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WWE Fastlane is quickly approaching us as the 2019 edition of Fastlane will be airing live on the WWE Network starting at 6 pm (EST) with the kickoff show. Fastlane has a history of being one of, if not the last major stop on our Road to WrestleMania. While the event can be seen as a throwaway pay-per-view, you can't argue the history and the impact the show has made over the last several years.
Having said that, today I will be looking over the top main events from WWE Fastlane history. I will be ranking them from the worst to best.
Remember, this is based on my opinion and viewpoint for each match as I am sure others are going to agree and/or disagree with me.
#4. WWE Universal Championship Match - Kevin Owens vs Goldberg (WWE Fastlane 2017)
We kick off the list with number four. I have chosen Goldberg vs Kevin Owens at number four not because it was a bad match, in spite of the shortness of it, but it was just a match that served its purpose for the wrestlers involved.
The entrances between Goldberg and Kevin Owens lasted longer than the match itself. Goldberg got a decent pop, along with the typical "GOLD-BERG!" chant. This was his first major WWE championship match since WWE Armageddon 2003. Kevin Owens had held the WWE Universal Championship for 188 days at that time.
Kevin Owens kept stalling, playing mind games to throw Goldberg off his game but to no avail. Once the bell finally rang, Chris Jericho's music hit. Jericho made his return following his split from Owens prior to Fastlane. Owens, off the distraction by Jericho's appearance at ringside, was Speared and Jackhammered by Goldberg to give him his first and only WWE Universal Championship run to date.
Goldberg would go on to drop the title the following month at WrestleMania 33 against Brock Lesnar, while Kevin Owens would challenge Chris Jericho and defeat him in their respective grudge match.
#3. Triple Threat Match - Brock Lesnar vs Dean Ambrose vs Roman Reigns (Fastlane 2016)
For number three on our list we have a big Triple Threat match to determine who would face "The Game" Triple H at WrestleMania 32, as it would be Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose squaring off against each other. Triple H had won the Royal Rumble and subsequently the WWE Championship due to a stipulation where Roman Reigns competed in the Royal Rumble match by order of The Authority with his WWE Championship at stake.
In order to put the screws to Roman Reigns, Triple H came out as a surprise competitor and eliminated Reigns and Ambrose to win the match and the championship.
Fast forward to Fastlane and we now have our match to find out who would face Triple H at WrestleMania. The match wasn't too bad, but not great either, as you would probably expect. The crowd was very pro Brock Lesnar on this night, in general. The match itself focused on Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose isolating Brock Lesnar from the match entirely, as they continued to double team Lesnar throughout the contest in the early going.
Brock would go on a rampage, sending both Reigns and Ambrose (especially) to "Suplex City". Ambrose was thrown around like a rag doll with those German Suplex's, as Lesnar would connect with five of them on the "Lunatic Fringe".
The action would spill to the arena floor, where we'd see Reigns and Ambrose connect with a "Shield Powerbomb" through the announce table, which got a big pop from the crowd. With Lesnar down, both Ambrose and Reigns went at each other inside the ring, as the crowd got into the former Shield brothers exchanging chops, punches, etc.
After this, Dean and Roman would see that Lesnar is starting to get back up from the previous powerbomb spot. Both men would exit to the arena floor, scoop up Lesnar again and give him one Shield Powerbomb through a second announce table, then literately bury him underneath the table parts. Good strategy!
With Lesnar out, both men would go back inside the ring and continue the match. Reigns at one point had Ambrose hoisted up for a Samoan Drop, but Lesnar would rise up from the rubble outside and would run in and grab Reigns from behind to deliver a German Suplex to both men. A very spectacular spot.
Afterwards, Reigns would counter back with a Spear to Lesnar, only for Brock to capture Reigns and apply the Kimura Lock. Reigns would try to power out of the hold, but before he could do so, Dean Ambrose entered the fray with a steel chair as he proceeded to wail away at both men with one thunderous chair shot after the other.
With Lesnar down and suffering the effects of those chairs. Reigns would quickly get back up and deliver a big Spear to Dean Ambrose to get the pin fall and the victory.
Good match. A couple of good spots thrown in. Nothing classy. Nothing fancy in terms of pure wrestling. You pretty much got what you expected. We would see Brock Lesnar and Dean Ambrose go against each other at WrestleMania 32 in a No Holds Barred match, with Lesnar picking up the win in a very lackluster and disappointing match. Meanwhile, Roman Reigns would defeat Triple H in the main event to recapture the WWE Championship.
