Fastlane 2019: 6 things WWE did right

The final PPV on the road to WrestleMania is now a part of the history books. The dual-branded PPV ended up shaking things to a huge extent. Tonight's Monday Night Raw will kick off the final road to The Show of Shows. But before moving forward on this exhilarating ride, let's take a quick look back at the ups and downs from WWE Fastlane 2019.

Also read: 3 exciting storylines for the Shield after Raw

#6 Revival's tag team title win wasn't a fluke

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After turning into jobbers to the stars, The Revival had asked for their release from WWE several weeks back. This led to the company luring the disgruntled tag team with the belts.

After tonight, it appears that The Revival's well-deserved win wasn't a fluke by any means. Tonight, Wilder and Dawson went all the way against two formidable opponents, Roode-Gable and Richochet-Black, and came out on the top in the end. It's almost a lock now that The Revival would be going to the grandest stage of them all as Raw tag team champions.

#5 Samoa Joe looks ready for Cena

A last-minute Fatal 4-Way match was added to WWE Fastlane, as Joe faced Mysterio, Andrade and the former champion, R Truth in a rematch from this past week's SmackDown.

Joe managed to catch Rey into his patented submission move and retained his United States title belt. When the Samoan Submission Machine won the title on SmackDown, he gave a scathing interview backstage, making it clear that he didn't pander to the crowd like his opponents, and especially Truth's "childhood hero", John Cena. It's clear that WWE is all set to give the fans a much-anticipated match in Cena vs Joe at WrestleMania 35.

Cena is rarely seen on WWE TV and his days as a regular WWE superstar seem to be over. A dominant win over the veteran Cena would do wonders for Samoa Joe as he moves forward with his reign of destruction on the blue brand. From his performance on tonight's Fastlane, he seems to be ready for Cena and we can expect the storyline kick-off on this week's SmackDown.

#4 Mustafa got his chance to shine

The WWE championship match at Fastlane was changed into a triple threat match at the last moment. In a shocker, Mustafa Ali made his way to the ring for his well-deserved chance at the gold. As the match began, the sea of fans began chanting for Kofi and proceeded to boo the match out of the building.

It's no secret that the WWE Universe desperately wants Kofi Kingston to win the WWE title, and with the kind of reaction he got tonight, there's no way Kofi won't be a part of the WWE title picture going into WrestleMania 35. WWE made the right decision, screwing Kofi out of the match. His eventual victory will be met with an even better response by the fans at Mania.

Nevertheless, the former 205 Live Superstar managed to hold his own on the big stage. Even though Mustafa Ali is far from being ready to win the big one, he at least got to showcase his high flying skills on a major PPV match.

#3 Ronda Rousey's run-in

Ronda Rousey has been clamoring for Becky Lynch to be added into the WrestleMania main event for the Raw Women's title. She has done everything in her power to make it happen, even going as far as leaving the Women's title in the ring, which gave the impression that she was forfeiting the title.

Also read: Why Becky is the 2nd most popular women athlete on Twitter

Tonight, as an over-confident Charlotte Flair was taking her time beating an injured Becky Lynch, out came Ronda Rousey. She hit the ring and hit Becky, who was locked into a submission hold by Charlotte.

The referee immediately informed the announcer that he was disqualifying Charlotte, much to the elation of the fans. As a smiling Ronda ascended the ramp, the sea of fans in the arena roared in unison. The main event of WrestleMania 35 is set in stone, as the Raw Women's title will be defended in a triple threat match pitting Ronda, Charlotte, and Becky.

#2 AJ Styles sent a much-needed message to Randy Orton

In a completely random segment, Elias berated the fans of Cleveland using his guitar skills. As has become the norm, the brand new NXT recruit Lacey Evans came down the ramp, posed for the camera, and went back without speaking a single word.

Elias had his eyes on Evans long enough to eat a thunderous RKO from The Viper, Randy Orton. The action didn't stop at this point, as AJ Styles came out of nowhere, and hit Orton with his signature move.

Randy Orton had been taunting AJ since the past few weeks, interrupting his backstage interviews on multiple occasions. We're in for an instant classic at WrestleMania 35, with both Superstars going toe to toe to find out whether SmackDown is really the house AJ Styles built. Tonight's moment was the perfect kick-off to this rivalry that's going to end with a show-stealer at Mania.

#1 Shane McMahon turns heel

Ever since Shane McMahon won the World Cup trophy at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia, the seeds for a match against The Miz were planted right away.

Shane won the finals after replacing The Miz who got injured at the last minute. Miz spent the next several weeks convincing Shane to form a tag team with him. The duo went on to win the tag team titles from The Bar at the Royal Rumble.

The reign didn't last long though, as they lost their titles almost immediately at the Elimination Chamber PPV, to The Usos.

Tonight's rematch ended with The Usos retaining their tag team titles. In a shocker, Shane turned heel on an unsuspecting Miz, in front of his hometown crowd. A match at WrestleMania is a lock at this point, and it would be nothing short of interesting to see Shane play the part of a heel after more than a decade.

Edited by Amar Anand