Fastlane General Discussion

[Dave]

Fastlane is less than two weeks away now, ladies and gentlemen. And, actually, the card is not that bad. A surprise given the seemingly poor product that Smackdown has been putting out recently. The card is as follows...

WWE Championship
Styles vs Owens vs Zayn vs Corbin vs Ziggler

US Championship
Bobby Roode vs Randy Orton

Smackdown Womens Championship
Charlotte Flair vs Ruby Riott

Smackdown Tag Championships
The Usos vs The New Day

Objectively speaking, that's a pretty decent card as of now. I fully expect Nakamura versus Cena to be added to the mix after tonight or next week - thanks to Cena's need for a road to WrestleMania. Neither are doing anything of note right now so it make sense for Nakamura to take on Cena and get a big win on the eve of Mania.

I'm cautiously optimistic that this can begin turning things around for Smackdown. It's a decent enough card with all of the top stars being utilised.

['Ravishing' Ned Flanders]

With the exception of seeing Ziggleypuff in another WWE title match I'm actually more excited for Fastlane than I was Elimination Chamber.

Every match has someone i enjoy watching and (except for AJ & Charlotte retaining) I can't really say who's going to win the other matches.

All in all despite the drop in quality Smackdown still knows how to put on a decent PPV

[#AbsoluteUnit]

I agree with above poster said. Why is Ziggler in the WWE Title match?

Otherwise, this card looks solid for a B-show PPV.

[noahconstrictor]

Quick thoughts on the potential card (one day I'll learn formatting):

• 5-Man WWE Title
  
  Depending on how they do it this can either be an early MOTY candidate or a passable watch. I think a lot of it depends on how much they utilize weapons because of the no-DQ aspect of things, and whether we see Nakamura interfere to make sure AJ is champion going into Mania.
  
• US Title
  
  This has potential, but it really depends on if Orton phones it in during this match. I've just generally soured on Orton as of late.
  
  
• Women's Title
  
  I'm curious to see if they pull the trigger on Ruby Riott. The match itself should be a solid match, but they're in a bit of an odd corner where I don't think Ruby is quite ready for the title, but they need to do SOMETHING with the Riott Squad for them to really seem credible.
  
  
• Tag Titles
  
  It's Usos vs New Day part 23890283920, it's gonna be a great match, but it feels like they're just passing time for the Bludgeon Brothers to take the titles.
  
  
  
• Nakamura vs. Cena?
  
  If this happens, give it 45 minutes. Please. The match they had on Smackdown in August was painfully short. I need these guys in an all-out epic brawl with Cena fighting to get to Mania but falling just short.
  
  
• Other stuff
  
  I couldn't even tell you a single other match that could happen, which is both good and bad. I think that if they go with a five-match card and give each match time, it could be a great night filled with awesome matches, but a lot of it depends on the Women's Match and the US Title match not falling flat. Overall, I'm excited just to see if Smackdown can get it's head out of it's ass and give us a solid PPV and get out of this godawful Shane vs Bryan bullshit.

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Fastlane already looks like a solid show even without the card completely filled out yet. I scoffed at the 5 man main event at first , but now the more I think about it, it's going to be a fun match to watch. Charlotte should put on a good show as well as The USO's vs New Day. Roode vs Randy has potential but I really don't expect a classic there

[Dave]

I guess it'll all become clear later on tonight when Smackdown is done and dusted. But I'd be very surprised if they didn't go with Cena versus Nakamura. Like I pointed out, neither has anything to do at Fastlane and it would make a star of Nakamura if he can beat Cena in a 30-40 minute classic.

The story is so simple yet beautifully effective. Cena doesn't have a road to WrestleMania and he knows that Nakamura will want to prove to everyone that he has what it takes to headline WrestleMania. Nakamura is exactly the type of person who would agree with that and accepts the match. Cena strains everything he has to beat Nakamura but Naka still comes up trumps. It makes a star out of Nakamura and furthers the story that Cena doesn't have an opponent. Beautiful.

[Wildcat66]

If there's one thing SD has almost always nailed, it's PPVs. So i'm feeling very confident even though recent SDs have been rather lackluster.

If nothing else, if given the time: Every match has the potential to be really good.

