WWE Fastlane 2018 Review

Fastlane 2018 was the final WWE PPV before WrestleMania XXXIV, coming four weeks before the Showcase of the Immortals, as the SmackDown brand hosted their final solo PPV before dual events return. The show was main evented by AJ Styles defending his WWE Championship in a six-pack challenge involving John Cena, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, as The Phenomenal One looked to head into WrestleMania as WWE Champion. But how did it all go down in Colombus? Lets take a look! 

Commentary - Tom Phillips, Corey Graves & Byron Saxton
Kick-Off Panel - Renee Young, Booker T, Sam Roberts & David Otunga
Ring Announcer - Greg Hamilton
Interviewer - Charly Caruso

WWE Championship // 

John Cena vs. Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn vs. "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles (C)

Before the match - Dolph Ziggler answered questions from social media, saying he didn't regret dropping the WWE United States title, put himself over for not getting injured and then Sam Roberts asked him if it would be his last chance at the WWF Championship. Fuck - Sami Zayn tried to convince Kevin Owens that they were still pals, but KO walked out on him - Shinsuke Nakamura wished AJ Styles good luck ahead of the six pack challenge.

AJ Styles retained the WWE Championship, pinning Kevin Owens with a Phenomenal Forearm, in a thrill-ride of a scramble main event. The bout took in a number of different storylines, drifting from one section to the next smoothly, keeping a ridiculous pace with a feeling that there was something going on from the very beginning. John Cena's attempt to find a Road to WrestleMania, tension building between Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens and an escalation of their issues with Shane McMahon once more, as well as AJ Styles' doing anything he could to hold onto his title, reprising the sweeper role he played on Tuesday night, whilst Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler made up the numbers (with both men doing great jobs in this role, featuring in some lovely sequences throughout the match) there was a lot of narrative to play with. All the stories could have ended up dragging the match down, but they ended up blending together well, highlighted by a sequence involving Styles, Cena, Owens and Zayn on the outside that saw Styles initially try to put Owens through the announce table, only to eventually end up taking a massive Attitude Adjustment from Cena, after a number of twists and turns thanks to Styles looking to take out as many people as possible. 

The strongest story of the bout was Zayn/Owens/McMahon stuff, with the trio involved in a rich interplay that left a number of questions open for Tuesday's SmackDown with just four episodes before WrestleMania. A sequence where Zayn offered to lay down for Owens as promised two weeks' earlier, with Owens grabbing his friend to attempt a Pop-Up Powerbomb, only to get caught with small package for a near fall was handled beautifully by both men, with Zayn particularly owning the moment as he took his time to lie down, seemingly hoping that someone would recover in time to make the save. McMahon's involvement was teased throughout the match, through a number of funky over-the-shoulder camera angles as he sat ringside, but it wasn't until Zayn got in the Commissioner's face and a stray Owens superkick connected with that face that things got truly interesting. Two very good near falls followed with Owens coming close with Pop-up Powerbomb on Ziggler and Zayn with a Helluva Kick on Owens, but on both occasions McMahon pulled the ref and Zayn respectively out of the ring. He looked a bit of a dick and there's arguments to be made for the character abusing his power, but after a kick to the face he also has clear motive. The near falls also keep Owens & Zayn looking strong heading into WrestleMania, whilst barely denting Styles' reputation as he was down after the Attitude Adjustment through the table. I'm not sure where this goes, but I'm at least interested to see what they do on Tuesday! 

