Geektified's WWE Fastlane Review 3.6.17
By Anton Ware
Official Results
-WWE Fastlane is LIVE from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
-Michael Cole, Bryan Saxton, and Corey Graves are your hosts for this evening.
-Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe: Samoa Joe made his RAW debut by attacking and injuring Seth Rollins on the orders of Triple H. Sami Zayn spoke out against Samoa Joe’s actions (Joe made a comment about Zayn in an interview) and Joe responded in the form of two brutal attacks on Zayn. On the last RAW before Fastlane, Zayn attacked Joe after Joe’s match against Cesaro and the two were separated by WWE Officials. A match was made to settle the score between the two Superstars. This match was a showcase of Samoa Joe’s deadly offense, with him utilizing strikes and takedowns from his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu days. Zayn showed off his familiar arsenal as well, even pulling off an impressive Blue Thunder Bomb on Joe. Match ended as Joe countered the Helluva Kick into an Uranage Slam followed by the Coquina Clutch submission for the win. Just as the match was getting hot, it ended anticlimactically.
-Tapout Commercial.
-WWE WrestleMania promo video.
-Interview time with Bayley. Charly Caruso asked Bayley if she was nervous about tonight’s match against Charlotte. She says she knows the odds are stacked against her, so she suggested that Charlotte leave Dana Brooke in the locker room so they can prove who the better woman is. Nia Jax comes in and tells Bayley that if she makes it through Charlotte, she’ll be next in line for the title.
- WWE RAW Tag Team Title Match: Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson: On the Royal Rumble pre-show, The Club defeated Cesaro and Sheamus to win the Tag Team Titles. On the Feb. 6th edition of RAW, Cesaro and Sheamus invoked their rematch clause against The Club, but were unsuccessful due to interference from Enzo and Cass. Two weeks later, Enzo and Cass defeated Sheamus and Cesaro in a #1 contender's match for the Tag Titles. Basic tag match. The Club dominated Enzo for the most part, only for him to make the hot tag to Big Cass down the stretch. Cass went wild with Fallaway Slams and Stinger Splashes. The ending comes when Enzo connects with a dive off the apron to Gallows. He tries to get in ring to battle Anderson, but gets caught with a knee strike. Anderson goes for the pin and while doing so, Enzo gets his foot on the rope only for Gallows to take it off just in time for the ref to give The Club the win. The Club retains and Enzo and Cass fall short yet again.
-WWE Champions Promo.
-Backstage with Mick Foley, who’s on the phone with Stephanie McMahon. Her plane malfunctioned won’t be able to attend the show in time. Stephanie wants to make sure that the rest of the title matches go off fine with no issues and Mick promises they will.
-Nia Jax vs. Sasha Banks: This match is a continuation of their rivalry that started the night after the WWE Roadblock PPV where Sasha Banks lost the RAW Women’s Title to Charlotte. On the last RAW before Fastlane, RAW Commissioner Stephanie McMahon would make this match to occupy Banks from the RAW Women’s Title match between Charlotte and Bayley. A David vs. Goliath type match with Jax using her size and strength to dominate most of the match. Jax used a variety of submissions including the Torture Rack, but Banks eventually made a comeback with a Tornado DDT followed by The Bank Statement. Banks would get the win with a surprise roll-up. Jax is NOT happy.
-WWE Network Promo.
-Rusev and Jinder Mahal (who are no longer a team) go to Mick Foley and demand competition. Foley agrees and puts them in separate singles matches against well-suited opponents.
-Cesaro vs. Jinder Mahal: Mahal controlled the early goings by targeting Cesaro’s back, but Cesaro rebounded with a flurry of Uppercuts and the Swiss-1-9. Cesaro wins it with the Pop-Up Uppercut.
-Big Show vs. Rusev: Show was in control in the beginning of the contest, but Rusev gained control by injuring Show’s knee. When the knee attacks weren’t enough, Rusev scored three superkicks to the face, only to get a two count. When THAT wasn’t enough, Rusev attempted The Accolade, but Show powered out with a Chokeslam for a near fall. Show hit two more Chokeslams and the Knockout Punch for the win.
-WWE Cruiserweight Title Match: Neville vs. Jack Gallagher: At the WWE Royal Rumble PPV, Neville defeated Rich Swann to win the Cruiserweight Title. Swann was entitled to a rematch for the title, but he suffered an injury which gave the rest of the Cruiserweight Division an opportunity for a title shot. A 5-way elimination match was made between Jack Gallagher, Cedric Alexander, Noam Dar, TJ Perkins and Mustafa Ali (replacing the injured Tony Nese) where Gallagher picked up the win. A contract signing took place to make the match official and here we are. This match was different in tone than usual Cruiserweight PPV matches. This was more of a “chess match” style wrestling match, with both men outthinking the other and utilizing maneuvers they wouldn’t usually do, such as Gallagher (the technical wrestler that he is) performing a dive. Gallagher would also stay true to his ground game as he rocked Neville with three stiff head-butts throughout the contest. Neville would have his moments of impressive offense as well by delivering a wicked German Suplex and a second rope Phoenix Splash for a two count. The finish came when Gallagher attempted a top rope suplex, only for Neville to block it by slamming Gallagher on the mat before hitting the Red Arrow splash for the win! Good match. One of the better cruiserweight PPV matches since the division came back to WWE.
