Mostly being seen as a “filler” pay per view, being the only big event between Royal Rumble and WrestleMania, WWE FastLane actually has the potential to have a shocking things happen in most of its matches. What could take place in Memphis tonight could lead to an even more intriguing WrestleMania 31 than expected.
United States Champ Rusev (c) vs John Cena
It’s widely assumed that John Cena will be the one to finally end Rusev’s streak, giving the Bulgarian Brute his first pinfal loss in the WWE. But does WWE really want John Cena to take a step back by having him be the United States Champion? It would significantly elevate the championship which has been largely overlooked since John Cena last held the belt a decade ago. That would be great for WWE as a whole, as it could breathe serious life into that division, but I’m not entirely convinced they’re going to do it… which is why they absolutely should.
Intercontinental Champ Bad News Barrett (c) vs Dean Ambrose
Another match where the winner seems really obvious, putting the belt on Dean Ambrose isn’t exactly the big shocker that this match could produce. They could turn Dean Ambrose heel in this match, playing up to his unhinged nature by having him fly off the handle and badly injure Barrett in the process. The fans already seem to want to cheer BNB, enjoying his antics, and it would freshen up his character (which is badly needed at this point). The double-turn isn’t the shocker I’m predicting, however.
Title unification is what some have been predicting WWE is on track to do at some point, and why not have the winner of this match – whether it’s Barrett or Ambrose – get on the mic and challenge John Cena to a unification bout at WrestleMania? While it seems like WWE would be more likely to make this “announcement” on RAW, it could very well happen on the pay per view. Why not give more people a reason to want to pay the $9.99 for the WWE Network?
Divas Champ Nikki Bella (c) vs Paige
Wait…
Before you skip this part, this might actually interest you, even if you don’t care about the Divas.
Where has A.J. Lee been lately? And what happened to all the pent-up strife Brie Bella had for the way Nikki treated her during the month of hell after their SummerSlam match? Tonight could answer both of those questions. Nikki could cheat to beat Paige, and in the process make it look like she’s not going to let Paige survive for a rematch at WrestleMania… and then A.J. Lee could show up to make the save… leading to Brie Bella getting involved, seemingly to help Nikki… but then Brie could lay out her sister with an eventual announcement of a Fatal Fourway at WrestleMania.
Tag Team Champs The Usos (c) vs The UpperCats (Kidd & Cesaro)
Having the belts change hands wouldn’t be shocking, as WWE likes to play hot potato with the tag straps. What could be really shocking would be a heel turn by The Usos, with Kidd and Cesaro getting to go the fan favorite route. The UpperCats probably best served to be heels, how about The Usos get some help from the Prime Time Players… only to have Titus O’Neil & Darren Young be the ones to turn heel? Getting the duo back together AND having them be elevated to the top heel tag team in WWE, primed for a spot at WrestleMania? That’d be a shock!
Goldust vs Stardust
The battle of the brothers seems better suited for WrestleMania, especially because the two have mentioned in previous years that they’d like to face each other at the flagship event. There’s not much that’s shocking they could do here, aside from possibly a Dusty Rhodes heel turn. Perhaps The American Dream likes the fact that Cody Rhodes finally found his stride as Stardust and wants to support him… but maybe it’s Goldust who gets help from his Hall Of Fame father to defeat his brother in a match that could setup for a rematch at WrestleMania… especially if Goldust is the heel coming out of FastLane.
Six-Man Tag: The Authority vs The Resistance
Oh the shocking things they could do with this match… Kane seems to be on the outs with Big Show, so those two don’t necessarily have to be part of The Authority going forward. Featuring Dolph Ziggler heavily in this match wouldn’t be extremely shocking, given what they did at Survivor Series a few months ago, but it could be PART of a shocking outcome. What if Dolph Ziggler seemed to make short work of The Authority… only to have Ryback get involved and turn on Dolph, completing a heel turn and setting up a big match between the duo at WrestleMania?
Bonus: Bray Wyatt isn’t targeting The Undertaker
These creepy vignettes from Bray Wyatt seem to indicate that he wants to fight The Undertaker at WrestleMania… leaving many to wonder whether The Dead Man is going to be able to do much of anything inside the ring… or even if it’s worth it for him to return at all now that The Streak is over. But what if Bray Wyatt isn’t talking about The Undertaker?
When the Wyatt Family debuted in the Summer Of 2013, the first person they targeted was Kane. If you’ll recall, they carried Kane away after defeating him in a Ring Of Fire match at that year’s SummerSlam, and then the feud fizzled. If Kane is actually heading into his last WrestleMania, why not pass the torch to Bray Wyatt and end the feud once and for all? Wyatt showing up and issuing a challenge for a WrestleMania Casket Match could be a huge shock at FastLane… but not if you’ve been paying attention and have been awaiting the payoff to the feud the two started 18 months ago.
Roman Reigns vs Daniel Bryan
This match wreaks of a non-finish resulting in a three-way a WrestleMania 31… which is why the shocking thing to do is to have Daniel Bryan win this match outright. It’s shocking because it would be the first time since 1992 that the Royal Rumble winner didn’t get a championship match at (or before) WrestleMania. It would also be shocking because the opinion at large is that the booking team (see: Vince McMahon) doesn’t care who the WWE Universe likes… especially if that person is Daniel Bryan.
Sting and Triple H
This face-to-face meeting is almost certainly going to lead to a match between the duo at WrestleMania, so something significant needs to happen tonight to help push things in that direction. As it stands, Triple H just wants to tell Sting to stay away. Sting hitting Triple H with the Stinger Splash, the Scorpion Death Drop and possibly even locking him into the Scorpion Deathlock would be shocking to actually see… though shocking in a long-time-coming type of thing that some of us never thought would happen. Triple H hitting Sting with The Pedigree would be the same type of thing. Having NEITHER happen? THAT might be shocking.
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