The finish had a real kinetic feel to it (as did the majority of the match, tbh) as Corbin cleaned house with the steel steps, before taking an Attitude Adjustment on the metal for a near fall with Ziggler taking the save, leading into Cena no-selling a superkick, hitting an Attitude Adjustment then rolling through for another, only for Owens to re-enter and nail a Pop-Up Powerbomb, leaving himself open for a Phenomenal Forearm for the finish. Whilst the match didn't fall into the same tropes (tower of power etc.) as usual multi-mans, it was nice to see as many guys as possible crammed into the final sequence, with a feeling that by the end of the match everyone's stock had risen for taking part in it and their paths to WrestleMania had been enriched for their involvement. Even guys like Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin came out better off, because their performances were polished and they featured in a handful of the matches best sequences (Ziggler's Fameasser reversal out of an Attitude Adjustment was gorgeous), whilst Zayn & Owens looked to have the match won and furthered their issues, Cena looked devasted at the loss after the match and AJ Styles looked every inch of the brilliant World Champion that he is ahead of his big clash with Shinsuke Nakamura in four weeks time. All over this match was real good fun to watch and did a lot for everyone involved, thumbs up.

After the match - Shane McMahon turned up on Talking Smack, putting in a good performance, whilst actually not saying a whole lot at all. The character was non-commital over whether he felt bad about his action and also repeated some stuff about how he feels Daniel Bryan is trying to live vicariously through Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn.

WWE United States Championship // 

"The Viper" Randy Orton vs. "The Glorious" Bobby Roode (C)

Before the match - Jinder Mahal joined the Kick-Off panel and stumbled through a promo, whilst getting loud "Jinder sucks" chants. 

Randy Orton won the United States Championship for the first time, catching Bobby Roode with an RKO as Roode dived off the middle rope, at the conclusion of a good, yet flabby, contest. I'd spoken in my preview that I was worried that this match could turn out being a little dull and large swathes of bout confirmed my worries. Both men being babyfaces, but not really wrestling like babyfaces hurt the match, as the crowd was unsure who they wanted to cheer for and the action went through the motions for, at least, half of it's run length. Without an aggressor or the classic pacy face vs. face style, I found myself zoning out of portions of this and it seemed the crowd did too as they began a small chant for Bryon Saxton at one point. Both Orton and Roode are great professional wrestler, but can often can be overly clinical, meaning that whilst their moves are performed near perfectly, the X Factor that makes a great match is missing. Without a different type of performer to bounce off, the match ended up feeling a little cold and detached. 

Now, after reading the previous paragraph, you're probably asking the question "James, why did you call it a "good match"?" Well, constant reader, that's because the match had a nice story that built up well throughout and brilliant finish that I wasn't expecting. The main thrust of the narrative was based around the similarities of the performers, with both attempted their respective finishers three or four times only to have it quickly reversed, whilst we also see Orton have a number of signatures blocked before being able to hit the move a few moments later, hinting that the Viper might've had the upperhand over the Glorious One. It was subtle little hint at what was to come and a nice take on a familiar trope. There was also a handful of nice sequences, usually focused around the Glorious DDT and RKO, where the pace quickened before one of the lads would hit a signature or get a roll-up near fall. The finish with Roode getting caught with an RKO got a strong reaction from Columbus, because it felt like the match had another five or so minutes left due to the previous pacing. I hadn't expected Roode to lose the title so early, but it was a cool moment to see Orton win the only title missing from his collection, which creates a talking point that WWE can push to media outlets.  

After the match - Jinder Mahal attempted to attack Randy Orton, but Bobby Roode made the save, only to nail Orton with a Glorious DDT moments later, seemingly setting up a triple threat at WrestleMania and laying the foundations for a heel turn - Randy Orton appeared on Talking Smack, saying he'd have done the same as Jinder Mahal and Bobby Roode if he'd had the chance and putting himself over as the newest member of the Grand Slam club. Orton was also asked about John Cena's Road to WrestleMania, which was an interesting moment, with Orton putting over Cena, but also commending Renee Young for the interview on RAW Talk last month where Cena cried after losing the Elimination Chamber.

