Fastlane takes place this Sunday night on the WWE Network at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Just the third edition of the Fastlane PPV, this year’s card is loaded with marquee matchups.
All of Raw’s titles except for the US Championship will be on the line, including a huge Universal Title match between, the champion, Kevin Owens and Goldberg. Also, The Club will defend their Raw Tag Titles against Enzo and Big Cass, who have an opportunity to win tag team gold for the first time in their careers.
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Bayley defends her newly-won Raw Women’s Title against Charlotte, and Neville defends his Cruiserweight Championship against “The Gentleman” Jack Gallagher.
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Being the last PPV before “The Show of Shows”, Fastlane has the chance to set Raw up to have a huge impact on Wrestlemania 33. However, there are some things that could happen at the PPV that would sour fans leading into WWE’s most important show of the year.
Let’s take a look at some things that should not happen at WWE’s last chance to excite fans for “The Greatest Spectacle in Sports Entertainment”, Wrestlemania 33.
#1 Neville loses Cruiserweight Title to Jack Gallagher
Let me start by saying this: I absolutely adore Jack Gallagher. I love his style, his character, and I think he’s the epitome of what a babyface in the Cruiserweight division should be. However, since turning heel, Neville has been the MVP of the division.
Everything about heel Neville has worked so far, from his look to his attitude to his newfound aggression, and he has taken over the top heel spot on 205 Live, which the division (and Neville) needed desperately.
After a victorious feud with Ariya Daivari, Gallagher has quickly become one of the most popular superstars in the Cruiserweight division. However, if WWE wants to put the division over at Wrestlemania, they should do so in a multi-man match (possibly even a ladder match), and have a babyface, such as Gallagher, win the title to become new Champion on “The Grandest Stage of Them All”.
Not only would it give the division a marquee moment on a marquee show, but it could be used to catapult one of the Cruiserweights to the next level of Superstardom.
Another option is leaving the title on Neville for an extended period of time and letting him run roughshod over the division. Neville has been on an absolute roll since turning heel, and he should have the chance to carry the title into his first Wrestlemania appearance with the company, after missing last year’s show with a fractured ankle.
#2 The Club retain the Raw Tag Titles
Enzo Amore and Big Cass get their first opportunities at WWE gold this weekend at Fastlane against a team they know very well, The Club. These two teams have faced off several times in the past months, but never with as much riding on the line like there will be this Sunday.
The Club have dominated the tag team scene since winning the Raw Tag Titles at the Royal Rumble in January, and have made it clear they are the top team to beat in the division.
Since teaming up in NXT, Enzo and Cass have become, arguably, the most popular tag team in the company. The two “Certified G’s” spent years down in NXT and didn’t take long to win over the Full Sail crowd with their catchphrases and off-the-charts energy.
However, their popularity did not result in tag team title success, as the two men failed on multiple occasions to win the titles in NXT against teams like Blake and Murphy and The Revival.
Since debuting on the main roster, the two have yet to receive a tag team title shot, until now. Enzo and Cass won the right to face The Club this Sunday after defeating Sheamus and Cesaro a few weeks ago on Raw.
Seeing as their popularity has risen to new heights, the time is right to put those tag titles on Enzo and Big Cass. Also, since New Day has announced that they are hosting Wrestlemania this year, the slot is wide open for a tag title match from Raw at ‘Mania, and this rematch would fill that void quite well in the middle of the card.
#3 Charlotte’s PPV Win-Streak comes to an end
Charlotte has not only become the face of the Women’s division currently in WWE, but one of the greatest women to ever grace the squared circle in her short 20-month career on the main roster.
Her PPV win streak in non-tag team matches is incredible, starting at Battleground in July of 2015 and now has reached 16-0, and has seen “The Queen” defend her title in almost every way possible (triple threats, submission matches, even in Hell in a Cell).
As a matter of fact, Charlotte is 18-1 in matches at WWE PPV’s, period, which is quite the impressive record for a young woman who hasn’t even spent two full years on the main roster.
