WWE Fastlane 2023 — Review and Grading — #MyOpinion
WWE went with only 5 matches advertised for Fastlane, not sure when was the last time WWE did something like this. Not only this, out of those 5, three of them were tag team matches with a world title, women’s world title and only tag title on the line. Not expecting much from this PPV as this should just be a pit stop before the ultimate Survivor Series build-up. So without wasting any more time, let’s jump straight into WWE Fastlane :
Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso Vs The Judgement Day for Undisputed Tag Team Championship
From the very start I thought that Bloodline will be involved in this match one way or the other as yesterday on SmackDown we saw an alliance between Judgement Day and Bloodline. But to everyone’s surprise not only Bloodline was missing from this match but The Judgement day lost their titles also…! It was a real shocker as Cody and Jey obviously looked like a threat but nobody would have predicted this outcome…at-least not me. The crowd was pumped up for this opening match and were behind Cody-Jey from the very start. The closing moments of the match saw JD McDonagh, Rhea Ripley and Dom getting involved but a miscommunication leading to JD McDonagh hitting Damien with the briefcase took him out. In the ring, Cody and Jey hit Balor with the JEY-CUTTER ( yes…Cody cutter with Jey holding him, maybe their new finisher?) and it was over. The match itself was a pretty normal match with few close counters but the result and crowd made it a decent match. 3 ⭐️ for this opening bout.
Suit Profits Vs LWO
With Raul Mendoza and Jaoquin Wilde out of action due to attack by Suit Profits, Rey and Santos were left with the task of choosing the third member for them. The match started as a 2 on 3 handicap match and Suit Profits were on top for most of the match until the return of Carlito…! Carlito entered the ring, demolished everyone and picked a quick victory over Montez Ford with a backstabber. The pop was insane and Carlito was looking in great shape too. Hope they can use him this time properly as this is the perfect time to build this rivalry so we can get more of Carlito with LWO. 3 ⭐️ for this tag team match.
Iyo Sky © Vs Asuka Vs Charlotte Flair for WWE Women’s Championship
WWE hardly misses in triple threat matches and this match was no different. Iyo Sky told Bayley to stay in the back as she wanted to handle both Asuka and Charlotte by herself and man oh man she was handling it well. Asuka using the mist on Charlotte right into the match was a brilliant idea. The match was smooth with many close calls and crowd chanting “This is awesome” too…! During the closing moments of the match Bayley came to the aid of Iyo Sky but Iyo was dropped outside the ring then and Charlotte applied Figure-8 on Asuka in the middle of the ring. With a distraction from Bayley, Iyo was able to hit the moonsault on Charlotte and retained her title. Only problem here was as it was already a no disqualification match, Bayley could straight away attack Charlotte and Asuka and could help Iyo. The referee distraction did not made any sense at all…! Anyways, the result went the right away and amendments were made in Iyo-Bayley relationship too. By-far, match of the night for me. 4 ⭐️ for this triple threat battle.
John Cena & LA Knight Vs The Bloodline
So, John Cena was beaten straight for around 10 minutes into the match which felt like an eternity and then comes the megastar and match felt like a piece of cake for them. The match was decent with nothing spectacular but it served multiple purposes. LA Knight came out as the megastar as he is as he was able to take down both Solo and Jimmy and felt like the sole reason for their victory. Also, Jimmy took the pin-fall protecting Solo as Roman is scheduled to appear on SmackDown this week which will ultimately decide Jimmy Uso’s fate in the Bloodline now. The crowd was red hot for both favourites was fully invested into the match, in my opinion they should now get John Cena out of this Bloodline story and let LA Knight take the centre stage. 3 ⭐️ for this tag team battle.
Seth Rollins © Vs Shinsuke Nakamura for World Heavyweight Championship
Holy hell…😮 This was Shinsuke Nakamura’s best match on the main roster. This was a dream match for WWE universe as there were tables breaking after every few minutes it seemed 😅 Even though Seth barely survived the last man standing match, I think his days as champion are numbered. It could be either Nakamura or Priest but Seth his losing his title pretty soon. The match was brutal with great spots but two spots almost cost Seth his title. The double knee drop by Nakamura on Seth on table and the mist on top of ladder followed by drop on table were the closest Nakamura ever got to the title tonight. Nakamura with a nunchuks was badass and I think he should keep that as his favorite like Triple H has a hammer. I felt the ending was weak as the falcon arrow on the table just when Nakamura was on top for previous 5–6 minutes felt rushed, Seth could have hit him with a couple of stomps to make it more belivable in my opinion. Even though the cash-in was out of picture due to Rhea taking the briefcase, still a part of me wanted to see that happen tonight…! 4.5 ⭐️ for this spectacular last man standing match.
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