TJRWrestling WWE Fastlane 2021 Preview (Reigns vs. Bryan, McIntyre vs. Sheamus)
John: Welcome to the TJRWrestling WWE Fastlane preview. This isn’t a big show by any means, but there are some good matches on the card, so at least that’s worth checking out. Plus, I’m sure a lot of you in the United States that have signed up for WWE Network on Peacock will want to see how Fastlane runs as the first live pay-per-view on there. With WrestleMania on the horizon on April 10 & April 11, Fastlane is supposed to get us more excited for WrestleMania without giving away too much of what we might get at WrestleMania. I know some people don’t like that Fastlane exists, but frankly we’re not paying a lot of money for these PPVs and we’re going to get some great matches, so I’d rather look at it in a positive way.
Fastlane has eight matches advertised as of this writing. There are seven singles matches and only one tag team match. There are four title matches on the show. It is rare to see the WWE Title not defended on a pay-per-view, but WWE Champion Bobby Lashley is without a match. Lashley will likely be there keeping a close eye on his WrestleMania opponent Drew McIntyre as he battles Sheamus. That McIntyre match with Sheamus is the only one with a stipulation since it’s a No Holds Barred Match while everything else is a regular match.
Joining me for the preview are Alex Podgorski and Lance Augustine. Here are some thoughts from Alex and then we’ll get to the preview.
Alex: This is the final PPV before WrestleMania, and unfortunately, I don’t feel the surge of excitement that’s usually in the air this time of year. I’m not exactly sure why, but the storylines going into ‘Mania feel a bit underwhelming right now. Because of that, I’m really hoping that some major happenings take place at Fastlane. Luckily, there are some interesting match-ups announced for the show. I just hope WWE really pulls out all the stops to make this show actually important and not continue the trend of Fastlane being a cursed event.
(Note: All graphics are from WWE.)
United States Championship: Riddle (c) vs. Mustafa Ali
Alex: This has the potential to be good. Both Riddle and Ali are solid performers that can show off impressive moves when the time calls for it. That said, I don’t think this’ll be anything above average for either man. Riddle has been treading water for some time now and I get the feeling a lot of people backstage don’t live him, in spite of his recent title win. As for Ali, his role with Retribution has been an unmitigated disaster and I don’t see how anyone could possibly care about him at this point. As such, I doubt the title will change hands here. Ali will try and try, but Riddle will overcome him in less than fifteen minutes.
Winner and STILL WWE United States Champion: Riddle
Lance: Riddle won the US Title in a triple threat match at Elimination Chamber and has since been seemingly feuding with the members of Retribution. Both guys deserve to be in a spotlight like this and I am happy to see Ali getting a shot he deserves here. I feel like he is one of the most underutilized talents currently, and although I can’t see him winning this match, I think it should be fun. Riddle and Ali both have styles that should complement and while there won’t be a lot of power spots, I expect this to be fast-paced and not slow down much. I think Riddle wins after a good match and some outside interference by the other members of Retribution.
Winner and STILL WWE United States Champion: Riddle
John: It’s a rematch from Monday’s Raw. Riddle won there while Ali claimed that T-Bar and his other Retribution buddies cost him the match. I expect more of the same here as the Retribution group continues to have issues while it’s still early in Riddle’s US Title reign. I’m not sure who Riddle might be matched up with at WrestleMania because they could opt for multi-man match, but if it’s a singles match then Sheamus is a possibility since Riddle has had good matches with him in the past. I think Ali will come close to winning a few times, but Riddle will put him away in about ten minutes.
Winner: Riddle
Women’s Tag Team Championships: Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler (c) vs. Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair
Alex: This is a rematch from Elimination Chamber, and to be honest I don’t see the reason for it. Banks and Belair lost at the last show, and since they’re challenging again I guess that’s meant to show how short the list of challengers is for these titles. And yet, I just don’t see the team of Banks and Belair losing a second time, especially since theirs is supposed to be one of the top matches at WrestleMania. But I don’t see the champions losing either. What I predict instead is this. both teams will fight so hard and so intensely that at one point they will all be brawling ringside. Then, Belair will send a message to Banks by performing her KOD finisher on Jax (because Belair is crazy freaking strong) but the effort will cause her to pass out, leading to a double count-out and the champions retaining. This way, the champions retain without losing and Banks can continue her feud with Belair.
Either that, or they do the lazy double-count-out finish, which will only lead to grans and apathy.
