Pop-Break’s WWE Fastlane Reaction Blog
Did WWE FastLane live up to its hype? Was there hype at all? Running up against The Walking Dead, The Oscars, and Total Divas, tonight’s event has some tough competition. The pre-show panel with Renee Young, Booker T, Corey Graves, and Byron Saxton go through each match, and I have to say, Graves is very well versed on the mic. He speaks very well. Shame his wrestling career is over, however he does appear to have a long commentary career ahead of him. They push the Cena/Rusev match very hard as a “Cena’s last stand” type deal. Huh.
Promo packages run for Sheamus who is returning any day now. I wonder where he will fit in with an already overcrowded main event party.
We’ve got Miz TV with guest, Rabbi Paul Heyman. Crowd throws the heat on Miz, while Damien Sandow gets pops to piss off the Miz. Funny start with Heyman ridiculing Miz’s so-called Hollywood career, while Miz defends himself. Heyman assures victory if Daniel Bryan wins tonight, but apparently is interrupted by the presence of Sandow. Miz forces Sandow to sit in the corner to piss off the fans. Heyman then talks about Roman Reigns being a bad-ass, and the whole Yes Movement, but ultimately Reigns too, has no chance of defeating Brock Lesnar. Heyman delivers a great promo, as Miz and Mizdow have yet another tense confrontation.
The event kicks off with the six man tag featuring Team Authority (Rollins, Kane, Big Show) defeating The Rebellion (Ziggler, Ryback, Rowan). Nice melee match with everyone getting their shots in, but of course, you knew Dolph Ziggler would be in there the longest. Surprising finish with Big Show socking Ziggler out cold with a KO Punch, assisted by Kane. So I guess Kane and Show are back on the same page after all. Post match, Rollins pancakes the face of Ziggler into the mat via Curb Stomp. Team Authority celebrates, until…
OUTTA NOWHERE! Randy Orton charges the ring and everyone eats an RKO sans Rollins who escapes unscathed. There’s one WrestleMania match for you.
Next up, we get a matchload of confusion. Cody and Dustin put on a good match, but there seemed to be a lot of miscommunication and slow spots. High point was the new attire for Stardust. Very strange finish which saw Goldust roll up his brother, and it seemed as if Starry was supposed to kick out, the ref hesitated, and we got what might have been an early or botched finish. Goldust wins, and everyone looks confused. I felt the confusion, it just radiated off the television.
Winner by botched pin: Goldust
Next up the Tag Team Championship Match between The Usos and The Brass Ring Club. Nice solid match, both teams showing off some great flow of chain wrestling. A nice mix of slow wrestling mixed with some fast-paced action. The end is nigh when the Superfly Splash is countered, and thanks to some outside distraction, Tyson Kidd hits his twisting Suplex drop for the pinfall victory, and the titles.
Winners and New Tag Team Champions: The Brass Ring Club
Well, we know this is going to get physical, Triple H comes to the ring in his T-Shirt, jeans, and trademark brawling leather jacket. This one won’t be corporate at all. Triple H outright calls out Sting, berating him for “backing the wrong horse” in WCW during the Monday Night Wars. The Game offers Sting a chance to walk away, and simply stay behind the scenes. Sting does not respond, and HHH goes for a cheap shot, Sting counters, but the Game gains the upper hand. Angered, he goes to the outside, and brings out his trademark Sledgehammer. He rushes back in, eyes down, and suddenly finds himself with Sting’s trademark baseball bat to his throat. Sting points to the WrestleMania sign, and Triple H snaps. Sting blocks a strike, and lays out the WWE COO with the Scorpion Death Drop.
Nikki Bella defeats Paige in a sloppy match.
Dean Ambrose takes on Wade Barrett for the Intercontinental Championship in our next match. Sadly, not a long match at all, but a good back-and-forth between the two. Unfortunately, Barrett goes for the chicken routine, trying to run away but Ambrose catches him over and over. This results in Ambrose getting himself disqualified. So what’s a guy to do? Steals the title belt. Another feud heading to WrestleMania.
Winner: Bad News Barrett by DQ, retains IC Title
Suddenly, the lights go out, and the Druids make their way out to the stage… then the familiar Bell Tolls. Oh my lord… Out rolls a casket. The druids bring it to ringside, and open it to reveal…
… BRAY WYATT.
It is 100% clear now he is calling out the Undertaker, saying he is no longer a master of his domain. He is mortal. A man. Wow. Probably the creepiest promo from Wyatt to date. The crowd’s reaction to being shocked by Bray Wyatt was awesome. I was shocked at how dastardly he can portray himself. Gotta say, just when I think Wyatt’s gas tank is running out, he fills it up with new Grade A Creep Factor.
Rusev retains the United States Championship against John Cena. Ugh, this started off decent, but the pace just slowed to a crawl. Rusev dominated Cena well, and he sold it all, give him credit for that, but at some point, the crowd started chanting for Rusev, until ultimately the crowd just booed them both. Cena hit his finishers, but to no avail. During the match JBL continued to drive the question of whether a “younger Cena” would have been a better opponent. Thanks to interference from Lana, the champ landed a thrust kick to the face, and forced Cena to pass out to the Accolade. Another one heading to ‘Mania.
The main event began with “boring” chants and ended with “This is Awesome!” This was Daniel Bryan vs. Roman Reigns. The crowd was hot from the start, but sweet crap in a can, Reigns is a match-killer. We get it, he is playing the “big man” card. The “powerhouse” guy. The “I’m going to wreck the smaller guy” routine. Bryan had some offense, but then Reigns just completely took it over, hitting a number of his signature moves. Bryan blocks the Superman Punch with a kick to the midsection and that seemed to knock the air and more out of Reigns. Bryan hit three consecutive Rushing Dropkicks, but Reigns then countered a top rope Hurricanara attempt into a top rope Powerbomb. Reigns then took over, went upstairs, and Bryan countered with a top rope back Suplex. At this point the crowd fired up, Bryan locking in the Yes-Lock. I noticed quite often, Bryan seemed to have some heel-like facial expressions, hitting two consecutive suicide dives, until Reigns caught him in a third, launching Bryan with an Overhead Belly-to-Back Suplex. The action continues on the floor as Reigns misses a charge and plows into the ring stairs. Reigns screwed up, as Bryan rolled back in by eight, and the ref had to go reeeeeeal slow so Reigns could get back in time. Bryan counters a spear attempt with a small package, then hits the Running Knee but Reigns kicks out at two. Lots of exchanges, Bryan has the Yes Lock again, Reigns powers out until Bryan just barrages him with kicks, goes for the Running Knee again, but Reigns leaps forward with the Spear and gains the pinfall victory.
Roman Reigns is going to WrestleMania 31. Brock Lesnar defends the WWE Championship against Roman Reigns.
Post match Bryan and Reigns have a staredown to which Bryan tells Reigns he “better kick Brock’s ass.” They shake hands, and Bryan lets Reigns celebrate the victory.
Well folks, that is all for tonight. As foretold, WWE FastLane merely was the setup for WrestleMania 31. Most of the matches we saw will be given second-chances in just five weeks. Overall, not a great PPV, but not a bad one either. The event was riddled with bad commentary, bad ring announcing, and the occasional botch. Biggest botch was the end of the Goldust/Stardust match. We will likely see it again at Mania… But you know something just went wrong.
The Sting/Triple H confrontation was intense, the fact Sting did not say a SINGLE WORD made it even better.
Bray Wyatt mocking the Undertaker. Wow. Think about it, he is playing off the loss from last year. This makes The Phenom a mortal man.
That’s all for tonight, see you tomorrow for RAW as we find out how things will unfold.