#2. WWE Championship - 6-Pack Challenge Match - AJ Styles (C) vs Dolph Ziggler vs Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn vs Baron Corbin vs John Cena
The next match is quite a doozy. This is a 6-Pack Challenge match with the WWE Championship at stake, with the winner going on to defend the WWE Championship title against 2018 Royal Rumble winner, Shinsuke Nakamura, at WrestleMania 34. We have AJ Styles facing Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler and John Cena in this matchup.
SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon is at ringside to oversee the match to ensure that we have a winner. John Cena has no match heading into WrestleMania and is faced with a do-or-die situation if he does not win tonight's match. Baron Corbin wants to stop Cena from achieving his spot at WrestleMania at any cost. Dolph Ziggler wants to prove to everyone that he's deserving a championship spot at WrestleMania, as does Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens with the big question being: Can they put their friendship aside? How will their vendetta with Shane McMahon come into play?
John Cena hits an Attitude Adjustment to everyone to kick off the match, for the exception of AJ Styles. AJ and Cena go at each other. Cena goes for the Attitude Adjustment, but gets reversed. All the other competitors, along with AJ, target Cena and throw him outside the ring.
Everyone turns their attention to the WWE Champion, AJ Styles. Styles fights off everybody. He tosses Ziggler and Corbin outside the ring. AJ connects with a Blue Thunder Bomb to Kevin Owens, followed up with a Springboard Reverse DDT to Sami Zayn.
Corbin comes back and tosses AJ outside the ring. Cena returns to the ring. Ziggler catches Cena with a big Jumping DDT. As Ziggler goes for the pin, Kevin Owens dives off the top rope and connects with a Frog Splash to Ziggler for the pin attempt but AJ Styles breaks it up.
Baron Corbin hits a Chokeslam Backbreaker combination on Owens. Dolph Ziggler gets up and connects with the Zig Zag to Corbin. Next up is Cena with a Spin-Out Powerbomb to both Ziggler and Sami Zayn, followed up by a double 5-Knuckle Shuffle to both men.
Ziggler counters an Attitude Adjustment into a Famouser for a near fall. Ziggler then goes for a Superkick on Cena but gets countered into an STF submission. AJ Styles breaks up the hold. Cena attempts an Attitude Adjustment on Styles, but that gets reversed into a Styles Clash as Sami Zayn breaks up the pin attempt by Styles.
Baron Corbin gets up and connects with a thunderous Lariat Clothesline to Kevin Owens, then follows it up with the Deep Six to Sami Zayn. The action spills to the arena floor, then to the crowd. Ziggler and Corbin fight through the WWE Universe, as Corbin sends Ziggler head first into the "glass barricade".
John Cena hits an Attitude Adjustment on AJ Styles through the announcer's table. Meanwhile, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens put their friendship to the test as Zayn blatantly lays down so that Owens could pin up, but instead, we get a swerve as Zayn hits the small package roll-up pin for a near fall. Both men go at it. The action spills to the arena floor, as KO attempts a Powerbomb on the apron but that's countered to a Back Body Drop.
After this, Sami Zayn gets into a verbal exchange with Shane McMahon. Kevin Owens gets up and Superkicks McMahon out of nowhere. This gives Zayn an opportunity to run and connect with a Tornado DDT through the ropes on Owens.
Owens would get up and go back inside the ring. He would regain his composure and hit a Superkick on Baron Corbin, then a Pop Up Powerbomb to Ziggler for the pin attempt but gets the pin broken up by Shane McMahon. Sami Zayn hits the Helluva Kick in the corner on KO, he goes for the pin but Shane breaks that up. Essentially screwing over KO and Sami Zayn for their actions earlier on.
Baron Corbin comes back into the ring with the steel steps. He bashes Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler and Kevin Owens with the steps. John Cena takes the steps away from Corbin and hits Corbin with them. Cena follows up with an Attitude Adjustment to Corbin on the steel steps, but Ziggler breaks up the pin.
Ziggler hits the Superkick to Cena, but Cena no sells and hits an Attitude Adjustment on Ziggler instead. Kevin Owens retaliates with a Pop Up Powerbomb to Cena. Finally, AJ Styles comes off the top rope and connects with a Phenomenal Forearm to Owens to get the pin fall and the victory, as AJ Styles retains the WWE Championship and will go on to face Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania 34.