Still Women’s Tag Team Champions due to a double count-out: Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler
Lance: These two teams are familiar with each other and had a match not too long ago. I incorrectly picked Belair and Banks to win the titles, and I feel like I am going to have history repeat itself here. Belair and Banks are obviously squaring off in a couple of weeks at Wrestlemania, and this match is a way to give all these women something to do until then. Other than a tooth incident with Asuka recently, Baszler has been good on the main roster when she is being featured. The teaming with Jax has been fine, but I feel like the impending breakup and series of blowoff matches are coming soon.
This should be back and forth with Banks and Belair using their quickness to keep Jax and Baszler on their heels. I still feel like they want to add the tension of being the Women’s Tag Team Champions to their match at Mania, and I think this rematch is a way to make that happen.
Winner(s) and NEW Women’s Tag Team Champions: Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair
John: This match really doesn’t excite me at all. I don’t think there should be a title change. I think Jax/Baszler will defend the titles against multiple teams at WrestleMania, so they’ll keep the titles here.
There is a logic problem here because Jax and Baszler beat Banks and Belair last month at Elimination Chamber. It wasn’t even a cheap win either, yet Banks/Belair get another title shot. Why? It’s really just to get them on the PPV ahead of their WrestleMania match. The best thing that can happen for the Banks/Belair WrestleMania match is for the team to fall apart during the match and for them to get into a wild brawl that shows how competitive they are. The proper finish would be some kind of DQ or countout due to Banks/Belair fighting eachother. They could also have Natalya and Tamina attack both teams like they attacked Belair and Baszler on Smackdown, which can lead to a DQ finish. I wouldn’t have either Banks or Belair take the pin especially since Banks got pinned at Elimination Chamber and Belair has been pinned on Smackdown recently. Keep both women strong. If it were me, I never would have booked this match. I would have rather had Belair get a singles win over Bayley, Carmella or Natalya to build Belair’s momentum.
Winners: Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler
Braun Strowman vs. Shane McMahon
Alex: I think I speak for a lot of people when I say I’m sick and tired of seeing Shane McMahon (pretend to) wrestle. He brings absolutely nothing to the table aside from his last name. And even that doesn’t justify him having a PPV match with anyone, much less Braun Strowman. Sadly, the nepotism is strong in this company, which is why this unathletic father with both delusions of grandeur and a terminal case of nostalgia will be wrestling in the hopes of reliving his glory years.
Now, if this were a company booked by common sense, Strowman would tear Shane to pieces in less than a minute and then ask for a real challenge. But no, this is WWE, where the McMahons are more powerful than a 7-foot, 400-pound mountain of a man. Because of that, Shane will get some cheap win to drag this story to ‘Mania for no good reason.
So for those of you watching Fastlane this Sunday, you may want to grab your favorite alcohol to get through it. And when this match comes on, that’ll be your cue to use the bathroom.
Winner via shenanigans: Shane McMahon
Lance: This match has been caught in limbo over the last week or so. It was on the show, and then it wasn’t advertised at all. Now, on Smackdown, it magically appears that this match is indeed happening. I am always a fan of Shane McMahon in the ring. I think that he delivers where he needs to and has had some moments that will live on. Now, I don’t think he is one of the best workers ever or anything, but you know what I mean. Strowman had a Universal Title run last year, but since then had been off TV before returning and being sort of lost in the shuffle. I always said that Strowman should have been champion sooner, but when he won it, I kind of took that back. I like Strowman as a dominant big man, but I don’t clamor to see his matches.
This should be the usual case of Shane bumping all over the place for Strowman and in the end, looking completely beatdown. I don’t know if this is going to set up a match at Mania, but it’s only 2 weeks away, so I think it’s safe to assume we are getting this match again. Shane will probably win at least one of them, and if that’s the case, this one is it. I have a feeling I am going to whiff hard on this one.
Winner: Shane McMahon
John: There’s been a lot of uncertainty about this match all week. While WWE advertised it on Raw, it didn’t appear on their WWE.com Fastlane website all week. They also didn’t promote it on social media during the week. Then during Smackdown, Braun vs. Shane was mentioned again. As I write/edit this on Saturday morning, it’s still not listed on WWE’s website with the other matches. Since it was promoted during Smackdown on Friday, we assume that it is taking place, so here we are.
