WWE Fastlane 2019

WWE Fastlane 2019

Cleveland, Ohio - March 2019

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the Universal Champion was Brock Lesnar, the WWE Champion was Daniel Bryan, Finn Balor held the IC Title, while the US Title was held by Samoa Joe. The Smackdown Tag Champions were The Usos, while The Revival held the RAW Tag Titles. The RAW Women's Champion was Ronda Rousey and the SmackDown Women's Champion was Asuka.

COMMENTATORS: Saxton, Graves, Cole, Young, and Phillips

Fastlane kicked off with hometown hero The Miz tagging with Shane McMahon in an attempt to win back the SmackDown Tag Team Championships from The Usos. While the Miz/McMahon moments on SmackDown have been pretty good, I haven't found their PPV matches to be "must see." This one benefitted considerably from a hot crowd, but as McMahon gets older, it becomes even harder to take him seriously as an in-ring competitor. The Miz, to me, is still not a great babyface - though he's come a long way from his disastrous run as Ric Flair's protege years ago. There was a crazy spot where Shane McMahon dropkicked one of the Usos as they came flying off the other corner, but it didn't look too great live (the replay was better). The real story of the match came after the Usos had retained as Shane McMahon proceeded to turn on Miz and then assault his father. Shane's post-match attack went on for at least 2 minutes too long and included a woeful arm bar submission that makes absolutely no sense in the context of a post-match beatdown. Again, the crowd's disdain for Shane and support for the Miz was the only thing that saved the segment as, in front of a less emotionally invested audience, this would've have either had the reverse effect (see Charlotte attacking Rousey at Survivor Series) or just gotten crickets. (2/5)

Next up, Asuka defended the SmackDown Women's Championship against Mandy Rose (who was accompanied by Sonya Deville). I complained last month about the Elimination Chamber needing an Asuka match, but this probably didn't help my case. Rose's inexperience showed and the usual "big fight feel" of an Asuka match just wasn't there. Asuka controlled early, but after Deville's distraction, it was Mandy Rose who was in the driver's seat. There was a noticeable botch when Rose had Asuka on her shoulders and while they recovered, the match never went to a second gear (let alone a third). The ending felt a little flat too and I'm not sure why, if the story here is that Asuka is reclaiming her "top guy" status, they didn't just let her win clean. (1.5/5)

Earlier in the pre-show, Kofi Kingston had been summoned to Vince's office and he's still standing outside the door. The rest of New Day show up and tell him to go into the office and they do - with Vince joking that he's been waiting for him for over an hour. Xavier and Big E convince Vince to do the right thing and make tonight's WWE Championship match a triple threat. Vince agrees and says the match...is next!

To the ring we go for the inevitable screwjob - Kofi Kingston makes his way down the aisle, but it is soon announced that he's not going to compete for the WWE Championship after all; he's going to wrestle a handicap match against The Bar. The crowd boos as The Bar make their way down and and destroy Kingston (who gets in a little bit of offense here or there but ultimately gets taken out with some ease). The rest of New Day try to make the save, but Rusev and Nakamura attack them too. The crowd chanted "This is Boring" at one point. Personally, I'm all about Kingston getting a shot at the WWE Championship at WrestleMania, but am less enthused that this has become yet another McMahon-led angle rather than just having Kingston and Daniel Bryan tell the story of a popular, undersung hero (who also happens to sell a ton of merch and useless crap) trying to live his dream by taking the World Title off of an ungrateful villain that has forgotten all that the fans did for him. This wasn't a match so much as a segment, so I'm not going to rate it.

The RAW Tag Team Championships were on the line next as The Revival defended against Ricochet and Aleister Black and the team of Chad Gable and Bobby Roode. According to various reports, The Revival and Gable/Roode have been putting on 30+ minute classics on the house show circuit and the inclusion of Black and Ricochet guaranteed even more action to be packed between the bells. I'm not necessarily a fan of Black and Ricochet teaming up as I think they are far more valuable as singles stars. That being said, it'd be inaccurate to say that their inclusion in a match like this detracts from it. They are undeniably getting over because they are both captivating performers. Still, what prevents a match like this from feeling even a tenth as great as the #DIY/Revival/AoP matches from yesteryear is that Ricochet and Black come off as two singles guys with no real shared history or purpose. Meanwhile, The Revival are fantastic, but their feud with Gable and Roode is too impersonal for me to be emotionally invested (or at least the commentators and video packages failed to highlight any real issues between the teams that I could gather). A good, not great match. (3/5)

Samoa Joe defended the United States Championship against Andrade Almas, R-Truth, and Rey Mysterio next. The crowd was hot for Joe, which is no surprise considering he has been killing it on SmackDown with his promos. Like the previous match, the talent level guaranteed a ton of excitement before the bell even rang and when it did sound, the four combatants immediately lit up the crowd with dives and multi-man sequences. At least an extra half-point should be given for the work of Carmella and Zelina Vega, who maximized their minutes and got a huge response for their physicality. This match was spirited and engaging, with everyone getting in at least one or two spotlight moments, including a clever homage to John Cena from R-Truth. I wouldn't call it a "must see" match, but it was the best of the night up to this point by a fairly wide margin. (3.5/5)

