Watry’s WWE Fastlane 2018 Review

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Backstory

This will be my WWE Fastlane 2018 review. Straight forward and nothing fancy.

WWE Fastlane 2018 Thoughts

– As usual, the Kickoff Show served as background noise more than anything. I heard Booker T rambling at one point; the other highlight (lowlight) was Sam Roberts saying WWF.

– Great choice for an opener with Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev. At least I thought so…

This guy's a clown. So weird. He's a fan favorite? Reminds me of a mix of Essa Rios and Val Venis.

— Noah Watry (@NoahWatry) March 12, 2018

The end result was never in doubt, but that is okay. Nakamura SHOULD win here. He won the Royal Rumble in January and is set to be one of the main events at WrestleMania 34. This bout is the perfect example of some fans just wanting suspense and surprises for no other than than to do it. Rusev should not have won folks. Sorry, in now world should that even be an option. The entire build and focus of the blue brand for the past year has been to get us to AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE Title in New Orleans. Rusev will get his day in the sun. Just not now.

– Randy Orton defeats Bobby Roode to become the United States Champion. As usual, the one prediction I got wrong was also the one ‘questionable’ decision of the evening. Typical. The exact quote was “I will go with Roode to retain but not with a ton of confidence.” My thoughts on this are that I’m…actually fine with it. Orton has done a whole heck of a lot of losing the past nine months or so and had never been U.S. Champ before. This is not only a legacy victory but a little twist in the Road to WM. Works to give The Glorious One a bit of an edge, gives Orton a title to carry around for the next month and even includes Jinder Mahal if need. Not that I’d have yet another multi-man match – that’s another column for another time though.

– Loved the Ronda Rousey promo. She is selling WrestleMania this year, as if that was not obvious enough by now. I said it in late 2017 and will again now. Main event or not, Rousey is the headliner come New Orleans. I wrote just last month (on another website) that women will indeed main event a future WrestleMania, and it could very well happen next month. More on that later.

– Carmella and Natalya beat Becky Lynch and Naomi. Despite conventional wisdom and popular opinion, the heels won…as I predicted. Honestly, this match meant nothing long-term and is going to be forgotten about in a week. What won’t be forgotten is Becky Lynch – straight fire last night! The countdown to Carmella using her Money in the Bank briefcase continues. Not sure it ends well for her on that endeavor.

– The New Day and The Usos fought to a Bludgeon Brothers destruction. I am laughing at all the complaints about how Harper and Rowan RUINED THE MATCH! Um, yeah. That was the whole point. Welcome to professional wrestling; the heels interrupted the faces and beat them down, robbing fans of a moment. That is how this all works. You should be booing them. I thought the smarks were the smart ones? Either way, I don’t care for more triple threat feuds. However, the attack was VERY well done. Yikes. Brutal brutal stuff and exactly what these guys needed. We’ve seen Usos/New Day enough in 2017 and missed out on absolutely nothing Sunday night. It will be okay folks. A means to an end.

– Charlotte Flair retains the Smackdown Live Womens Title by making Ruby Riott tap out. Surprising entertaining. I assumed this would just be a quick way for the champ to retain and move on. Nope! This one was better than expected. Same with Rusev and Nakamura. Did more than I though. Heck, I would argue the theme of the night was going above and beyond. Not a lot of hope for this pay-per-view based on the hype. Luckily, the talent is there and will always deliver in the squared circle. Speaking of…

– Of course, the big story was not the actual match. ASUKA CAME OUT TO CONFRONT CHARLOTTE! We had all seen the rumors for the past few months, but it seemed like a far fetched idea from the word ‘go.’ Well, credit where credit is due. The report was true back in January and even though plenty of us doubted the supposed planned WrestleMania 34 card, here we are. I am with much of the WWE Universe in getting goosebumps and immediately being jacked up for this dream match. Champion vs. Undefeated. If you really want a headline, make this match the main event. Rousey would work. The Universal Title match would work. The WWE Title match would work. The unconfirmed (as of Monday morning) John Cena match would would work. Now, you can add this to the list. Asuka vs. Charlotte at WrestleMania baby!

– Now to defend the move even more, I will say this on the ludicrous criticism of Asuka apparently ‘running away from Alexa Bliss on Raw.’

First of all, common sense tells you that is ridiculous. Without any ounce of logical, you know that is absurd. Asuka beat everybody on NXT and beat everybody on RAW. From kids at age five to older folks at age 90, nobody buys into the idea that she is scared to wrestle Bliss.

Secondly, Asuka already defeated Bliss back in January. Clean on Raw. If you read my columns back then and followed me on Twitter, you will know that I made a big stink about that match happening. I was certain that was the WM34 plan. It made no sense to just randomly give that away on television with little build. I was highly critical of that happening. Well, now we know why WWE was comfortable with it. That wasn’t the end game for Asuka.

Thirdly, aren’t we all forgetting about the Mixed Match Challenge? My assumption is we get The Miz and Asuka vs. Braun Strowman and Alexa Bliss. I haven’t been following very closely, so forgive me if that is already known. Anyways, Asuka stomping all over Alexa will probably occur. Thus, again, proving that Asuka isn’t afraid and can beat her with ease anytime she wants. It may not be on Raw or PPV, but Mixed Match Challenge will wrap up any loose ends for those two.

Long story short, Asuka vs. Bliss would have worked fine and been a great payoff to Asuka getting her championship moment on the grand stage against a weasel heel. However, Asuka vs. Charlotte has the chance to be something special. Epic. Amazing. Show stealing. Memorable. On a whole different level than anything we’ve ever seen before. I’m all for it.

– AJ Styles retained the WWE Championship over John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn, and Kevin Owens. The obvious outcome but also the correct one. Never been in doubt. WWE tried creating intrigue with all the added participants and Cena, but clearly some folks are still living in 2007. This isn’t the Cena Show anymore and has been proven many times over the past couple of years. Time to turn the page ladies and gentlemen. This was all about having a great match before Mania and giving AJ one last obstacle to overcome. Fitting he pinned Owens as that should officially close the entire feud that dominated Smackdown since winter. Lots to like about this with everybody playing their part but best of all – Nakamura/Styles is happening. I said as such last April and eleven months later, we are in store for a WrestleMania classic.

SUMMARY: A better than expected Fastlane but still shows why WWE is going back to co-branded pay-per-view events. Don’t look now, but the company has put together another stellar WM card. Rousey’s debut, Brock Lesnar/Roman Reigns, The Miz/Finn Balor/Seth Rollins, Asuka/Charlotte, Sasha Banks/Bayley(?), Styles/Nakamura, and then there is John Cena’s huge rumored match! Yeah, quite the lineup if you ask me. Kudos to WWE.

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