I have written many times in the past that Strowman is the Kane or Big Show of this era. He will be booked strong enough as a monster to make it look like he can beat anybody at any time, but he will be hurt by the booking due to all of the random heel/face turns. They are clearly doing this feud to turn Braun into a monster face again and Vince McMahon probably feels like his son is the best one to help Braun get there. I think Braun should win this match in dominant fashion since Shane got the advantage on Raw. It wouldn’t shock me if some other wrestler got involved to help Shane although I’m not sure who that will be. I also expect the feud to continue leading to some kind of gimmick match at WrestleMania where Shane will take some crazy bump and Braun will win again. I’m not that interested in the story, but the end goal of making Braun a bigger babyface does make sense to me.
Winner: Braun Strowman
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Seth Rollins
Alex: This is one of the only good things announced for the show. Seth Rollins is excellent when he wrestles as a heel and Nakamura recently turned face for the first time in three years. Because of those two factors, I think these two wrestlers will steal the show with their match together.
I anticipate this will be a highly competitive, near-twenty-minute match with lots of intense near-falls and crazy drama. And if they have a ‘clean’ match without any nonsense, I think they could go into the 4-star range, if not higher. They are both that good under the right circumstances.
As for a winner, I’m putting my hopes on Nakamura. They’ve done very little with him and a win here would affect him more than a loss would affect Rollins. Maybe I’m being a bit too optimistic, but weirder, more unexpected things have happened in WWE before.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura
Lance: Talk about a match thrown together at the 11th hour. This match was announced Friday Night on Smackdown, but at least it makes sense and they can generate some kind of story out of it. Rollins has been feuding with Cesaro recently and put him on the shelf after using The Stomp repeatedly. Nakamura is a former Tag Team Champion with Cesaro and he didn’t take too kindly to his former partner being wiped out. I think it’s pretty obvious that Cesaro will make his return during this match to make him and Rollins at WrestleMania official. At least Nakamura gets a match on a PPV and doesn’t continue the trend he has been on as one of the most under-booked talents they have. I am happy to see Rollins back and I think this match, as well as his feud with Cesaro, should be some highlights for me. Ultimately, I think Cesaro costs Rollins the match.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura
John: I like that the match is happening. They have obviously been building Rollins vs. Cesaro for WrestleMania, which I love, but there have been some teases of Nakamura getting involved too. It made sense for Nakamura to confront Rollins on Smackdown since Cesaro was off the show selling injuries. They should have a very good, competitive match in the 12-15 minute range with a lot of nearfalls and cool spots. Their last big match I remember was Survivor Series 2018, so it’s been a while for them. I’m looking forward to it.
I don’t agree with the prediction of either of my friends above. I think Seth Rollins winning the match makes a lot of sense since he’s going to be against at WrestleMania, so why would Nakamura win? I think what’s most likely to happen is Rollins will win perhaps in a cheap way and then he might attack Rollins after the match. That will bring out Cesaro to save his buddy Nakamura. I guess it’s possible that Cesaro could distract Rollins to help Nakamura win, but I think it makes more sense for Rollins to win.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Randy Orton vs. Alexa Bliss
Alex: This is going to be incredibly weird and horribly overbooked. There hasn’t been an intergender match in WWE since 2003, and for good reason. (Note from John: They did do Sasha Banks vs. Reginald on Smackdown recently. Alex is referring to PPV matches.) They’re hard to pull off the right way. If this were to be a match without interference, then why would Orton have any trouble quickly dismantling someone literally half his size? Sure, Bliss has been trying to play mind games on Orton. But Orton’s been around almost twenty years and survived much worse mind game from the master himself back in 2005, so this should be a cakewalk. With that logic in mind, you can be 100% sure that The Fiend will return and attack Orton, giving Bliss the win. As a result, Orton will go into WrestleMania with the embarrassing knowledge that he got pinned by Alexa Bliss and will exact his revenge on The Fiend. Which in turn will lead to the Fiend losing a big PPV match again. I just hope that we don’t get a repeat of that dreadful WrestleMania 33 insect nonsense.
