Life in the Fastlane
The last stop on the Road to WrestleMania is Fastlane, which will take place this Sunday, March 10th, in Cleveland, Ohio. Below are my predictions for each match and how the outcome may affect WrestleMania:
Andrade (w/ Zelina Vega) vs. Rey Mysterio
Picking back up on a feud that was hot in January, but kind of forgotten in February, Andrade
Prediction: This one could go either way, as a pay-per-view victory over a future Hall-of-Famer like Mysterio would be great for Andrade, but Rey is a fan-favorite who didn’t really get his win back in the match that was ended due to Joe’s interference. I’m going with a clean win for Rey Mysterio since Vince McMahon usually likes to pop the crowd early.
WrestleMania Impact: None. This match is just a holding pattern for these two superstars. More than likely they will both be involved in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. I would have considered them for a United States Title ladder match, but after this past episode of Smackdown Live, it seems that new champion Samoa Joe is on a collision course with John Cena.
The New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev
This match was added so last minute that Woods didn’t even know it was happening until it was announced on Twitter.
Prediction: Who knows? Rusev and Nakamura aren’t really doing anything, so there really doesn’t seem to be a point to giving them the win. I’m guessing The New Day, in a quick one.
WrestleMania Impact: Zilch.
The Revival (Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson) (c) vs. Aleister Black and Ricochet vs. Chad Gable and Bobby Roode – Raw Tag Team Championship
Raw’s tag team division is finally getting some love with the recent call ups of Black and Ricochet. Of course, this all started when The Revival reportedly asked for their release back in January. Vince McMahon is known for not being big on tag team wrestling, but by the end of last year, the division had turned into what the Divas division used to be: one match per show (maybe) that lasted less than three minutes and usually ended with a distraction roll-up. While it’s still only one match per RAW (two if you count the women’s tag division), they are actually getting time to perform, especially since they want to showcase Ricochet and Aleister Black.
Prediction: Another toss-up, though I think there is zero chance that Chad Gable and Bobby Roode win. In fact, I believe they were added to eat the pin, regardless of which team wins. I decided to look back at the card because sometimes you have to look at the show from a larger scale and see how many matches the faces are going to win versus how many the heels are going to win. As it stands, I think a lot of faces are going to win. So, while my gut feels that they are going to shotgun the titles onto the newcomers, my brain says that The Revival is going to retain the titles since they are the heels. Of course, my gut is bigger than my brain, so maybe I should listen to it.
WrestleMania Impact: None for Roode and Gable. Expect to see them in the Andre. For the other teams, I think it will lead to a rematch, possibly with some kind of stipulation (two-out-three falls would be best, but not likely on a show that is already as bloated as this one will be).
Asuka (c) vs. Mandy Rose – Smackdown Women’s Championship
This program was just kind of thrown together without any backstory. It did get a little heat on Monday, though, when the two faced off at a WWE Live Event in White Plains, NY. Mandy performed a sit-out wheelbarrow slam, but for some reason, Asuka tucked her head instead of taking a flat face bump. This resulted in the match being stopped and doctors helping her to the back.
Prediction: They already gave Rose a surprise victory over the Smackdown Women’s Champion as part of the limited build to this match, so I expect Asuka to handle her easily.
WrestleMania Impact: There is also a possibility that both Sonya Deville and Naomi get involved in this match, which could set up a fatal four-way at WrestleMania. I don’t think it will be a one-on-one rematch between Mandy and Asuka.
The Usos (Jey and Jimmy Uso) (c) vs. The Miz and Shane McMahon – Smackdown Tag Team Championship
Fastlane is being held in The Miz’ hometown of Cleveland, OH, with his dad featured prominently at ringside. The whole story up to this point with Miz and Shane was to get Mr. Mizanin to say how proud he is of his son, which
Prediction: The Usos. They’re just here to propel the Miz/Shane storyline and move on.