Although the streak and record are impressive, Charlotte may face her toughest challenge yet at a PPV this Sunday. Bayley has shown on multiple occasions that she just might have Charlotte’s number, including and especially on Raw a few weeks ago when “The Hugger” knocked off Charlotte to capture her first Women’s Title since being called up from NXT.
As a matter of fact, although she lost to Charlotte at the Royal Rumble, Bayley has defeated Charlotte on almost every other occassion since her call up. However, we all know “The Queen” turns her game up at PPV’s and since Bayley did win the title in controversial fashion, Charlotte has every reason in the world to be upset and treat this match like the biggest of her career.
As much as everyone loves Bayley, Charlotte’s PPV win-streak should not come to an end at Fastlane.
If creative wants the PPV streak to end soon, the place for that to happen is Wrestlemania. Much like The Undertaker’s Wrestlemania Undefeated streak, this is a streak that could lead WWE to creating a new main-stream Superstar by defeating “The Queen” at WWE’s biggest event, ending one of the most impressive streaks in WWE history.
#4 Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman’s Match Ends In DQ or Double Count-Out
Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman is the match most wrestling fans are looking forward to the most at Fastlane this weekend. The feud between these two monstrous men has highlighted Raws for weeks now and has seen Roman throw everything but the kitchen sink at Strowman trying to bring him down a peg.
However, nothing “The Big Dog” has done has stopped Strowman’s seemingly unstoppable momentum leading into their matchup at Fastlane.
After the destruction these two have put each other through, most fans assumed this match would be No-Disqualification or another type of match that would allow these two to go full bore at attempting to dismantle the other. However, as of right now, this match is scheduled to be a normal one-on-one matchup.
With that in mind, and knowing how Vince and creative feel about Reigns and Strowman, the toughest part of this match, creatively, is going to be having a clear winner of the match while elevating both Superstars at the same time. The last thing the fans want or deserve is a double count out or disqualification being the outcome of the match.
For months, WWE has built to this match and can not waste a golden opportunity to elevate Braun Strowman into the top tier level of WWE Superstars. A marquee win like this would do wonders for Strowman and Raw’s title scene.
The only way this match should end in controversey is if they plan on having the two men face off again at Wrestlemania 33. If that’s the case, having this match end in a double count-out or DQ would make sense, only to have the ‘Mania rematch be a No-DQ or Falls Count Anywhere match.
#5 Goldberg wins The Universal Championship
Goldberg has an opportunity at a title in WWE for the first time since losing the World Heavyweight Title to Triple H in December of 2003, and if he wins, he becomes the second oldest World Champion in WWE history, behind only Vince McMahon.
After being away from a wrestling ring for 12 years, Goldberg returned to the ring to dismantle his rival, Brock Lesnar, in less than two minutes to pick-up his first win in a WWE ring in over a decade at Survivor Series late last year.
With a Wrestlemania rematch with “The Beast Incarnate” already scheduled for Wrestlemania 33, if Goldberg defeats Kevin Owens at Fastlane, the pending match between the two rivals could be for the WWE Universal Title at Wrestlemania.
All of the details I just laid out are the main reasons Bill Goldberg has no business walking out of Fastlane as the Universal Champion. Do I like Goldberg? Yes. Am I happy to see him back in a WWE ring? Yes. Am I happy he destroyed Brock Lesnar? Absolutely.
Should he be the face of a wrestling company and main event its biggest event of the year at 50 years old? No way. Not to mention, WWE’s roster is as stacked as it has ever been with young talent that is ready to take the next step into superstardom, but keep getting held back by older, part-time wrestlers, such as Goldberg.
Also, the matchup between Goldberg and Lesnar at ‘Mania has no reason to be for the WWE Universal Title, for several reasons. First off, the rematch will be talked about and built up enough to where they don’t need to involve Raw’s most prized possession to make this a marquee matchup.
Secondly, neither Goldberg or Lesnar, assuming he goes on his normal hiatus after ‘Mania, are going to be around the product enough moving forward to warrent being Universal Champion.
Third and most importantly, there are several Superstars on Raw that have worked their butts off in the past year, such as KO, and deserve to carry the flagship program of WWE after ‘Mania season.
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