Matches i'm most interested in: Cena v. Nakamura, 5-Man WWE Title Matchup.

[Yaz]

Well Dave, looks like you were wrong again. I guess the old adage is still true.

The now six way will be a clusterfuck and won't be fun. Nothing with Ziggler is ever fun. The US Title match will be okay if they keep Jinder out. Women's match is just a filler to get Charlotte back to Wrestlemania as champ, but Ruby is my girl and she can work so the match should be good if they keep the shenanigans to a minimum. Can't believe I'm saying this, but Usos vs. New Day again is too soon. Even with the Bludgeon Brothers likely being added or flat out taking New Day's place, The Usos were heels the entire New Day feud, then became faces in a decent enough segment where the two teams respected each other after a long feud, then have the Gable/Shelton feud, and now look to be heels again.

Not sure who Nakamura could face. It will probably be Mojo, its always Mojo, but he needs to beat an established name. I don't know if Rusev is a big enough name, but it will most likely be Nakamura vs Rusev.

I'm just not excited for these filler PPVs between RR and Mania, as nothing of note happens.

[Dave]

Well Dave, looks like you were wrong again. I guess the old adage is still true.

The now six way will be a clusterfuck and won't be fun. Nothing with Ziggler is ever fun. The US Title match will be okay if they keep Jinder out. Women's match is just a filler to get Charlotte back to Wrestlemania as champ, but Ruby is my girl and she can work so the match should be good if they keep the shenanigans to a minimum. Can't believe I'm saying this, but Usos vs. New Day again is too soon. Even with the Bludgeon Brothers likely being added or flat out taking New Day's place, The Usos were heels the entire New Day feud, then became faces in a decent enough segment where the two teams respected each other after a long feud, then have the Gable/Shelton feud, and now look to be heels again.

Not sure who Nakamura could face. It will probably be Mojo, its always Mojo, but he needs to beat an established name. I don't know if Rusev is a big enough name, but it will most likely be Nakamura vs Rusev.

I'm just not excited for these filler PPVs between RR and Mania, as nothing of note happens.

Indeed I was. I hadn't seen anything to suggest that it was going to be Nakamura versus Cena but it made all kinds of sense, from a purely story telling angle. Cena needed a bit win to head towards Mania and Nakamura needed a big win to legitimise himself as a main event contender. This was a sensible match that the WWE have neglected. I'm actually disappointed.

As far as Nakamura goes, it'll likely be Rusev that gets the match at Fastlane. That, for my money, is a mistake too. Rusev is way over and losing to Nakamura does nothing for him. I don't know why the WWE is keeping him down just now but he definitely deserves better than a fleeting appearance against Nakamura. The WWE should be building Rusev up and capitalising on his popularity. Alas, the WWE is as the WWE has always been - blind to what it right in front of them.

[Yaz]

Indeed I was. I hadn't seen anything to suggest that it was going to be Nakamura versus Cena but it made all kinds of sense, from a purely story telling angle. Cena needed a bit win to head towards Mania and Nakamura needed a big win to legitimise himself as a main event contender. This was a sensible match that the WWE have neglected. I'm actually disappointed.

As far as Nakamura goes, it'll likely be Rusev that gets the match at Fastlane. That, for my money, is a mistake too. Rusev is way over and losing to Nakamura does nothing for him. I don't know why the WWE is keeping him down just now but he definitely deserves better than a fleeting appearance against Nakamura. The WWE should be building Rusev up and capitalising on his popularity. Alas, the WWE is as the WWE has always been - blind to what it right in front of them.

Cena/Nak would have been a much better story than throwing him into the title match clusterfuck. You could bill it as Cena challenging Nakamura either for his #1 contender spot or if he wins the match becomes a triple threat. It kills two birds, it gives Cena a solid short term story and gives Nakamura a big marque win right before Wrestlemania.

Sadly, yeah, they are gonna throw the uber over Rusev in and wonder why the crowd will be split because they insist Rusev be heel because he is European. Europe=Evil. That is a 100% true fact. Hitler? European. Mussolini? European. Vlad the Impaler? European. Leopold II? European. Ubisoft? European. The guy who first used cuck? European. The guy who directed The Space Between Us? European. Can't argue those facts.