WWE SmackDown Women's Championship // 

Ruby Riott vs. Charlotte Flair (C)

In what was Charlotte Flair's best match since moving to SmackDown, the Queen retained her SmackDown Women's Championship over Ruby Riott, using the Figure Eight to get the submission victory. The match was packed with big spots, dramatic moments and featured a base of good solid wrestling, with the pair putting on one of the most technically sound WWE women's bouts for quite a while. Whilst the pacing was a little off kilter due to a Riott Kick near fall coming a bit too early to be convincing, the rest of the match was well put together as we saw Riott's Riott Squad stablemates Sarah Logan & Liv Morgan appear and get countered by Naomi & Becky Lynch, leading to a clever distraction spot, that would eventually see both pairings ejected from ringside by referee Mike Chioda. Spots wise there was a number of impressive bumps, including the two spilling through the middle rope early on, Flair bumping from the top rope into the barricade and an exploder suplex into the barricade all looked very good, adding an intensity and feeling of importance that the match didn't have in the build up. The highlight for me was Flair pulling out a spot that Drew McIntyre was using a lot on the indies, as Flair blocked a reverse rana attempt and hit an inverted alabama slam into the top turnbuckle, which would eventually lead to her hitting a spear and locking on the Figure Eight for the win. The two (alongside Logan, Morgan, Lynch and Naomi) did a stellar job of making this match feel like something valuable, rising above the lazy booking of the feud and creating a match that remained exciting for the duration and almost certainly raised the stock of Riott, even in defeat. 

After the match - Asuka arrived for a staredown with Flair before pointing at the WrestleMania sign, confirming Asuka vs. Flair for the Show of Shows. #EmpressVsQueen - Charlotte Flair was interviewed on Talking Smack, putting over Ruby Riott for her performance and putting over Asuka for her dominance whilst pushing their WrestleMania match. Flair also had to work hard to make a number of shitty questions from Sam Roberts sound good.

WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship // 

Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods (with Big E) vs. Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso (C)

Before the match - The New Day cut an entertaining promo on The Usos, managing to shift quickly from pancakes to serious chatter about winning tag titles and proving they're the best tag team, as they continued to show a much rougher side than we've seen in the last six months.

A tremendously fun SmackDown Tag Team title match was unfortunately cut short, with the Bludgeon Brothers hitting the ring and leaving the match as no-contest between The New Day and The Usos. Prior to that, the match had been an entertaining affair, that saw both teams essentially swap roles and pull out a number of the opposite teams signature moves (I can only imagine the groups had just watched ATTACK! latest Press Start show). It was a simple idea, based of the two teams familiarity with each other, but one that was extremely effective, with all four lads bringing lots of energy and despite what could've been a fairly lightweight structure, they also brought barrel loads of intensity from the very beginning as Xavier Woods and Jimmy Uso traded strikes. Particular highlights included a Boom Drop from Jimmy Uso, Kofi Kingston and Jimmy both missing Trouble in Paradise before The Usos hits Midnight Hour and The New Day getting a near fall after multiple superkicks from Woods and a splash from Kingston. It's a shame that we didn't get to see the idea reach its conclusion, but what followed was fun in a different way. 

After the match, Harper & Rowan cleaned house with all five wrestlers involved in the match, in a well-orchestrated beatdown. Whether the pairs new gimmick has fully clicked is up for debate, but they both looked great when bodying the Usos and The New Day here, with a number of big spots to emphasise the destruction. Harper nailing a blackhole slam on Kingston on the floor and Rowan catching Big E with a charging crossbody were memorable, but the highlight was a bodyslam spot involving the Usos. Both twins took slams on the floor, before Harper slapped Rowan and demanded he be slammed onto the Usos, with Rowan hitting an aided splash for the exclamation point. I've similar spots on the indies, but it was nonetheless cool to see these two big lads pull it out in a moment that put over their style and relationship well. Woods also took a powerbomb onto the steel steps and sold the move like it was the end of his life, twitching on the steps as he was loaded onto a stretcher. The team seems to be following a similar path to how WWE built up Braun Strowman over on RAW, which could eventually turn them babyface, because watching them smash through blokes is more fun than it should be. This would seem to set-up a triple threat at WrestleMania, but we'll have to wait and see.

