WWE Fastlane 2019: Best and Worse Moments
Last night WWE fans witnessed the final PPV stop on the road to Wrestlemania when WWE Fastlane took place live from Cleveland Ohio. The night saw several titles on the line including the tag team championships for both brands, the WWE Championship, and the first title defence for the women’s tag team championships. The night also saw Becky Lynch look to get back into her Wrestlemania match up and exciting kickoff show contest you did not want to miss! In today’s blog post we are going to be looking at some of the highs and lows of WWE Fastlane twenty nineteen so strap yourselves in!
Shane Turns on the Miz
The opening contest saw the Usos defend their Smackdown LIVE tag team championships against the Miz and Shane McMahon and again I was left surprised at just how much I enjoyed this match. All four men had a great showing, there were some awesome spots and the storytelling was simply fantastic. The WWE kept to sensible booking keeping the titles on the Usos heading into Mania while the actions after the match were the even bigger highlights. After Miz suffered yet another loss for his team Shane McMahon unsparingly turned on his tag team partner leaving the arena to a sea of boos. Throughout the match fans in attendance were of course strongly behind their hometown boy adding to how good this moment really was and of course the beatdown taking place right in front of the Miz’s father. Very well done, and a true highlight of the night this was a great way to set up their Mania contest.
Don’t Split Them
Up next is my first down of the night and this comes from the Smackdown LIVE Women’s championship match. Now, that actual match itself I found fairly good. This was another display of just how far Mandy has come as an in-ring performer and it was her best singles showing so far. The ending, however, isn’t something I enjoyed. I really do believe there is so much more the WWE could have done for Asuka on the last PPV before Mania and it was such an important night for her, however, what we saw instead was Rose slipped on the ring apron technically because of the mistake made by Sonya Deville creating problems between the two. Tensions between Rose and Deville have been teased several times before, but I really do not believe the right move is to split these two up at all! The WWE four weeks to save Asuka’s Wrestlemania booking and things between Rose and Deville will now be very interesting!
The Revival Retain Tag Team Gold
One of my favourite matches of the night came from the RAW tag team championship bout. The match itself was so exciting and literally, every single man involved had their standout moment. Gable and Roode showed to be one of the strongest teams on the RAW roster today with still so much to deliver, Ricochet and Black introduce themselves to the WWE main roster on PPV exceptionally well and the Revival walked out still tag team champs in a sensible and favourite decision. The booking overall here was very clever! I loved how Gable’s last tag was made and seeing Ricochet and Black standing tall come the end of the night was another clever move.
Changes for Mysterio and Andrade
While I could sit back and watch Andrade and Mysterio battle it out in one on one action several times over I was delighted to see the pair moved to the main show to compete in a fatal four-way contest for the United States Championship. It was yet another example of smart booking on the road to Wrestlemania that kept some of Smackdown LIVE’s brightest stars busy at Fastlane. This too was an exciting contest full of Lucha Libre style competition, modern day wrestling and fast-paced action from the start and throughout. An exciting title match with no surprise ending but a good change of plans for Rey and Almas.
The Divas of Doom Are coming
After suffering a loss and failing to capture the women’s tag team titles Nia Jax and Tamina looked to vent their frustration out and picked commentator and WWE Hall of Famer, Beth Phoenix as their next victim. It, of course, didn’t take all too long for former Champion Natalya to make an appearance coming to the aid of her long-time friend but with Jax and Tamina standing so strong the divas of doom didn’t stand a chance on this particular night but could a return to the ring be on the cards for Beth? Her appearance last night has left fans wondering if tag teamwork is on the cards for her and Natalya in the near future and I have to admit… that’s something I can definitely get behind and have some excitement for! I also want to say how much I loved just how Tamina and Jax were booked last night too!
Kofi Kingston WILL Have His Wrestlemania Moment
Damn the WWE really did have me pretty emotional when it came to all things Kofi Kingston last night! With Vince McMahon playing mind games with Kingston in what has turned out to be a rather confusing angle, Kofi was basically lied to and tricked into a handicap match after being promised a place in the WWE Championship match. Taking a brutal beating at the hands of the Bar Kofi left the arena far from on a high but fans in attendance couldn’t have made it clearer Kingston was the man they wanted in this match and want to see chase after the WWE championship! After the response Kofi picked up last night and the storytelling, we witnessed we can most certainly expect to see Kingston have his Wrestlemania moment this year!
Mustafa Ali Makes an Impact
My personal favourite match of the night was the WWE championship contest which turned out to be a triple threat after Mustafa Ali made his in-ring return. The booking decision was most certainly unexpected but after Ali missed out on the Elimination chamber it made sense! This match for me had everything you could ask for. There wasn’t a weak link in sight, each superstar came close to a victory, Erick Rowan played his role but for me, it was Mustafa Ali who really stole the show. His performance last night was on an entirely other level! He truly did show he deserves to be in the position he found himself and can share the ring with the best of the best. This was by far one of my favourite matches of the year so far!
Disappointment
I’ll be honest, the biggest disappointment when it comes to Fastlane this year for me came from the women’s division and the one on one matchup between Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch. I completely understand why this match was booked the way it was booked and the role in which Ronda Rousey played towards the end, but I just wanted more and better. I expected a far longer match, longer than under ten minutes at least! I wanted to see that special moment where Lynch defies the odds and picks up the win alone. The way this went for me just felt very lazy and disappointing and it’s a real shame but again, I understand why it was done this way.
Overall Thoughts
Overall, I thought this was a solid PPV. It was a slow start but come the end of the night I couldn’t get the WWE Championship match out of my head and that very special main event. As a major Shield fan from the beginning, it was both amazing and emotional to watch their last match up together. The bout of the night it obvious for me with the Triple threat standing out. The women’s division work was very weak in my opinion, the tag team division, however, was on fire and the US Championship match was another strong standout of the night. We had some excellent storytelling heading into the last push of Mania season but we still have work to be done for certain superstars!
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