Views From The Turnbuckle: Fast Lane Review, Reaction, Star Ratings And More

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Daniel Bryan vs Roman Reigns: ***1/2

A respectable match from a quality standpoint, but the sad reality is that most fans will not remember the match, but the controversial ending. To the surprise of some, Vince McMahon and WWE stuck to their guns and are going along with Roman Reigns being the top babyface heading into Wrestlemania to face Brock Lesnar. This was done despite the fact that Reigns didn't earn that great of a reaction from the crowd tonight, although that may have been because the Memphis crowd had been drained by a lackluster show leading up to the main event.

Both performers did a good job extracting drama late in the match after a slow start, and while Bryan certainly deserves a lot of credit, but Reigns did everything that was asked of him, and showed fans that he is capable of having a decent singles match, given the right opponent. Reigns looked strong in the match, but he didn't look overpowering, and Bryan was able to leave the ring with his head held high.

With this outcome, WWE has decided it is time to ride or die with Roman Reigns, which is probably going to be a mistake. No harm could be done by demoting Reigns down the card a bit and let him build up a more organic following for next Wrestlemania. Instead, WWE is throwing Reigns right into the deep end of the pool, whether or not he is ready to swim.

John Cena vs Rusev: **

The knock on John Cena hasn't been that he was incapable of having a good match, but because he isn't good enough to get a good match out of a limited opponent. Rusev vs Cena is an example of that. The pair wrestled a slow, plodding match with a lot of punches and kicks, although Rusev did show a greater array of power moves than he had shown in the past. The main issue was that this came off as a match that wouldn't have been out of place during the early 90's WWE. Hogan fought a bunch of these type matches against limited workers like Earthquake and The Barbarian. In 2015, that isn't a good thing.

The match finished as well as one could realistically hope. Rusev picked up the win, technically by submission, which gives him the needed victory over Cena. It would have been better for Cena to have lost without any interference by Lana, but honestly, that is not a realistic expectation. Now we see Cena come out Raw, talk about how some people might not believe in him, but he still believes in himself, Rusev is going to pay, etc. Par for the course for WWE in this one.

Triple H – Sting segment

Triple H and Sting's segment was about what most people expected. The two men had a "confrontation" and pretty much confirmed their match at Wrestlemania. The only real surprise was that I at least thought Sting was going to speak, but it looks like WWE believes that Sting not speaking is the best route to go. Because of that, Sting's actual motivation for getting involved with Triple H and WWE remains a mystery, so hopefully WWE will come up with something interesting for Sting to say in the upcoming weeks.

Triple H was pretty strong on the mic, and he got his points across well. One thing I would like to see him become a little bit more frustrated because he can't figure out what Sting wants out of Triple H. Triple H has built his career on being the cerebral assassin, getting into peoples head. Sting is someone that doesn't speak and is virtually emotionless, Triple H has no idea to handle him, and that is what makes Sting dangerous. My only real complaint is Triple H reacting to Sting point the bat at his throat like it was a shotgun. It is a baseball bat Triple H, force needs to be put behind it for it to cause damage. I guess he could crush his larynx? Sting's physical shape and in-ring ability still remains a question mark.

Big Show, Kane and Seth Rollins vs Dolph Ziggler, Ryback and Erick Rowan: **3/4

Not a bad opening match, and it did its intended job, which was to set up Orton's return and presumably a Wrestlemania match between Seth Rollins and Orton. Orton vs Rollins could be the best match at Wrestelmania, and the best part about it is its logical booking. Rollins basically shoehorned Orton out of The Authority and then attempted to end Orton's career with the curbstomp. Now, Orton is back as a face with a vengeance, and will look to exact revenge on the man who tried to end his career. It is simple booking, but it works because it involves a wrestler that generates a lot of heat, and a popular wrestler who fans really want to see exact his revenge. The fact that it involves an established veteran working with a talented up-and-comer is also a great bonus.

Goldust vs Stardust: **1/2

It wasn't the cleanest match, but there was some decent psychology on display, and Cody continues to hit every single gimmick he is given out of the ballpark. The only issue was that it all felt kind of rushed. There probably should have been a little bit more time between their confrontations and their first match, but everything seems to moving along really well after tonight. I have been a big proponent of Cody turning face and becoming a star that way, but it makes a lot of sense after tonight to see him as a heel. He was simply excellent in his post-match beatdown of Goldust.

The Usos vs Tyson Kidd and Cesaro: ***1/2

Good match that built up nicely in the beginning and then was executed well at the end. The Uso's run as champions has involved good matches, but they have just become really stale as champions. Even the best workers need good booking to keep them relevant, but the Uso's just seemed to be getting the minimal from management, and that has led to a pretty lame tag team division. Cesaro and Kidd are much fresher as a team, in addition to being great wrestlers. It also opens the door for some other face tag teams (the soon-to-be-called-up Lucha Dragons and the recently reformed Prime Time Players) and will hopefully create more depth for the division.

Nikki Bella vs Paige: **

This match was looking pretty good until the finish, which left a lot to be desired. The roll-up was very clean, and it came off as being very anti-climatic. The Divas division main enemy continues to be a lack of fan interest. It just doesn't feel like it is matters all that much who the Divas Champion really is, and thus the matches lack a lot of drama.

Dean Ambrose vs Wade Barrett: *3/4

The Intercontinental Championship match suffers from many of the same problems that the Divas Championship match in that it really doesn't seem to matter in the grand scheme of things who actually is the Intercontinental Champion. The match itself was doing okay, but the DQ finish was surprising and not in a good way, and it continues a feud that doesn't really seem to be doing much for either wrestler.

I had the sinking feeling that The Undertaker was not going to be in the coffin, and although Bray Wyatt did a fine job cutting his promo and calling out The Undertaker formally, it still would have been to see The Undertaker back in good health. Wyatt has been booked pretty well in the last several months, but is that enough to wash off the stink that was on him after almost a year of jobbing for relatively little in return. Are fans going to take Wyatt seriously as a rival for The Undertaker? That remains to be seen.

The term PPV probably should not be utilized when describing Fast Lane. This was a glorified episode of Raw, whose sole purpose was to promote Wrestlemania in 35 days. There were a few highlights, but there was not a single thing that took place on this show that couldn't have been done on an episode of Raw.