Tuesday 21 March 2017

WWE Fastlane 2017 Review

WWE Fastlane, the last PPV before Wrestlemania, took place on Sunday 5th March at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I have to admit, having a PPV in March is a little weird but let's take a look and see how it goes.

The match on the Pre Show is The Brian Kendrick and Noam Dar versus Akira Tozowa and Rich Swann. Kendrick and Dar get the advantage and wear down Tozowa. Tozowa manages to tag in Swan but then he gets worn down. Tozowa and Swann make their comeback make their comeback and get the win thanks to Swann hitting a Phoenix splash on Dar. This match wasn't too bad.
Winners: Akira Tozowa and Rich Swann (0 for 1)

The first match on the show was Samoa Joe taking on Sami Zayn. Joe is dominant for most of the match, although Sami came close with a blue thunder bomb. In the end, Joe does get the win with a coquina clutch. This was a really good match and it's great to see Samoa Joe on the main roster and, at the minute, being used right.
Winner: Samoa Joe (1 for 2)

Next is Enzo and Cass challenging Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson for the RAW Tag Team Championship. Gallows and Anderson get the advantage after Anderson kicks Enzo in the back of the head. Enzo, after getting beaten up, eventually gets the hot tag to Cass. They go on to hit the Bada Boom Shakalaka but Gallows breaks up the pin. Anderson knees Enzo in the head then covers him. Enzo does put his foot on the ropes but Gallows pushes it off and the referee doesn't see it. This was quite a good match and I'm quite looking for a possible rematch at Wrestlemania
Winners: Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson (2 for 3)

We now get Nia Jax against Sasha Banks. Sasha starts at a fast pace before Nia takes control, focusing on the back. Sasha does manage to apply a sleeper to slow Nia down. In the end, Sasha gets the win with a bridging sunset flip out of nowhere. I was a bit surprised that Sasha won but this was a decent match.
Winner: Sasha Banks (2 for 4)

Next is Jinder Mahal against Cesaro. Earlier in the night, Mahal and Rusev ended their partnership and General Manager Mick Foley gave them single matches. Before this match, they brawled and it ended with Mahal sending him over the barrier. Anyway, the match ends when Mahal sees Rusev standing by the announce table. He then walks into a pop up European uppercut by Cesaro and Cesaro wins. Not a great match to be honest.
Winner: Cesaro (N/A)
 
After Rusev beat up Mahal in retaliation to earlier, he took on The Big Show. Despite Rusev's best efforts, Big Show hit 3 choke slams followed by a knock out punch to get the win. This felt like a filler match, which you shouldn't have on PPV.
Winner: The Big Show (N/A)

Now, a match that I was really looking forward to: Jack Gallagher challenging King Neville of the Cruiserweights for the Cruiserweight Championship. Gallagher frustrates Neville at the beginning before Neville gets the advantage. Gallagher is forced to do moves that he doesn't usually do, such as a suicide dive and a back suplex from the top turnbuckle. Neville comes close after a brutal German suplex followed by a Phoenix splash. In the end, Neville hits the Red Arrow to get the win. This was a really good match and it was probably Neville's best match since he turned heel.
Winner: Neville (3 for 5)

Next is Roman Reigns taking on Braun Strowman. Strowman hits big power moves such as a spinebuster and a Samoan drop but Reigns doesn't stay down. Reigns does mount a comeback but he gets power slammed through the Spanish announce table. In the end, Strowman misses a top rope splash and Reigns spears him to get the win. It was a good match but I feel that Strowman should have won.
Winner: Roman Reigns (4 for 6)

The penultimate match is for the RAW Women's Championship as Charlotte Flair challenges Bayley. In an interview earlier on, Bayley wanted Charlotte's lackey, Dana Brooke, to backstage and, surprisingly, Charlotte did that. After some back and forth, Charlotte clotheslines Bayley outside the ring to gain the advantage. Bayley eventually makes her comeback and comes close aftera hurracarrana then a Macho Man elbow drop. In the end, Charlotte is about to go to for a moonsault to the outside when Sasha Banks runs down and they brawl. This gives Bayley the chance to hit a Belly-to-Bayley on the outside. When the action goes back into the ring, Charlotte does a roll up with a handful of tights, which Sasha points out to the ref. Charlotte kicks out at Sasha then Bayley hits another Belly-to-Bayley to get the win.

Ok, where to start with this? First of all, Charlotte losing her first match on PPV was a surprise as I thought they would do it at Wrestlemania. Secondly, why didn't this match end in a disqualification? Sasha comes out and interferes twice, helping Bayley. Bayley is the babyface here, right? She is the most babyface character WWE have had in years and I'm worried about what WWE are doing with her.
Winner: Bayley (4 for 7)

The main event was for the Universal Championship as Goldberg challenges Kevin Owens. After both guys are introduced, Owens spends ages outside the ring walking around. He finally gets in and demands that the bell be rung. Suddenly, The Gift of Jericho comes out, distracting Owens. The referee decides that this is a prefect time to ring the bell and Goldberg hits a spear followed by a jackhammer to get the win and become the Universal Champion. The match lasted 22 seconds.

Ok, what the actual fuck? I cannot believe that the main event of a PPV ended like this. They do musical distractions leading to endings all the time on RAW and it's so annoying. Also, this match committed a cardinal sin, which is you absolutely cannot feel sorry for a heel. I love Owens but I feel that his reign wasn't as great as it could have been and for it to end to a part time wrestler in 22 seconds feels like a giant "fuck you" to him. Hopefully, like Bryan who suffered a similar fate a few years ago, he can recover from this and be his usual awesome self. Now, we're going to get Lesnar vs Goldberg for the Universal Championship at Wrestlemania, which to be honest, I'm struggling to give a fuck about.
Winner: Goldberg (5 for 8)

I feel that Fastlane was a disappointing event. It started pretty well with Samoa Joe vs Sami Zayn and the Cruiserweight Championship match was probably the best one of the show. However, there were some filler matches and the last two matches were just ruined by really shitty booking. At the time of writing this, there are 11 matches announced for Wrestlemania and there are some that I'm looking forward to, such as Owens vs Jericho and Neville vs Aries. However, there are some that I'm finding hard to give a fuck about and that's worrying for WWE's biggest event of the year.

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