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Fastlane 2021 exceeded expectations in a big way. Welcome to the final pay-per-view edition of 'Best and Worst' on the road to WrestleMania. This event was meant to set up the biggest show of the year, and there have been quite a few indications of what lies ahead in the coming three weeks.
We only have three more episodes of RAW and SmackDown until WrestleMania, but we'll get to that when the time comes. Fastlane was an impressive pay-per-view as the second half of it saw four incredible matches. The road to WrestleMania is exciting, and low expectations only result in great delivery. Here are the ups and downs of the Fastlane pay-per-view:
#3. Best: Seth Rollins steals the show at Fastlane
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Seth Rollins' paternity leave has put a lot of things into perspective, and his win at Fastlane was a big one. It proved how much WWE had missed him between late November and January - though he had a valid reason to be away.
But what was interesting about this was the fact that this was Rollins' first singles pay-per-view match since SummerSlam 2020. Post-SummerSlam, he wrestled in a tag team match at Payback (and lost), skipped the Clash of Champions and Hell in a Cell pay-per-views. At Survivor Series 2020, he took the fall on Team Smackdown and was eliminated instantly.
The Royal Rumble was his last pay-per-view appearance and he was eliminated. His match against Shinsuke Nakamura was arguably the best of the night at Fastlane. It's even more impressive considering how the final four matches were all incredible and unique in their own way.
But the most staggering statistic coming out of this is that Seth Rollins has won his first pay-per-view match in over seven months. The last man he beat? Dominik Mysterio. This match against Shinsuke Nakamura was also a great showing for the Japanese Royal Rumble 2018 winner - who seems to be having the best set of matches in his WWE career in 2021.
Who would have thought that it would take five years to get a more motivated Nakamura? His match at Fastlane was also better than his previous Survivor Series encounter with Rollins back in 2018.
Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro seems to be a clear direction for WrestleMania 37.
#3. Worst: The SmackDown Women's Championship feud at Fastlane 2021
While the outcome of the Fastlane opening match was correct, the way it played it out preceding the pay-per-view has left a sour taste in the mouths of some fans. The SmackDown Women's Championship feud between Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair should be a straightforward one.
Instead, WWE chose to involve them in the women's tag team title picture and things got unnecessarily complicated with the involvement of Reginald, Nia Jax, and Shayna Baszler.
The two WrestleMania opponents teamed up again at Fastlane but they failed to capture the tag team titles after Banks got pinned. This led to Sasha Banks getting heated with Belair and slapping her before calling her a 'rookie' and flaunting the SmackDown Women's Championship.
It was a bit of tension to heat up their rivalry, but is it beyond saving? Now that Sasha Banks is being presented as the "heel of the feud" (meaning that she actually hasn't turned heel yet, but is simply taking that role for now), Bianca Belair has a high chance of getting her WrestleMania moment.
#2. Best: Drew McIntyre's momentum-building performance at Fastlane
An argument could be made that Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre was the match of the night at Fastlane. While it wasn't as technical and fast-paced as Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, it was far more physical and told a great story.
It came as no surprise that McIntyre and Sheamus had a great match at Fastlane. We've already seen them blow the roof off the building on RAW, and a No Holds Barred Stipulation only added fuel to the fire.
Drew McIntyre even came out wearing Braveheart-like facepaint to represent his native country Scotland, and this served as a big stepping stone to WrestleMania 37. What we didn't expect was Bobby Lashley's complete absence from the Fastlane pay-per-view.
A post-match attack was expected, but that wasn't the case. McIntyre got to celebrate a hard-fought victory at Fastlane. Tomorrow night, it's back to business on RAW. With three weeks remaining, the actual build-up to Drew McIntyre vs. Bobby Lashley begins. Will the Scotsman become a three-time WWE Champion at WrestleMania 37?
#2. Worst: Finish to the Intercontinental Championship match at Fastlane
The start of the Intercontinental Championship match at Fastlane was incredible. Given how much heat there was in the rivalry between Big E and Apollo Crews, it should come as no surprise that the Intercontinental Champion started aggressively.
It took Crews a while, but he managed to halt Big E and his momentum. Despite this, Big E won and retained the Intercontinental Championship by a lucky pinfall at Fastlane. It took less than a few seconds for Crews to unleash his post-match assault.
Walking away from the ring, he shouted that it wasn't over. And it clearly isn't. While we aren't mad about Apollo Crews remaining in the Intercontinental Championship picture, the odd finish didn't justify such a heated rivalry. It was truly a tale of two pay-per-views and this was the second match of the night. Luckily, things started to go uphill from there.
But it didn't feel like a good move for Big E or Crews with the finish. Perhaps it was WWE's way of protecting Apollo Crews, even in defeat at Fastlane.
#1. Best: The big return at Fastlane
While Alexa Bliss vs. Randy Orton was by no means a technical classic at Fastlane, it was unique in its own right. It was the first Intergender match that we've seen in a long time, but Orton never even got to have the slightest bit of offense.
Instead, it was more of a supernatural display at Fastlane - where Bliss played with fire and even tried getting the lights to fall on Orton. Ultimately, the climax of the match was when Randy Orton had his back turned, only for his legs to get pulled from underneath the ring. It was The Fiend who returned with a brand new look.
A showdown at WrestleMania is inevitable after The Fiend's return at Fastlane. Randy Orton will continue to get tormented until then. But this was a great way to re-introduce The Fiend and every subtle detail with regards to Alexa Bliss was done to perfection. In hindsight, she carried a feud for a match that she won't even be a part of at WrestleMania.
#1. Worst: Edge made to look bad at Fastlane
Edge was the special enforcer of the main event of Fastlane 2021 between Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan. While The Rated-R Superstar's involvement was anticipated at Fastlane, the way it happened was a bit unexpected.
Once the first referee was taken out, Edge took matters into his own hands and used the powers he had at Fastlane to referee the match himself. Jey Uso put a blaring halt to that with a superkick, and chaos ensued from here.
While Bryan managed to get rid of Uso at Fastlane with the Running Knee, he accidentally struck Edge with a steel chair instead of Reigns. Daniel Bryan became the first man to ever make Roman Reigns tap out in WWE, though nobody was there to see it.
Edge immediately struck Bryan with the same steel chair in retaliation and did so to Reigns as well. Despite this, Reigns was able to pin Bryan once the new referee came in.
The Rated-R Superstar stormed away and looked bad in the process. It wasn't a great way to handle Edge before his big World title match at WrestleMania 37.