WrestleMania Impact: The Usos will likely be involved in a multi-team match at WrestleMania for their titles, unless they get shuffled off to the battle royal, which has happened to them before (WrestleMania 33). The Miz and Shane McMahon have been headed for a one-on-one showdown, so it’s likely that one of them will turn heel at Fastlane, though which one it will be is still up for debate (my money is on Shane).
The Boss ‘n’ Hug Connection (Bayley and Sasha Banks) (c) vs. Nia Jax and Tamina – WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship
This will be the pay-per-view title defense for the newly crowned WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, and they are facing the team that many people thought were going to be the ones to prevail in the Elimination Chamber match that crowned the inaugural champions.
Prediction: I don’t think they will have Sasha and Bayley lose right away, but the Samoan Slaughterhouse (yes, that’s what they call themselves) have been positioned to be imposing forces that are extremely difficult to beat. My gut tells me this one will end in a No-Contest so that neither team has to take a loss heading into Wrestlemania.
WrestleMania Impact: This is just to set up a rematch between these two teams. Nothing more.
The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins) vs. Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre, and Bobby Lashley
With the recent announcement by Roman Reigns that his Leukemia had gone into remission, many wondered how quickly he was going to get back into the ring. Well, pretty quickly it turns out. With lingering questions about Dean Ambrose’s contract status after WrestleMania, one last Shield reunion really makes sense as a way to not only give the fans something to cheer for but to allow Roman to have a match where he doesn’t have to do a lot.
Prediction: Are you serious? SIERRA. HOTEL. INDIA. ECHO. LIMA. DELTA.
WrestleMania Impact: Rollins already has a Universal Championship match with Brock Lesnar scheduled, and Ambrose looks to be moving into a program with Elias, though it remains to be seen if that will result in an actual match. I think Roman gets Baron Corbin at WrestleMania as his first one-on-one match after his recovery. It will be short, and Corbin is solid enough for this role.
Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Kevin Owens – WWE Championship
This match was initially supposed to feature Kofi Kingston, but Vince McMahon decided that the bigger draw would be a returning Kevin Owens facing off against The Planet’s Champion, The New Daniel Bryan.
Prediction: This one will likely be a disqualification finish due to interference, but I’m not sure who will be declared the winner. If they don’t do a No-Contest finish in the women’s tag match, they could do it here. But I think that, in the end, it will be Erick Rowan interfering on behalf of Daniel Bryan, so Owens gets the nod here. There is still a good chance that Kofi and The New Day get involved somehow, though.
WrestleMania Impact: I think we will be getting Bryan vs. Kingston, but the only question will be if Owens gets included, as well. I’m thinking yes, as triple-threat matches are traditionally No Disqualification, and that will be an excellent way to get a bunch of people involved (Rowan, Big E, Xavier Woods, a returning Sami Zayn perhaps?).
Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair
This is the one we are all here to see, folks. The Man Becky Lynch comes in with an “injured” knee but has signed a Hold-Harmless contract as a condition of her suspension being lifted. Look for Charlotte Flair to be relentless in going after the knee as a setup for her Figure Eight submission finisher.
Prediction: Lynch has to win to be added to the WrestleMania match between Flair and Ronda Rousey (even though she won the Royal Rumble and earned her spot already), but I’m not sure if a clean victory over Flair is what the WWE wants (even though the fans do). My guess is that a newly heel Rousey, who wants to face The Man, will come out and beat up Flair to give Becky a disqualification victory. Rousey will then proceed to beat the crap out of both of them, as they have really been playing up her MMA “real fighter” credentials lately. I’m sure Charlotte will pull out a kendo stick at some point, as that has been part of her gimmick as of late.
WrestleMania Impact: We will get the triple-threat match that people have been expecting and the first ever WrestleMania main event to feature the female superstars. Rousey vs. Lynch by themselves would have been great, but Flair deserves to be there, as well. She will likely take the loss so that The Man will complete her rise to the top of the WWE while allowing Rousey to say she has still never been beaten.
Who do you think will win? Leave a comment below.