-WWE/Jetsons movie promo.
-WWEShop promo video.
-Interview time with Paul Heyman. He discussed tonight's main event and says that it doesn’t matter if Goldberg or Kevin Owens are Universal Champion because Brock Lesnar would be the ultimate winner in the end.
-The New Day come out to showcase their ice cream bicycle cart and their hosting duties for WrestleMania 33. They made sexual innuendos and Big E seemed intoxicated because he interrupted Woods and Kofi by singing Randy Orton’s theme song and Notorious B.I.G.’s “It Was All A Dream”.
-Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman: This match comes from both men costing each other title opportunities against Kevin Owens’ Universal Championship. A week after Reigns cost Strowman his title shot, Strowman took his frustrations out on four local competitors and demanded that the RAW General Manager give him competition. Foley gave him Roman Reigns as his desired competition and Fastlane opponent. For the weeks that followed, both men brawled during and after each other’s matches and even tangled up during their contract signing. Another David vs. Goliath story. Throughout the match, Reigns used his patented strikes such as the Drive-By Dropkick and Superman Punch, but it wasn’t enough to put away the big man. Reigns resorted to an old Muhammed Ali tactic, the “Rope-A-Dope,” where he used Strowman’s offense against him by wearing him out. The best example of this was when Strowman went for a top rope splash only for Reigns to move out of the way in the nick of time. This allowed Reigns to hit the Spear for the win! Strowman’s undefeated streak is over.
-WWE Ride Along Promo
-Backstage, Mick Foley catches up to Samoa Joe and makes it clear that he doesn’t want him interfering in the main event tonight. Joe says nothing and walks away.
-WWE RAW Women’s Title Match: Bayley vs. Charlotte: At the WWE Royal Rumble show, Bayley came up short against Charlotte in her opportunity for the Women’s Title. On the Feb. 13th edition of RAW, Bayley would get one more chance against Charlotte where she scored the win and her first RAW Women’s Title. A week later, Charlotte invoked her rematch clause against Bayley which led to this title bout. Competitive match between the Horsewomen. Throughout the contest, Charlotte was taunting Bayley as a loser, but was fully aware not to take her lightly this time. She pulled out all the stops which included her top rope moonsault and Natural Selection. Bayley would get her groove back as she delivered a top rope hurricanrana followed by the top rope elbow drop for a two count. Sasha Banks came out and distracted Charlotte long enough for Bayley to hit Bayley-To-Belly on the outside. Charlotte regained control and scored a rollup, but Banks got the referee to look at the tights being pulled. The referee broke up the count which allowed Bayley hit the Bayley-To-Belly again for the win! Charlotte’s PPV streak is over.
-WWE WrestleMania Promo
-WWE Universal Championship Match: Kevin Owens vs. Goldberg: On the Feb 6th edition of RAW, Goldberg interrupted Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho’s in-ring segment to accept Brock Lesnar’s Challenge at WrestleMania 33. Owens bragged to Goldberg about his long tenure as Universal Champion which Goldberg scoffed at because Owens never faced him for the title. Goldberg challenged Owens for the title at Fastlane and Jericho accepted on Owens’ behalf. Because of Jericho’s actions, Owens betrayed and attacked his best friend during the “Festival of Friendship” a week later which put Jericho out of action for several weeks. After the in-ring introductions, Owens does a lot of stalling before the match got underway. This goes on for about 2-3 minutes until he’s finally ready. He tells the timekeeper to ring the bell and right after he does so, Chris Jericho’s music hits and distracts Owens. The bell has now rung and while Owens is distracted, Goldberg hits the Spear and Jackhammer for the win. NEW CHAMPION! Jericho gloats at Owens’ misfortune and Goldberg celebrates with his family (his son has his shirt on this time, if you were wondering) to close out the show.
-END SCENE
PPV Thoughts: This show was...there. Nothing bad, but nothing great. You had three decent matches, but none of those I would recommend you go out of your way to see. There was also a lot of filler with The New Day promoting their ice cream and the Rusev/Mahal matches. The big questions coming out of this show is what’s next for Kevin Owens? Will he use his rematch clause? Will he get revenge on his former friend Y2J for costing him the championship? There’s also questions about Bayley. Will she be reprimanded due to Sasha Banks’ interference during her title match? With WrestleMania only weeks away, what’s to become of the stars of RAW? We shall see in the coming weeks.
-What did you guys think of the show? Hit or miss? Let me know in the comments section. Thanks for reading!
-Anton
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