After the match - Xavier Woods left on a stretcher, whilst the rest of the teams had to be helped out by WWE staff.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev (with Aiden English)

Before the match - Aiden English performed a special Rusev Day rap/song, ripping on Nakamura and the crowd with a delightful ditty. 

Shinsuke Nakamura picked up momentum ahead of his WWE Championship match at WrestleMania in a very good match with Rusev, with a pair of Kinshasas getting the pinfall for the Artist. There were times where I was worried that the match was a little slow, with plenty of stalling from Rusev as an attempt to seemingly slow down the Bulgarian's roaring popularity, but the final five minutes or so here featured some great action. In arguably Rusev's best match to date, the former WWE United States Champion stepped up to the challenge of putting over a WrestleMania title challenger, looking smooth on the offence, selling well for Nakker's strikes and even more so for a mid-match heel hook. Beyond his novelty "Rusev Day" popularity, this performance should be enough to earn Rusev a more sustained push coming out of the Granddaddy of Them All. The best action came off the back of a good strikes sequence, which leads into some wonderful action as both men got near falls of roll-ups and Rusev attempted to apply the Accolade to a nice pop. Despite the match feeling like a forgone conclusion throughout, the two lads worked a strong false finish into the mix as Nakamura ran straight into a Machka Kick, with the kick-out being left just long enough to allow the audience to suspend disbelief and imagine that Rusev could've pulled off the upset. Hopefully, this match was promising precursor for WrestleMania and we'll Nakamura kill it on the Grandest Stage.

Naomi & Becky Lynch vs. "Ms. Money in the Bank" Carmella & Natalya

Carmella pinned Becky Lynch with a superkick to pick up a big win for her and Natalya in mixed-bag of a tag team match. The bout featured a number of nice ideas, whilst sticking a simplistic tag team formula, but often those ideas would result in sloppy wrestling. The biggest culprit of this was surprisingly Natalya, who made a number of slip ups with Naomi in their pacy sequence early on, before later seemingly forgetting that she was supposed to be sent to the floor by Becky Lynch with the moment taking a unnecessary amount of time as Natalya fumbled around. The Queen of Harts did however hit a nice sitout powerbomb that folded Naomi end over end. Carmella continued to impress me with her fundamental heel work and sound moveset, as she used Naomi's braid to control the match, with a couple of nice spots involving that, whilst also pulling out the handstand frankensteiner and a Candylicious, whilst Becky Lynch also looked solid when coming in for the hot tag. The finish was a little scrappy after Natalya dicked around with the briefcase on the apron, but it was good to see Mella get the win and see WWE actually build some momentum behind the Money in the Bank winner.

Tyler Breeze, Fandango & Tye Dillinger vs. Shelton Benjamin, Chad Gable & Mojo Rawley 

Before the match - In a clip from the Fashion Files, Mojo Rawley, Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable challenged Tyler Breeze, Fandango & Tye Dillinger to a match.

Tye Dillinger picked up the win for his team with bringing back the Perfect 10 to pin Mojo Rawley in a weak six man tag team match. The match actually started alright, with some comedy from Breezango, whilst the crowd was hot for their first match of the evening, getting loudly behind Dillinger, whilst also pulling out a loud "You can't wrestle" chant for Breezango. The pop for the hot tag from Tyler Breeze to Dillinger got a big pop, but unfortunately everything after the tag had been cut off was poorly put together. There was a lot of energy and movement, but most of that movement was sloppy, including a poor looking O'Connor roll from Gable, as all six men looked like they were rushing to get their shit in, resulting in a number of strikes that looked way off the mark. I'm surprised to see Rawley take the pin to Dillinger, as it had seemed like WWE had something planned for Mojo after his break-up with Zack Ryder a few months ago, but that's clearly not the case anymore. 