Winner: Alexa Bliss
Lance: We have no idea if this will be an actual match or not. I don’t think it will and will ultimately lead to The Fiend returning, but I can’t say with any certainty. This has been one of the longest-running feuds in the company including a moment where Orton BURNED THE FIEND ALIVE at TLC in December. The Fiend has been off TV since then, but obviously, they are building for another collision course at Wrestlemania. There have also been rumblings that WWE will want to top AEW and show them how to make the ring explode. If this is true, this is where they would make it happen. I don’t know if that is their thought process, but I wouldn’t be stunned. As far as what happens here, I think The Fiend and Alexa Bliss come out on top, whatever that means. It’s hard to predict much else because this is literally up in the air what could happen.
Winner: Alexa Bliss?
John: My interest level is low, but I do have a bit of curiosity about how they book it. There might be a tease of Orton locking up with Bliss in the ring, but I expect the lights go out and for The Fiend to appear to attack Orton for payback from when Orton burned The Fiend at TLC four months ago. This should set up Orton vs. The Fiend at WrestleMania. I hope Bray Wyatt enjoyed his vacation for the last four months. Back to work, pal. I expect The Fiend to beat Orton at WrestleMania too. Whether it’s a cinematic match or a match in the ring, I don’t know yet, but since there’s a crowd it makes sense to do it in a ring. Anyway, we’ll found out in about three weeks.
Match Result: No Contest
Intercontinental Championship: Big E (c) vs. Apollo Crews
Alex: So according to WWE, embracing your heritage and speaking with an accent automatically makes you a villain. Tremendous logic, that. And while I’m glad that WWE is at least doing something with Crews, I just don’t see him winning here. Not only is that because Big E is simply a bigger star (pun intended), but because there’s nothing Crews can do to wash the stink of midcard purgatory away. He had a months-long feud for the same belt last year and it led to nothing for him. It seems like he’s a guy doomed to the WWE version of Groundhog Day, wrestling the same matches for the same title in the same spot on the card. Either he’s insane, or the people booking the matches are, or both.
Winner and STILL WWE Intercontinental Champion: Big E
Lance: I like both of these guys and I am very happy to see them do battle here for the IC title. I have been on the Big E bandwagon a lot as of late, even going as far as picking him to win the Royal Rumble. Our fearless leader John read that, said I hope you’re right, but correctly told me they wouldn’t do it. Apollo Crews is one of those guys that had a lot of hype coming in, but that was quickly diminished since he has been with WWE.
They are excellent athletes and I expect them to show it off here. Crews is very agile for a man his size and Big E has scary raw strength. Those qualities from each guy should mesh well. The ending of this match is going to come down to whether or not WWE sees Crews as the Intercontinental Champion. I think the push for Big E will continue, and I would love to see him in the Universal Title mix sooner rather than later.
Winner and STILL WWE Intercontinental Champion: Big E
John: The feud has been built up well. Apollo was mad that he couldn’t beat Big E for the IC Title, so he did a cheap attack and found himself while paying homage to his Nigerian heritage. Apollo also speaks with an accent, which some people may not like, but to me, it’s pretty cool because it allows him to stand out more as a character. There are a lack of interesting characters in WWE presently, so I’m glad that Apollo is doing something that hopefully he enjoys doing.
This should be a competitive match with Crews coming close to winning, but I can see Big E being a long-term champion for many more months. It might feel repetitive on Smackdown since Roman Reigns is also a long-term champion. Even though I have Crews losing the match and the feud, I think he’s benefitting from working with an established guy like Big E these days. I just think Big E will be elevated the longer he holds that title, so he should keep it for many more months.
Winner: Big E
No Holds Barred Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus
Alex: This will be the most brutal match on the show, bar none. These two wrestlers go way back and have a very personal score to settle. But as tough and dangerous as Sheamus is, it will simply be impossible for him to beat Drew on Sunday. Drew will be challenging for the WWE title against Lashley, so it’s pretty obvious that WWE will do whatever it takes to make sure the challenger looks as credible as possible going into such a major event.
But Sheamus won’t make it easy for him. He will hit Drew with anything he can get his hands on. Expect this match to be filled with broken announce tables, dozens of chair shots, brawling all around the arena and into the backstage area, and some low blows from Sheamus (because those will be legal). But none of that will stop Drew from facing Lashley at ‘Mania. So if you’re into all kinds of weapons-based mayhem, you’re gonna have a great time with this match.
Winner: Drew McIntyre
Lance: These two have been beating the hell out of each other over the last couple of weeks. On Smackdown, a No Holds Barred stipulation was added which should just make these guys lay into each other that much more. They had a great fight on Raw two weeks ago and followed that one up with another hard-hitting battle the next week. It’s been announced that Bobby Lashley will be defending the WWE Title again McIntyre at Mania, so it’s hard to see him doing the job here. Sheamus has been on a mini-push as of late and was one of the people some thought was going to win the Elimination Chamber and win the WWE Title. I wasn’t in that group, but it is something people were saying.
