Views From The Turnbuckle: Fast Lane Preview, Predictions And More

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WWE looks to rebrand their PPV format in 2015, starting off with Fast Lane. Fast Lane takes the place of Elimination Chamber, as WWE moves away from the stipulation PPV, into a more traditional setup. Throughout its existence, Elimination Chamber never felt quite right. Sandwiched in between the Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania, WWE would hastily construct the Elimination Chamber matches in order to fit into the plans for Wrestlemania. Fast Lane might not be as glamorous as Elimination Chamber, but considering where it falls on the calendar, it makes a lot more sense, and it also frees up the Elimination Chamber to be utilized at a more respectable date later this year.

The main event for Fast Lane is set to be Roman Reigns vs Daniel Bryan, with the winner of the match going on to face Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania. Out of the three possible scenarios (Bryan wins, Reigns wins, or a schmozz) the most likely scenario is the schmozz. On paper, it makes the most sense for WWE. They can have their pet Reigns in the main event, while also satisfying the fans (imagine that!) by having Bryan also main event of Wrestlemania.

WWE is handling the Reigns situation very awkwardly. Despite prior warnings about Reigns' fallibility with fan support, WWE decided to book him to the moon at the Royal Rumble. After the Philadelphia crowd ripped poor Reigns apart, WWE has since seemed genuinely confused by their fanbase. Promos done by both Triple H and Reigns have acknowledged the fans distaste for him, and WWE has had Reigns work somewhat as a tweener when he is with Bryan. Still, Reigns has been portrayed as a babyface in the grand scheme of things, taking on The Authority and never backing down from a fight.

A heel turn might solve things for Reigns, similar to Batista, but the situation with Batista last year is very different from the situation this year with Reigns. Batista got consistently booed from the Royal Rumble, all the way through Wrestlemania. Reigns got booed at the Royal Rumble, but his reactions since then have been less hostile. He doesn't get nearly the support necessary for a babyface that is set to main event Wrestlemania, but a majority of fans are not eagerly looking to tear him down, as they were with Batista. Reigns' biggest enemy right now isn't the boos, but the indifference of the fans.

An example of this would be what happened on Monday. When Reigns attacked Daniel Bryan, the fans didn't cheer, nor did they boo, they just kind of watched it happen. Contrary to that, when Bryan went on the offensive against Reigns, the crowd popped big time for Bryan. If Reigns were to turn heel at Fast Lane, he might not get the kind of heat that will make him relevant in the main event, and would WWE be willing to risk all of the effort they have put into making Reigns a hero for him possibly succeeding as a villain?

The best thing WWE can do right now, is have Bryan beat Reigns clean at Fast Lane, maybe with a roll-up or something, and then move Reigns into a different feud at Wrestlemania. Daniel Bryan vs Brock Lesnar is a perfectly reasonable main event for Wrestlemania, and the fans will cheer for Bryan as he plays the underdog against Brock. Reigns can then slide into a feud with less pressure on him, and something that can help get over down the road. The only issue with that is that by the end of Fast Lane, most of the big names will already have dance partners for Wrestlemania. Triple H, who would clearly be the best opponent for Reigns to face at Wrestlemania, is set to face Sting, Rusev with Cena, and Bray Wyatt with The Undertaker. A good opponent could be Seth Rollins, as him and Reigns have history ready to be exploited in a feud, Rollins is someone with a lot of heat that fans would like to see taken down a peg, and Rollins is the kind of worker that can get the most out of Reigns. That would be the best solution for all parties involved.

The second biggest event set for Fast Lane is Triple H facing off against Sting in what is likely going to be the equivalent of a contract signing for a match at Wrestlemania. Presumably, this will be the first time Sting speaks on WWE television, so that will be the drawing card. Triple H did a fine job on Monday and during his weekly interview with Cole talking about how Sting is trying to take WWE away from him. If WWE does a storyline where Sting tries to exact justice on Triple H for his infractions managing WWE, while Triple H remains a paranoid ass, convinced Sting is trying to take over WWE, then I'm on board. There are lot of questions about Sting, from his physical shape to what kind of reaction he will get from a WWE audience in 2015, but this is a simple, logical storyline that should get people interested.

Rusev will face his biggest challenge, when he faces the unconquerable John Cena on Sunday. Since as soon as Rusev first entered a WWE ring his destiny was to lose to John Cena, it should come as absolutely no surprise when Cena becomes the first person to pin Rusev. However, that seems more like a Wrestlemania moment than a Fast Lane moment, so this will likely be a match that is utilized purely to set up the next match. Expect a double count-out, a DQ finish, or maybe even a Rusev victory via countout, but don't expect anything even remotely clean.

The rest of the card is filled out with normal WWE blandness. The Usos' take on Cesaro and Tyson Kidd, and I can see Kidd and Cesaro taking this one. The Usos' have suffered from overexposure since they have been pretty much the only face tag team on the roster for the last six months, and with the Prime Time Players back and The Lucha Dragons set to come aboard, WWE can roll out some fresh tag team matches. Diva booking remains uninspired. Paige vs Nikki Bella pretty much is a toss-up, and wins and losses don't seem to really mean that much at the Diva level, so no one is really going to gain or lose much there. Stardust and Goldust wrestling might be hotshotted for some, but I'm kind of glad it is happening now instead of Wrestlemania. At Wrestlemania, the match could be regulated to the preshow, at least at Fastlane it will get the attention it deserves. Dean Ambrose will battle Bad News Barrett in a match of perhaps the two most underutilized talent in the company. It is sad how closely the Intercontinental Championship booking resembles the Divas booking, in which wins and losses don't seem to matter that much, and nobody ever gets pushed. As of today, Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler remain off the card, so a show-stealing match between the two could be in the mix.

Make no bones about it, Fast Lane is very obviously a throw-away PPV for WWE. In the same sense that Rusev/Cena might only exist to set up their match at Wrestlemania, Fast Lane only exists to further things along for Wrestlemania. It is a glorified episode of Monday Night Raw, so much so that WWE is giving the thing away for free to new subscribers to the WWE Network. With that being said, there are still some interesting booking decisions in play, so the event might surprise some fans with its level of interesting content as WWE looks to right things for Wrestlemania.