Views From The Turnbuckle: Fastlane Review, Fans Denied Once More By WWE

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FastLane, No Way Out, Elimination Chamber, whatever it is being called each year, the February PPV is usually known for taking feuds that began at the Royal Rumble and building onto them for WrestleMania. Despite the fact that there were plenty of matches that came from feuds that took place or began at the Royal Rumble, the WrestleMania picture remains unclear, which can only logically mean that WWE is not entirely sure what they want to do at WrestleMania. The only match that is official right now is the one that had both competitors standing in the ring to close the PPV.

Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns vs Dean Ambrose-***3/4

A pretty solid main event, albeit it was pretty predictable right down to the finish and the post-match staredown between Reigns and Triple H. WWE could tease different outcomes on RAW all they wanted, but the reality was that the match played out in exactly the same fashion that most fans originally predicted it would.

Brock Lesnar is a really gifted performer, every match seems like a bigger deal when he is in it, and this match was no exception. I would have liked to have seen him have a greater impact in the match, instead of laying on the outside for half of it, but I will admit that it was cool seeing him emerge from the wreckage like Solomon Grundy, reborn more powerful than before. I imagined that the Wyatt's were going to play a role in this match, but they didn't, in fact they had a really bad night overall, so Lesnar's WrestleMania plans remain a mystery right now.

Dean Ambrose continued his strong babyface performance, albeit it hasn't gotten him closer to breaking through that glass ceiling. When Ambrose and Reigns began trading blows in the middle of the ring after disposing of Lesnar, Ambrose was clearly the fan favorite while the audience booed Reigns loudly any time he got in some offense. Like Lesnar, Ambrose was given no indicator tonight about his WrestleMania plans, although I have a feeling it is going to be tied into Reigns.

Chris Jericho vs AJ Styles-***1/2

I like that they gave this match a lot of time and gave each guy a lot of offense, but it wasn't as good as it could have been. It seemed like there were a few miscommunications in the ring, which is fine, Styles is only several weeks removed from working strong style matches in Japan, but it took away a bit from what could have been a great match.
I thought it was interesting that they let Jericho kick out of the Styles Clash. One of the reasons AJ really got over in Japan was that Gedo really emphasized the lethality of the Styles Clash, nobody kicked out of it very often. First singles PPV match Styles has and Jericho kicks out of it seems like the opposite way. Of course, different promotions have different styles and ways to get people over, so I don't think it means all that much for either wrestler.

It will be interesting to see what Styles is going to do going forward. Working with Jericho is a fine establishment feud for Styles, but will WWE commit to him going forward, particularly with WrestleMania coming up. A likely opponent is Kevin Owens, but considering how limited they are on star power, Styles (and Owens for that matter) are capable of holding bigger spots on the card.

Dolph Ziggler vs Kevin Owens-***1/4

This was a good, back and forth match that had a pretty predictable ending. I think one of the problems is that Ziggler's matches have become really redundant. He has all of these signature moves, the Fame-asser, the superkick, the X-Factor, that he has never seemed to actually win a match with, and he has being doing all of them for years now having the same match over and over again. Ziggler is a good worker, but his character has been running in circles for years now and even good workers become boring after a while. This match would have been much better if we hadn't already seen a hundred very similar matches before.

Luke Harper, Braun Strowman and Erick Rowan vs The Big Show, Kane and Ryback-**1/2

A match that ended up not being nearly as bad as it could have been, it also had an unpredictable finish with Ryback getting the pinfall after an awkward Shellshocked. Most people had this match pegged as a showcase for Strowman because Vince McMahon is reportedly very high on him, but he hardly did anything in the match, if anything this was a showcase for Ryback. If Wyatt (and his family) are supposed to be feuding with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, it would make sense for them to pick up a win at Fast Lane, but WWE didn't go that route. I have no idea why Ryback, Big Show and Kane won this match and would love to hear a good explanation.

Charlotte vs Brie Bella-**

Not a terrific match, it got really sloppy at times and the finish was pretty awkward. Brie was a decent babyface and there was plenty of sympathy because of the real-life injuries to her sister and husband, which helped the match get a bit emotional. Charlotte is a much better wrestler as a heel, and she is good at using her physical size and athleticism to build the heat on her opponents. Her biggest problem is that she still lacks poise in the ring and during finishes, leading to some awkward moments in the ring. I get why she uses the Figure Eight, but she rarely seems to apply it very smoothly. We are clearly headed towards a WrestleMania match of some kind between Banks and Charlotte, and there is going to be a lot of pressure on both women to deliver a memorable bout.

Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch vs Tamina and Naomi-**1/2

Not the match I would have expected to open the show, but a decent start nonetheless. This was an excellent showcase of Sasha Banks, she completely changed the tone, pace and excitement of the match when she was tagged in. There was a not a lot of emotion or crowd reaction before she got in, and there were some sloppy moments, but as soon as Sasha got in, that all changed. Banks was clearly more charismatic and a better technical wrestler than anybody else in the ring, and it showed. The purpose of this match was to get Banks closer to the Diva's championship and that goal was achieved tonight.

R-Truth vs Curtis Axel-*1/2

What the hell is going on here? Were they trying to murder the crowd for the main event so they wouldn't boo Reigns too loud? How can WWE have enough time to have this match, which would have been boring for an episode of Superstars let alone a PPV, and not have time for Kalisto and Del Rio to be on the main show? Just weird time management, if you shave a single minute off of every other match and give this slot to the United States Championship match, you could have easily fit them on the show.

WWE has plenty of work to do for WrestleMania season. Fortunately, for the first time they have a special event on the WWE Network airing in March before WrestleMania takes place where they can further cultivate feuds. That however, will not solve their most important problem, which is that the one match that is confirmed for the show had fans booing and giving the thumbs down sign to close the show. I don't know what the fans can do to voice their displeasure about that match any more than they are doing, it is up to WWE to either get Reigns over (and after 18 months of getting the machine behind him and getting nowhere I don't see how WWE is suddenly going to accomplish in the next several weeks) or alter their plans accordingly.