I expect a lot of the same from these hosses here. Big shots to one another followed by some power moves and hopefully a nice back and forth finish. Again, I think any outcome that isn’t McIntyre winning is the wrong move here, but I have seen WWE pull fast ones before. I do think Lashley gets involved in some way, though, and will try to soften McIntyre up before their match at WrestleMania.
Winner: Drew McIntyre
John: The former best friends have had two awesome matches on Raw over the last month or so and I expect more of the same here. It’s interesting that WWE is not making this a number one contender’s match for a WWE Title match at WrestleMania. If they did that, it would open up the possibility that Sheamus might win (in a cheap manner) because if Drew McIntyre wins the WWE Title back from Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania then that would set up Sheamus for a title shot at McIntyre. That’s not my prediction, though. I’m just saying it’s possible.
This should be a win for McIntyre in what should be a physical match with plenty of weapons used since it’s a No Holds Barred match. There is no reason for Drew to lose a match on the road to WrestleMania. A clean win is what it should be and I think that’s what it will be. They’ll probably get 15-20 minutes and have another match in the four-star range like their two Raw matches were. Post match, I think we might see WWE Champion Bobby Lashley try to attack McIntyre to get in some cheap shots, but McIntyre will clear him from the ring to stand tall.
Winner: Drew McIntyre
WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Daniel Bryan
(Edge will be the Special Ringside Enforcer for the match.)
Alex: As much as many of us would like to see Bryan win the Universal Championship and embark on one last big run before retiring, it’s just not happening. No way. Bryan’s awesome, and this direction would be far more plausible if his opponent were literally anyone else. But not even Bryan can stop Reigns at this point. Reigns has been unstoppable for months now, and none of Bryan’s technical skill or submission specialty will be enough because WWE are saving Reigns’s title loss for WrestleMania when he faces Edge.
As I said before in our Royal Rumble preview, WWE is going to milk Edge’s win and comeback story for all its worth because of how easy a story it is to convey. He’s way past his prime, lucky to be back, on borrowed time, and up against a Samoan monster at the pinnacle of his career. That is a WrestleMania-level story, one that WWE will go ahead with at all costs. For Fastlane, the only real story will be whether Edge is fair as an enforcer, or uses his status as the enforcer to mess with Reigns or Heyman. Either way, this will be an interesting, albeit easily predictable, main event match.
Winner and STILL Universal Champion: Roman Reigns
Lance: This is the match that will probably be the most exciting just based purely on who is in the match. Bryan won The Elimination Chamber last month and got to face Reigns for the title, although it was a very short match. I think Bryan is on the last phase of his career and it’s cool to see him be put in big spots like this before he goes out. I am not going to put Reigns over again because I have done that enough. This match is pretty predictable and we all know who is going to win, but I don’t think that takes away from it in the slightest. If Roman Reigns has the potential to have a classic match with anyone, Daniel Bryan, along with AJ Styles, would be at the top of the list. I am not sure what is in store for Bryan heading into Wrestlemania, but he won’t be vying for the Universal Title.
The wildcard here is going to be Edge, who will be the enforcer for the match. I never really understood the role of an enforcer in wrestling. This should be a solid outing with Reigns getting tons of power offense in and Bryan using his quickness to his advantage. I would like to think there will be several close near falls where it looks like Bryan pulls it out. If I have to pick an ending, I would say that Edge gets involved, but ultimately causes Bryan to lose the match.
Winner and STILL WWE Universal Champion: Roman Reigns
John: This should be an awesome match. There is some Fastlane history here. Reigns and Bryan headlined the first WWE Fastlane pay-per-view in 2015 with Bryan there to put over Reigns in a big way. That match took place at a time when Reigns was on the rise, but the fans weren’t accepting him the way they loved Bryan. This Sunday, Reigns is going into it as the dominant heel champion while Bryan is the babyface full of heart that delivers great matches and promos every week. They are two of the best performers in WWE at the top of their game. It’s fun to think about matches like this because this could have been a WrestleMania main event type of match, but it’s not happening there.
