Who do you put your bets on?It’s about that time of the year when WWE starts throwing surprises, like Oprah does on her show. WrestleMania is the biggest event of the year, and no other organization can put on a grand spectacle better than WWE. If WWE plays all the cards right, this year’s event can easily become the greatest WrestleMania of all time.But before we get to WrestleMania, we first have to deal with WWE Fastlane, which will shape up the entire WrestleMania card. The main event will be a triple threat match between Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar. To give WWE credit, they’ve built up the story admirably well and haven’t made Ambrose look like the pincushion of the trio.However, WWE has had a history of creating a mess, before scrambling at the last moment to make things work. A prime example was the Roman Reigns debacle last year, when the WWE Universe turned on Roman, along with the WWE product.Today, we look at five things that shouldn’t happen at WWE Fastlane.
#5 The New Day left off the card
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If we look at the most entertaining teams currently in the company, or individual competitors who make the most of the roles they’re given, very few have done their job better than The New Day.
When the trio was asked to “preach” and shuck and jive, very few would’ve imagined that Kofi, Woods and Big E would turn their act into the most entertaining skit on the show every week.
Xavier Woods is pure gold on the microphone, and Kofi has polished his mic skills tremendously. The tag team champions have single-handedly turned what would some perceive as a semi-racist faction into the most entertaining team in the world.
It would be a crime if The New Day only took part in the Cutting Edge Peep Show segment, and don’t defend the tag team championships at WWE Fastlane.
#4 Reunion of Team B.A.D
At the Royal Rumble, when Sasha Banks finally stepped up as the new challenger for Charlotte, the Amway Center exploded, giving the former NXT women’s champion a hero’s welcome. While Sasha isn’t challenging for the WWE Divas title at Fastlane, in the eyes of the fans, she is still the number one contender, and will likely go up against Charlotte at WrestleMania 32.
However, WWE has a habit of rehashing storylines, or nixing feuds without giving any explanation. Remember when Brie and Nikki were at each other’s throats for a long time, before WWE dropped the storyline for no apparent reason, and they went back to being a team again?
There are rumblings about Sasha possibly betraying Becky, and rejoining Team B.A.D at Fastlane.
Sasha distancing herself from Naomi and Tamina was the right call, and turning Sasha heel so soon won’t make any sense if she takes on Charlotte at WrestleMania. The fans who will attend WrestleMania will get behind Sasha irrespective of how she is booked.
It would be wise on WWE’s part to give the win to Sasha and Becky, and then have a confrontation between the two.
#3 The Titans winning against The Wyatts
A lot of critics and fans do not understand how Bray Wyatt has never won the WWE World Heavyweight championship. While people inside the company believe winning or losing doesn’t matter (read more about it here), a loss does hamper the momentum of a superstar or a faction.
Maybe WWE needs to go back in time and rethink just why The Nexus went from being a dominant faction to a mere afterthought.
The Wyatt Family has constantly been booked to lose, and Bray’s feuds against Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns have greatly hurt the superstar, instead of putting him over. For quite a while now, WWE has been using The Wyatt Family to put the other superstars over, and there is a realistic chance that the WWE Universe would stop caring about The Wyatts soon.
The team of Ryback, Big Show and Kane don’t need a victory at WWE Fastlane, but Bray and the rest of the members of The Wyatt Family do. With WrestleMania around the corner, it is high time WWE builds The Wyatts, instead of feeding them to others for no apparent reason.
#2 Alberto Del Rio winning the United States championship
It has been a long time in WWE since the management played hot potato with a title. However, the United States championship has changed hands thrice since Cena chose Kalisto as Del Rio’s opponent not too long ago.
While a championship changing hands on RAW or SmackDown adds more interest to the product, doing it consistently will hurt the superstars, as well as reduce the importance of the title in the eyes of the fans.
Kalisto is a remarkable athlete and is seen as the next Rey Mysterio in terms of marketability and his appeal. WWE has for long been trying to find Mysterio’s replacement to cater to the Spanish audience, and Kalisto can do what Sin Cara couldn’t.
However, going into Fastlane, Kalisto has lost numerous tag team matches, and by WWE’s logic, he should retain the title. That would be the most sensible decision, and he can defend the title against Del Rio at WrestleMania, after which he could move on to a different feud.
#1 Roman Reigns winning the number one contenders match
At number one is the hottest debate in professional wrestling today – has Roman Reigns done enough to win the WWE World Heavyweight championship at WrestleMania? Vince McMahon and WWE have done everything in their power to make Roman the next Steve Austin – from stacking the odds against him at every given opportunity, to Roman overcoming the odds again and again.
However, the fans haven’t taken a liking to WWE constantly pushing Reigns, and that has hurt his credibility.
While it isn’t entirely Roman Reigns’ fault, he hasn’t done himself any favors. From not selling the beating he took at the hands of League of Nations during the Royal Rumble match to being a one-dimensional character, Roman isn’t ready yet to be the face of WWE.
However, with Vince McMahon micromanaging everything that Roman does, it has been hard for the superstar to get over with the fans.
The WWE Universe has slowly gotten behind Dean Ambrose, and it would be a refreshing change to what is already considered a certainty if Ambrose wins at Fastlane. While the fans believe Roman is going to win at Fastlane and headline WrestleMania, Ambrose turning on Reigns would be a far more popular booking decision. One hopes that WWE has learnt from the previous two editions of the Royal Rumble match, but perhaps they still haven’t.
