wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s WWE Fastlane 2023 Review
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...WWE Fastlane
October 7th, 2023 | Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana
With the show in Indy, it makes sense that Pat McAfee did the voiceover for the intro. As for the event itself, a five match card is certainly a choice. We’ll see how that goes.
WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championship: Judgment Day [c] vs. Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso
Reports say that one of the main objectives for the Bloodline angle was to make Jey Uso a star and they succeeded. Cody also remains way over. Anyway, the start to this was pretty basic with the teams exchanging stuff and nobody gaining a clear advantage. That changed when a cheap shot took out Jey and he became our face in peril for a while. This wasn’t groundbreaking stuff but it was well done tag formula, complete with the old school “I go to hit the face outside and when they retaliate, the referee stops them” spot. I’m a sucker for that shit. Cody did get that expected hot tag and was doing his thing until Priest interrupted, leading to a more even interaction between Cody and Finn. Cody’s stalling superplex always looks great. They led to a really fun Jey/Priest battle that made me want a legitimate singles match between them. Jey using a Spear was a great little nod and it sparked interference from Dominik and Rhea. Dom ate a superkick but then Rhea distracted Jey with some flirty eyes. There was a fair bit of overbooking from there with JD McDonagh getting taken out and Rhea hitting Jey with the MITB briefcase for a near fall. JD accidentally hit Priest in the knee with the briefcase and then Cody and Jey hit a FIRE 1D/Cody Cutter combo on Finn. Cody added Cross Rhodes and we had new champions after 20:44. That started kind of slow, got good in the middle, and got really hot with the overbooking late. I wish the 1D/Cutter was the finish though. [***½]
Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits vs. Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar
The LWO team started without a third man which meant Santos took a beating for a while. Lashley got to play the powerhouse as usually and he dominated. It took a bit but Rey got his hot tag and, with help from some outside interference from Zelina Vega, managed to take control. Alas, that didn’t happen for long as Rey had nobody to tag (Santos was knocked outs at ringside) and Montez took it to him. Rey again was left alone but then the music hit and we got Carlito. He came in, did his thing for like a minute, and beat Montez with a Backstabber in 10:03. That was kind of dull. Most of this was a lackluster handicap match and while the Carlito run was solid, it was short. [**]
WWE Women’s Championship: IYO SKY [c] vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair
Asuka spit the mist at Charlotte almost immediately, nearly stealing the match. What worked though was that it took Charlotte out for a while and allowed this to just be IYO vs. Asuka, which is my preferred match anyway. That was fun while it lasted but Flair returned and got going, taking both opponents out with a double suplex to a mixture of a round of applause and a chorus of boos. It was weird that charlotte kind of just no sold the mist after a few minutes. Like, that shit bothered Becky for a while. Hell, in AEW Julia Hart and Malakai Black are ruining people for weeks. We got the big spots with dives outside capped by a Charlotte moonsault and the obligatory tower of doom gimmick. When IYO got knocked outside, Bayley ran down to help IYO, who just got mad at her and ate a boot for complaining. However, as Charlotte applied the Figure Eight, Bayley distracted the referee to allow IYO to hit the moonsault and retain in 17:15. Of course, the replay revealed that Asuka tapped before the moonsault so Charlotte has a gripe to remain in the title picture. That was kind of disappointing. It had good moments but ultimately felt like a collection of spots at times and Charlotte seemed WAY behind the other two at points. [***¼]
Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa vs. John Cena and LA Knight
Hometown icon Pat McAfee came out before the match to hype the crowd and introduce John Cena. Similar to the opener, this got off to a simple start. Jimmy was looking to prove himself and Solo didn’t seem too pleased with his performance at points. It’s interesting how Jimmy is the older brother but Solo is kind of running things since he has Roman’s approval. As expected, the Bloodline grabbed control and Cena took the heat to help set up the hot tag to red hot star LA Knight. Solo’s Umaga ass attack has some POWER behind it. When Knight got the hot tag, he ran wild and the crowd was into everything he did. Simple rights and lefts were met with “YEAH” from the fans with each strike. Cena took to the skies with a diving cross body and that set up a strong closing stretch. LA hit a nice superplex, Cena hit the Five Knuckle Shuffle, and then LA beat Jimmy with the BFT to win in 17:22. This didn’t feel like it belonged on the PPV but was still pretty good. [**¾]
World Heavyweight Championship Last Man Standing Match: Seth Rollins [c] vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
My overall thoughts on this match are pretty mixed. There were a handful of standout, memorable moments that would look really cool in a highlight package. Nakamura busting out the red mist was dope and he really came off well as a heel here. The problem was the same one that plagues so many Last Man Standing matches in WWE. The structure. Nakamura beat the hell out of Seth over and over yet Seth just kept getting up. It reminded me of the terrible Orton/Cena or Rusev/Cena I Quit matches from the past decade or so. It was repetitive and dull at points, frustrating at others, and then culminated in a weak finish where Seth hit a Falcon Arrow off a platform through a table. Nakamura nearly got up before 10 but comically collapsed to end this in 28:25. I might be the low man but this just wasn’t for me. It wasn’t awful because, like I said, there were some cool moments but overall, it was a miss. [**¼]