During this week’s Smackdown, they kept making the point about Bryan wanting to make Reigns tap out while Reigns claimed that he would never tap out. That tells me that Bryan will make Reigns tap out. However, I expect there to be a ref bump, which means that tap out won’t lead to Bryan becoming the Universal Champion. Perhaps this will lead to Edge taking over as the referee (since the Special Ringside Enforcer could have that authority) after that and Bryan would claim that he had the match won, but Edge didn’t ring the bell for him. After that, Reigns will get the momentum back and finish off Bryan for the win perhaps by using the Guillotine Choke that Reigns likes to use.
I think it’s smart to have Edge out there as “Special Ringside Enforcer” because it is a way to build to his match with Reigns at WrestleMania. I know there are also people out there that think that maybe WWE will add Bryan to the WrestleMania match, so maybe something happens here to set that up. While Bryan is my favorite wrestler in WWE, I’d rather see a singles match for the Universal Title. I just don’t think triple threat matches are as interesting as singles matches. With all of that said, I expect this to be an excellent match with some creative booking for the finish as I mentioned above. In the end, Reigns will retain his Universal Title in a match that gets 20-25 minutes.
Winner: Roman Reigns
BONUS TOPICS!
The Match I’m Looking Forward To The Most
Alex: Rollins vs. Nakamura. It looks like WWE might have a push lined up for Nakamura, which means that he might win this in a highly competitive and exciting match.
Lance: Reigns vs. Bryan. The card is largely predictable, but this match has the most going for it overall.
John: I’ll go with Reigns vs. Bryan even though the outcome is predictable. I just think it’s going to be an outstanding match, so I’m looking forward to it.
The Match I Care About The Least
Alex: Strowman vs. Shane. This is going to be a short, overbooked mess that will make people want to go to the bathroom or turn off their TV screen.
Lance: Riddle vs. Ali. This match won’t have much heat to it.
John: I’ll go with Orton vs. Bliss. I don’t think it’s smart to advertise it as a match. If they advertised it as a talk show segment then maybe that would be better.
Longest Match
Alex: Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus. They will brawl all over the place and will try and destroy each other in creative and chaotic ways. This might go twenty-five to thirty minutes.
Lance: McIntyre vs. Sheamus.
John: I can see Reigns vs. Bryan going 20 to 25 minutes. McIntyre vs. Sheamus is possible as a 20 minute match too.
Shortest Match
Alex: Orton vs. Bliss. The Fiend’s coming back to mess with Orton some more. I’ll be very surprised if this match goes more than five minutes.
Lance: Orton vs. Bliss if it’s an actual match that has a bell ringing.
John: I’ll go Orton vs. Bliss too because I don’t know how they are going to book it and it would obviously be kept short. It’s possible that Strowman vs. Shane is a five-minute match.
Excitement Level on a Scale of 1-10 (1 being low, 10 being high)
Alex: 6 – Most of that excitement is due to the Rollins-Nakamura match and the Universal title match. Everything else is either generic or underwhelming. I’m not expecting much out of those other five matches, and two of them might actually end up as early contenders for worst match of the year. And since WWE is long past doing any huge angles at this point to lead up to WrestleMania, I don’t anticipate any major surprises, which in turn is why my excitement level isn’t that high.
Lance: I am going with a 5 here because this show has “we need as much content as we can have packed into a month period” written all over it. Elimination Chamber was a few weeks ago and Wrestlemania is 2 weeks away. This show is being used to advance matches that we will see again there, or just to give guys something to do until Mania. It doesn’t have a big show feel to it.
John: I’ll go with a 7 because I’m pretty excited about four of the matches: Reigns vs. Bryan, McIntyre vs. Sheamus, Rollins vs. Nakamura and Big E vs. Crews. While I think the winners of those matches are predictable, I can see all of them hitting that four star level (out of five) or higher if they are given the right amount of time and booked the right way. That’s why I’m encouraged by this show. With that said, I know some people watch WWE for more than just match quality and there are probably not going to be that many big angles or surprises on the show, so that hurts it a bit. I just think the match quality will be too good for it to be a bad show. That’s all.
In Closing
John: I’ll be back with a review of WWE Fastlane on TJRWrestling.net on Sunday night. It will be live, so check that out during the show or after it’s over.
You can also tweet me @johnreport or Lance @Collectiveheel with any comments as well.
If you want to send an email, send it to me at mrjohncanton@gmail.com as well. Thanks for reading.