The opening bout is a basic six man tag team match with Dolph Ziggler, Ryback and Erick Rowan against Mr. Money in the Bank Seth Rollins, Kane & "The World's Largest Athlete" The Big Show, representing the Authority. The match treads water (just the storyline prior) before coming to life with a big name return following the conclusion of the contest. A brother vs. brother collision between Stardust and Goldust is a dull, souless affair with a shitty finish, that doesn't befit the feud that the two were having at the time. The interactions with Dusty Rhodes either side of the match are unarguably the highlight, with Stardust cutting a killer promo after the match.
A WWE Tag Team Title match between The Usos (with Naomi) and Tyson Kidd & Cesaro (with Natalya) is the highlight of the undercard. Full of nice storytelling and with a strong closing sequence, it's a thoroughly enjoyable watch. An in-ring segment between Triple H and Sting see's The Game on top form on the microphone, with some impressive intensity, juxtaposed with the silent Sting. Things go a little long with a bit too much back and forth for a PPV talking segment, but there's still enough to hold the interest for the time it's on screen.
Nikki Bella (with Brie Bella) defending the Diva's Championship against Paige is a match that happened at this point in time. Dean Ambrose and Bad News Barrett turns out to be a real disappointment, with a finish devoid of any logic whatsoever. It's difficult to watch this match and not feel that your time has been completely wasted. Another talking segment is included, as Bray Wyatt appear to call out The Undertaker for a match at WrestleMania, in a moment that wouldn't have felt out of place on an episode of Monday Night RAW.
This DVD is saved by it's final two matches, first a strong match for the United States Championship between Rusev (with Lana) and John Cena. Full of passion from both performers, this is arguably the strongest of their four PPV run, with a series of nice reversals and believable near falls. The finish works wonderfully to set up a rematch between the two and get some good heat on Rusev and Lana.
The main event is a hugely underrated contest between Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan as the pair joust to get a shot at Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31. Reigns puts in his strongest performance to date, with some lovely selling and a real purpose to his performance against a Bryan who is only a month or so returned to wrestling. A WWE-style main event, with the sports entertainment done right, this match deserves more credit than it is given, worth a second watch for sure.
The main special feature is an edition of Miz TV from the Fastlane Kickoff show, with Paul Heyman as the guest, although it maybe Miz's sidekick Damien Mizdow who steals the show.
Finally...
With two strong main event calibre matches that deserve another look if haven't seen them since, Fastlane 2015 wouldn't be a terrible edition to a wrestling fan's DVD collection. The undercard doesn't offer much, past the Tag Team Championship match, however, so it may be worth seeing if either of the two featured matches make it onto the Best PPV Matches of 2015 set before splashing the cash on this one.
No comments:
Post a Comment