmed up with his best vocal performance to date, Nakamura and Rusev traded some strong kicks and strikes in the opening contest of the main show. It was “The King of Strong Style” who got the win, hitting his opponent with two Kinshasas after just kicking out of a Machka Kick.

Verdict: This match was a lot more entertaining than it had any right to be! With no title up for grabs and barely any storyline surrounding it, the expectations were low for this opening contest. However, it turned out to be one of Nakamura’s best PPV matches so far and, believe it or not, it really did seem like Rusev was going to win after his lethal Machka Kick.

Grade: B