Beth Pheonix joined the commentary team for The Boss N' Hug Connection's very first Women's Tag Team Championship defense against the monstrous team of Nia Jax and Tamina. After an initial flurry from the babyfaces, the heels took over. Nia hit a beautiful powerbomb on Bayley, allowing Tamina to then apply a headlock and cut the ring in half. Sasha got the hot tag soon after and made Tamina look silly, outsmarting and outmaneuvering her at every turn. She was finally cut off by a Nia Jax Samoan Drop, which Banks sold like death. Bayley then came in and hit a running kee and a pair of back elbows. Jax and Tamina both ran into the posts and went to the floor and Banks and Bayley  connected with some splashes to maintain control on the outside. Bayley hit an elbow back on the mat for two, the babyfaces really dominating this match far more than I expected. Bayley counted a powerbomb with a hurricanrana to get the clean three, but after the match, the heels beat them down. The post-match segment saw a heated staredown between Beth Phoenix and Tamina, with Nia Jax then attacking Pheonix and tossing her into the ring. The crowd was livid for this, popping huge for the (failed) save by Natalya. I'm thinking that this is setting the stage for a triple threat match at WrestleMania. I'm not opposed to the idea, though I was definitely hoping we'd get Io Shirai and Kairi Sane challenging the Boss N' Hug Connection instead. A "good enough" match with an intriguing post-match segment. Worked for me. (3/5)

It might be worth noting here just how awful the commentary was for the previous match and, sadly, for some of the main event matches that followed. Graves' schtick during the Mandy Rose match was annoying, but by this point, his constant bickering with Renee Young was drowning out the visual action. I'd be curious to hear what a two-person booth would be like with Young and Cole just commentating and limiting the editorials. I don't know if this would just lead to Graves laying it on even thicker on SmackDown, but at least his antagonistic taunts wouldn't dominate the whole show. Graves' commentary has become so annoying that I'm close to subtracting a point from this show. Moving on...

Daniel Bryan defended the WWE Championship in the next bout - but it wasn't just to Kevin Owens (as advertised) and Kofi Kingston wasn't added to the match. No, Mustafa Ali was the lucky performer to get inserted into the bout. At first, the crowd was none-too-happy about him being included, but he is such a wonderful daredevil babyface that they eventually got behind him by the end. Owens didn't get that big of a response as the crowd vehemently chanted "We Want Kofi" at various times during the match's opening 5 minutes. Bryan's heel work was terrific - as it has been for months now - though I'm still not fa fan of Erick Rowan as some of his offense, which is pretty basic stuff, looks sloppy. Ali was the star of this match, taking some ridiculous bumps (including one into the barricade that looked like something out of a video game). He was in a tough position having to win over a crowd that seemed bothered to see him return and he still managed to do it - in fact, at one point I even daydreamed about the idea of him somehow shocking the world and winning the title and then facing Kofi at Mania in a "Boyhood Dream vs. Boyhood Dream" face/face scenario. It'd be an interesting dynamic, but I don't think the WWE would go for it. In terms of Bryan's recent run of amazing matches, this wasn't tip-top shelf, but it was still considerably better than average (thanks, in large part, to Ali's performance). (3.5/5)

Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte followed in a match where, if Becky could manage to eke out a win, she'd be inserted into the WrestleMania RAW Women's Championship bout. Lynch and Charlotte had some strong matches in 2018, but I wasn't too excited about this. This entire Lynch/Charlotte/Stephanie/Rousey storyline has been overwrought and fussy, forcing this match to happen out of "unnecessary necessity." Charlotte controlled much of the match, which made sense considering that Lynch is still selling a damaged knee. As she looked to finish off Lynch, Rousey showed up and caused the DQ, giving Lynch the cheap victory. Storyline-wise, this made perfect sense as Rousey has been actively seeking to get Lynch into the match, but that didn't make this match/segment a "must see" moment. It was what it was. Here's hoping the triangle match at Mania makes up for this underwhelming storyline. (2/5)

Main event time - The Shield vs. Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, and Baron Corbin. When The Shield debuted years ago, there was some question about how good their 6-man tag matches would be. Independently, Ambrose and Rollins had indie cred and Reigns had the undeniable bloodline, but the WWE had never been a "tag-centric" territory. There was reason to be suspicious about whether or not a 3-man group could be a legit main event act. Over the course of the next several months, they exceeded expectations and delivered riveting matches on PPV (it didn't hurt that they were frequently slotted against peak-era Team Hell No). Still, with this being Reigns comeback and the WWE really pushing this as Dean Ambrose's "last ride," the crowd was fairly hot - even for the mediocre, middling opening stretch. Oddly, it was Ambrose, the guy leaving the company, that shined brightest for his team, flying off the post in the first great spot of the match. Corbin and Reigns kept things going in the ring as the other four ventured into the crowd and back again with Rollins delivering an excellent splash from the stands at one point. Reminiscent of the Shield/Evolution matches from yesteryear but with only a fraction of the gravitas, this match earned a "This is Awesome" chant by the last few minutes - a feat that The Sheild and the Wyatts earned in the first minute of their match years ago. The post-match felt emotional and real without being too saccharine. A good final outing, but nothing that will (or should) make anyone's Match of the Year list in 2019. (3/5)


Fastlane 2009 was a solid show, but not a must-see one. There were a number of above-average matches in the night and plenty of storyline progression, but it also felt overbooked at times. Elias' recurring cameos were filler (as was the Lacey Evans one). The inclusion of Mustafa Ali was a headscratcher that could've died a terrible death - if it wasn't for Mustafa Ali nearly killing himself to get over with the live crowd. The Kofi squash made storyline sense, as did Shane's beatdown of Miz, but both neither would ever be confused with the grittier, more personal, more emotion, more iconic angles that the WWE and NWA could be counted on for 20-30 years ago. One could argue we've seen it all in 2019, but I find that to be a bit of a cop-out. The WWE needs to just work that much harder at creating interesting moments. With a Kwang Score of 2.69-out-of-5, this was a middle of the road show with two very good-not-quite-"must see" matches. Recommended to only the biggest modern WWE marks.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuever