DA' HELL HAPPENED #3: WWE FastLane, February 21, 2016
The last stop on the Road to WrestleMania happened last night. And what a better night for the bus driver to completely miss this stop and keep going. It should have not happened, and the worse is it did. Well, let's find out what happened at FastLane, the implications it has on the card for WrestleMania (one or two), and what actually gone right (luckily, one or two things).
In the free-pre-show-kickoff-before-slowlane, one of the best matches of the night was given away for free. A 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the United States Champion between reigning-champion Kalisto and Alberto Del Rio. Great spots, great chemistry shown by both competitors, great booking of the falls, and in the end a confident cocky challenger was surprised by the underdog champion, in a very smart ending, as Kalisto attempted to apply the Salida del Sol, and tricked Del Rio into a small package to get his second fall. Kalisto 2-1 Alberto Del Rio, and the champion retains the title.
In the actual pay-per-view-waste-of-money, the Divas Tag Team bout was contested, as rivals Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch teamed to face Naomi and Tamina. During the bout, Banks and Lynch suffered a lot at the hands of Team B.A.D, but in the end both divas applied their submissions, the Dis-Arm-Her and the Bank Statement to get the victory. A better booking in the previous weeks and it would have had a more significant impact on the divas product. Yet, it was a very decent bout to start the show.
Owens Vs. Ziggler has a spot in my top 3 matches of the evening. From the get-go, it was physical, and there was never a dull moment during that match. In the end, a devastating Pop-Up Powerbomb put an end on Ziggler's chance of winning the title for a fifth time. AND THAT'S WHY HE IS THE CHAMP!
Far from great, the 6-Man Tag Match between Ryback, Kane and Big Show, and The Wyatt Family was held under a normal pace (the match wasn't slow as expected). In the end, Ryback pinned Luke Harper with the Shell Shocked for the win. Bray Wyatt was in no man's land, as his status as "dangerous character" was thrown to the trash like rubbish for the 900th time.
The Divas Title match was to follow. It started as a very boring bout, but it started to gain some momentum and both divas picked up a fast pace in the end. I was hoping Charlotte would get a dirty victory, but in the meantime I think WWE did not choose that path because it would (probably) need another match to solve the matter (heel gets heat, face wants rematch, and they must have some better WrestleMania plans than Brie Vs. Charlotte). With the Figure Eight, Charlotte retained the Divas Championship.
AJ Styles Vs. Chris Jericho. Oh my! Styles Vs. Jericho! Good lord. Did you love their match on RAW? Did you think their match on SmackDown was even better? Then the rubber match must make you feel like you're in heaven. Jesus christ. I'm not religious, even less catholic, but I have to say that. They put on one heck of a contest. The only low point I take from this bout is the lack of full heel turn from Jericho. It was expected to happen, and it didn't, which hurt a bit this feud. Anyhow, this is already a candidate for match of the year, and by far my favourite of the night. In the end, Styles applied the Styles Clash, Jericho kicked out, and then Styles went for the Calf Crusher, as Jericho tapped within 10/15 seconds.
The Cutting Edge/Peep Show saw The New Day as guests, and the League Of Nations coming out to challenge The New Day and setup some kind of match at WrestleMania. The purpose was there, but the logic wasn't. Why would The New Day target League Of Nations like they did? Two heel teams facing each other? Edge and Christian suddenly with The New Day? I don't know. Enzo and Cass, please reveal yourselves.
R-Truth Vs. Curtis Axel. There's not much to talk about this match. I think Social Outcasts should've felt important heading into WrestleMania, as I thought that they were picking some momentum with wins on RAW and important clashes with, for exemple, The Wyatt Family. This segment only served to develop the story between R-Truth and Goldust. The match ended with Axel rolling up Truth and getting the victory.
The main event between Ambrose, Reigns and Lesnar was my second favourite match. I was expecting more development in the story Lesnar is involved for Mania, and Ambrose was left with nothing after being the fundamental part of RAW for the last 3/4 weeks. Ambrose and Reigns worked Lesnar well, putting him through a table twice. In the end, Ambrose saved Reigns from the Kimura Lock with a steel chair. After attacking both Lesnar and Reigns, Ambrose turned again to Lesnar and suffered a Spear from his "brother", as Reigns went on to confront Triple H and set their match for WrestleMania. WWE needs to understand we desperately need a heel turn from either Reigns or Ambrose. And if this was the outcome they wanted, Reigns should turn heel by the time Extreme Rules comes.
A show that should set the card for WrestleMania left us with even more questions. What will be Bray Wyatt's role at Mania? How will the Divas be involved on April 3rd? Who will fight Lesnar? Where's Undertaker? Is WWE expecting more than 100,000 people at the AT&T Stadium by not listening to them? And are they expecting those thousands of people to cheer for Reigns? This year, there's no Mr. MITB to save the main event, and I'm assuming WWE won't turn Reigns heel during the biggest event of the year. Cuz' guess what, Steve Austin already did that, and negative responses will come. The last chance WWE has to ignite our interest in the matches at WrestleMania comes tonight on Monday Night F'n RAW!
In the free-pre-show-kickoff-before-slowlane, one of the best matches of the night was given away for free. A 2-out-of-3 Falls match for the United States Champion between reigning-champion Kalisto and Alberto Del Rio. Great spots, great chemistry shown by both competitors, great booking of the falls, and in the end a confident cocky challenger was surprised by the underdog champion, in a very smart ending, as Kalisto attempted to apply the Salida del Sol, and tricked Del Rio into a small package to get his second fall. Kalisto 2-1 Alberto Del Rio, and the champion retains the title.
In the actual pay-per-view-waste-of-money, the Divas Tag Team bout was contested, as rivals Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch teamed to face Naomi and Tamina. During the bout, Banks and Lynch suffered a lot at the hands of Team B.A.D, but in the end both divas applied their submissions, the Dis-Arm-Her and the Bank Statement to get the victory. A better booking in the previous weeks and it would have had a more significant impact on the divas product. Yet, it was a very decent bout to start the show.
Owens Vs. Ziggler has a spot in my top 3 matches of the evening. From the get-go, it was physical, and there was never a dull moment during that match. In the end, a devastating Pop-Up Powerbomb put an end on Ziggler's chance of winning the title for a fifth time. AND THAT'S WHY HE IS THE CHAMP!
Far from great, the 6-Man Tag Match between Ryback, Kane and Big Show, and The Wyatt Family was held under a normal pace (the match wasn't slow as expected). In the end, Ryback pinned Luke Harper with the Shell Shocked for the win. Bray Wyatt was in no man's land, as his status as "dangerous character" was thrown to the trash like rubbish for the 900th time.
The Divas Title match was to follow. It started as a very boring bout, but it started to gain some momentum and both divas picked up a fast pace in the end. I was hoping Charlotte would get a dirty victory, but in the meantime I think WWE did not choose that path because it would (probably) need another match to solve the matter (heel gets heat, face wants rematch, and they must have some better WrestleMania plans than Brie Vs. Charlotte). With the Figure Eight, Charlotte retained the Divas Championship.
AJ Styles Vs. Chris Jericho. Oh my! Styles Vs. Jericho! Good lord. Did you love their match on RAW? Did you think their match on SmackDown was even better? Then the rubber match must make you feel like you're in heaven. Jesus christ. I'm not religious, even less catholic, but I have to say that. They put on one heck of a contest. The only low point I take from this bout is the lack of full heel turn from Jericho. It was expected to happen, and it didn't, which hurt a bit this feud. Anyhow, this is already a candidate for match of the year, and by far my favourite of the night. In the end, Styles applied the Styles Clash, Jericho kicked out, and then Styles went for the Calf Crusher, as Jericho tapped within 10/15 seconds.
The Cutting Edge/Peep Show saw The New Day as guests, and the League Of Nations coming out to challenge The New Day and setup some kind of match at WrestleMania. The purpose was there, but the logic wasn't. Why would The New Day target League Of Nations like they did? Two heel teams facing each other? Edge and Christian suddenly with The New Day? I don't know. Enzo and Cass, please reveal yourselves.
R-Truth Vs. Curtis Axel. There's not much to talk about this match. I think Social Outcasts should've felt important heading into WrestleMania, as I thought that they were picking some momentum with wins on RAW and important clashes with, for exemple, The Wyatt Family. This segment only served to develop the story between R-Truth and Goldust. The match ended with Axel rolling up Truth and getting the victory.
The main event between Ambrose, Reigns and Lesnar was my second favourite match. I was expecting more development in the story Lesnar is involved for Mania, and Ambrose was left with nothing after being the fundamental part of RAW for the last 3/4 weeks. Ambrose and Reigns worked Lesnar well, putting him through a table twice. In the end, Ambrose saved Reigns from the Kimura Lock with a steel chair. After attacking both Lesnar and Reigns, Ambrose turned again to Lesnar and suffered a Spear from his "brother", as Reigns went on to confront Triple H and set their match for WrestleMania. WWE needs to understand we desperately need a heel turn from either Reigns or Ambrose. And if this was the outcome they wanted, Reigns should turn heel by the time Extreme Rules comes.
A show that should set the card for WrestleMania left us with even more questions. What will be Bray Wyatt's role at Mania? How will the Divas be involved on April 3rd? Who will fight Lesnar? Where's Undertaker? Is WWE expecting more than 100,000 people at the AT&T Stadium by not listening to them? And are they expecting those thousands of people to cheer for Reigns? This year, there's no Mr. MITB to save the main event, and I'm assuming WWE won't turn Reigns heel during the biggest event of the year. Cuz' guess what, Steve Austin already did that, and negative responses will come. The last chance WWE has to ignite our interest in the matches at WrestleMania comes tonight on Monday Night F'n RAW!
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