WWE Fastlane 2019: The biggest winners and losers of the PPV

Fastlane was a pay per view that performed above its horrible build and its often questionable endings to matches. In a rarity, no titles changed hands on the night, which was by and large the right call, and while no matches were truly outstanding, most of them were solid.

The show notably closed with The Shield having possibly their last ride together, but that didn't shift the fortunes of anyone in the match. That's what we'll take a look at now.

With most of WrestleMania now taking shape, who got closer to the big stage at MetLife and who fell behind?

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Losers: Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev

What a difference a year makes.

Last year, Shinsuke Nakamura won the Royal Rumble and was headed to a "dream match" with AJ Styles for the WWE Championship. Rusev, meanwhile, was perhaps the most popular star on WWE's roster with the surging Rusev Day act.

Now, both of them have been put into a random tag team and are fodder on the pre-show for a match that was unannounced a few days ago.

You can be sure that both will find themselves in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal on April 7th.

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Winners: The Miz and Shane McMahon

Everyone expected that tonight would be the night that, following a defeat against The Usos, The Miz and Shane McMahon's alliance would break up, with the former turning on the latter.

That prediction came true, but only halfway. The alliance indeed broke up, but it was Shane McMahon that turned on The Miz.

This was for the best. Babyface Shane McMahon was getting stale, and seeing how a heel version of him goes up against a traditional heel like The Miz is an interesting prospect. While we've seen a heel McMahon so many different times to the point of nausea, babyface Shane McMahon was getting worse, so if this story was going to happen at WrestleMania, WWE made the most out of it.

Winner: Asuka

Thankfully, common sense prevailed and Asuka retained the SmackDown Women's Championship. It was beyond clear that Mandy Rose wasn't ready for a title, and indeed, the champ visibly needed to slow down beyond her usual pace to work with her opponent. Contrast the excellent match at the Royal Rumble with Becky Lynch with this one.

Asuka will now walk into WrestleMania with the title around her waist, the very one she failed to capture last year, which sent her fortunes tumbling down. She's recovered nicely.

For all the talk and mostly justified fears about WWE misusing Asuka, the company has the confidence in putting the title on her for their biggest show despite the language barrier, which should ease a few concerns. Asuka is in a mostly good place, though a purported WrestleMania match with Lacey Evans is far from endearing.

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Winner: Kofi Kingston

This match was made on the fly, but it was done for a good purpose. It got people even more behind Kofi Kingston as he now no doubt heads into a WrestleMania 35 match against Daniel Bryan.

For somebody like Kingston, this rise has been astounding. Not even scheduled to be in the original gauntlet match, Kingston has taken the ball and run as hard and fast with it as anybody ever has.

The WWE Championship match at WrestleMania originally felt like an afterthought. Now it will be one of the most anticipated matches on the card.

Winners: Sasha Banks and Bayley

Sasha Banks and Bayley thankfully retained their titles, but the biggest point of note came in the aftermath of their match.

Once they defeated their opponents, they recovered and began a beatdown on the champs. Beth Phoenix, who was on commentary, returned to the ring to make the save. Natalya came to join her.

Beth Phoenix taking part in a tag team title match at WrestleMania would make for an exciting sojourn, and she would give Natalya that same excitement just by her presence.

It's a far better match for the champs to be a part of than an extended rivalry with Nia Jax and Tamina, though a triple threat certainly looks like it will be on the cards. Perhaps a team from SmackDown will make it a fatal four-way.

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Losers: Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Ronda Rousey

WWE could have gone with a bold route for this match. Sadly, they chose not to do so. Becky got herself back into the WrestleMania match, of course, but it came as a result of a disqualification when Ronda Rousey interfered.

The ending was the most predictable and sadly deflating one possible. Becky Lynch didn't earn her way back into the match, but was handed it by Rousey, who now looks dumb because she just decreased her odds of retaining on April 7th.

As for Charlotte Flair, she feels more and more like she's only there to be there and take the pin, which would be a tragic move tainting Becky's title win.

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Winners: AJ Styles and Randy Orton

For three years, fans have wondered when they were going to get this match. Now, they finally will. Orton has lost momentum of late, but his heel turn last summer has still buoyed him. He has done some of the best work of his career in this past year.

AJ Styles would make for a good opponent to take on this sadistic, vicious Orton, and the match would also be good in the ring at least.

WrestleMania got another marquee match last night for a good price.