The match went a bit longer then it should, in spite of it main event being action packed and very entertaining with lots of high spots, finisher spots and what have you. Solid match overall. AJ Styles would challenge and defeat Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania to retain the title, which setup a heel turn for Nakamura and rekindle the feud between those two men. Cena would get his WrestleMania match, but against The Undertaker and would be squashed in mere minutes. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens would challenge Shane McMahon and the returning Daniel Bryan to a tag match, in which Bryan and Shane O'Mac would get the victory.
#1. Number One Contenders Match - Roman Reigns vs Daniel Bryan (Fastlane 2015)
My number one choice for the top four Fastlane main events goes to our first ever Fastlane main event from 2015, as Daniel Bryan goes one-on-one with Roman Reigns in a "Number One Contenders Match" to determine who would face Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 31.
This is a match where power meets speed. Brute force meets technical prowess. A true contrast in styles between Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan, respectively, but the two men meshed very well together and created a beautiful match together.
We kick things off with Roman Reigns hitting a Tilt-A-Whirl Powerslam, followed up by a thunderous clothesline that sends Daniel Bryan over the top rope to the floor. Both men then head back inside the ring after a few moments.
Bryan takes out the knee and legs of Reigns with a series of front/shin kicks, then weakens the area with a well-executed leg scissors submission. Reigns would eventually power out of the hold.
Reigns would connect with a Samoan Drop and a Flying Clothesline in one smooth sequence. Daniel Bryan would fight back, at one point goes in for a running turnbuckle missile dropkick, only to be turned inside out with a Lariat Clothesline from Reigns. Both men go outside the ring, where Reigns would connect with an apron based Missile Dropkick on Bryan. Afterward, both men would reenter the ring.
Roman Reigns goes for the Superman Punch but gets countered with a well-placed Roundhouse Kick to the abdomen to stop Reigns dead in his tracks. From here, Bryan would hit a series of Turnbuckle Missile Dropkicks to weaken Reigns. He positions Roman on the top turnbuckle to attempt a Hurricanrana, but Reigns powers out and connects with a Sit-Out Powerbomb from the top rope instead.
Daniel Bryan would fight back, as he places Reign on the top turnbuckle moments later, connecting with a wonderfully delivered Belly-to-Back Superplex. This is followed up with a YES! Lock submission, as Reigns is able to power out of the hold. Reigns exits to the floor then gets clobbered with two back-to-back Suicide Dives from Daniel Bryan.
Bryan would attempt a third Suicide Dive but gets caught and dropped with a Belly-to-Belly Suplex on the arena floor from Reigns.
We go back inside the ring. Reigns would counter a top rope drive from Bryan into the Superman Punch, goes for the cover and gets a two count. Bryan goes for it all, as he hits a Roundhouse Kick to the head of Reigns, then a Running Knee Strike to finish off Roman Reigns. He goes in for the pin but Reigns kicks out at two.
Reigns catches one of Bryan's kicks, as he delivers a few relatively weak strikes, but Bryan counters those into a Cross Armbar, then rolls into a YES! Lock submission once again. Reigns is able to power out of the hold, drills Bryan with a series of stiff punches and forearm shots, as he slams Bryan down with a Sit-Out Spinebuster.
Daniel Bryan gets up and regains the momentum, long enough to set up Reigns for one more Running Knee Strike! Just as Bryan goes in for the kill, Reigns counters and connects with a big Spear. Roman Reigns then covers Daniel Bryan to get the pinfall and the victory.
Roman Reigns would go on to challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. In a twisted turn of events, Reigns and Lesnar would wrestle to a no contest as Seth Rollins would interfere, cash in his Money in the Bank contract and pin Roman Reigns to become the next WWE Champion.
Meanwhile, Daniel Bryan would go on to compete in a multi-man Ladder Match to become the new WWE Intercontinental Champion. That run was short lived. Bryan would be injured, forced to vacate the title and eventually have to retire from the wrestling business up until 2018 when he was medically cleared to return to the ring by doctors and WWE officials.
Which main event do you think was the best of all-time for Fastlane? Let us know in the comments section below. Be sure to follow us tonight here at Sportskeeda for all the coverage of tonight's WWE Fastlane 2019, beginning at 6 pm (EST).