Also on the show

- For some reason we got a look at the feud between Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey and Triple H & Stephanie McMahon, despite that having absolutely nothing to do with this PPV. 

- The New Day auditioned to be the host of next year's Nickolodean Kids Choice Awards, only to end up getting gunged by this year's host, John Cena.

- We also got a look at the story between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar, despite that match having nothing to do with what was on this show. 

ATPW Scale Rating // 6.32 out of 10

Written by James Marston // @IAmNotAlanDale

WWE Fastlane 2018 Preview

It's the final PPV before WrestleMania XXXIV AND the last SmackDown exclusive PPV of the second brand split...so what have WWE got in store for us with Fastlane 2018 on 11th March? Traditionally, the PPV before WrestleMania has been a bit of a damp squib, often falling victim to a little predictability as the company focuses on getting the building blocks in place for the biggest show of the year. Will this be the case with Fastlane? 

WWE Championship // 

AJ Styles (C) vs. John Cena vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin 

Based on last Tuesday's five-way match, featuring everyone but John Cena, this should be a cracking scramble match for the brand's top prize. There's a lot of talent here, with the SmackDown brand spending some time introducing a variety of relationships between the six guys following Royal Rumble in January. Obviously, Styles' feud with Kevin Owens (and then Sami Zayn) has been rumbling for the longest time, but we've seen Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin randomly get inserted into the mix, seemingly flipping between heel and babyface willy nilly. John Cena, of course, has had issues with pretty much everyone in the match at one time or another and after being absent from the match on SmackDown, it will be interesting to see how Cena's participation effects the flow and narrative that's picked for the main event. 

The most interesting element however came to life at the conclusion of SmackDown Live, when Sami Zayn pinned Kevin Owens with a Helluva Kick, after previously promising to lie down for his best friend at the PPV. It's currently unclear how the duo will interact during the match, but there's potential to tell a brilliant story as the two have to contend with four other men in order to get at each other. I'm looking forward to seeing the inverted version of this classic feud and how Kevin Owens does when steadily transitioned into a babyface role, something which he hasn't portrayed since his debut match in NXT. 

For me, it seems pretty clear that we'll have the same WWE Champion when this is all said and done, because AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura is the biggest match possible, considering Nakamura has already faced Cena on an episode of SmackDown. The predictability shouldn't be a massive issue if the action is strong and the six men work in a number of number falls along the way, which they are more than capable of. 

WWE SmackDown Women's Championship // 

Charlotte Flair (C) vs. Ruby Riott 

Lets be honest, WWE hasn't done the greatest job of building up Ruby Riott and her Riott Squad since their November and whilst that has improved over the last few weeks, it's difficult to see Riott as a threat to a Charlotte Flair who hasn't lost in singles action since July, especially with WrestleMania just around the corner. The issue between the pair has often felt contrived, whilst we didn't actually find out the reasons behind Riott's dislike for Flair until last Tuesday, so I think it's fair to say that despite it's length, this feud has often felt rushed and poorly thought through. However, both Riott and Flair are quality in the ring and have the potential to show us that on Sunday, if they receive the time and attention. Riott could do with a big performance to keep her in the mix following WrestleMania, whilst Flair still needs that top quality match that has evaded her since moving to SmackDown. 

Flair feels like pretty much a lock to retain, whilst part of me expects Asuka to appear after the match, setting up Asuka vs. Flair at Mania.

WWE United States Championship // 

Bobby Roode (C) vs. Randy Orton 

I'm a little bit worried about this one. As I alluded to in this week's SmackDown Live review, both Bobby Roode and Randy Orton are capable of great wrestling when they're 100% motivated, but also have the potential to put on utterly boring, through the motions wrestling when they're not completely invested in what's going on. If this was simply Roode vs. Orton, then I don't think we'd have a massive problem, especially with a heated issue between the pair, but unfortunately the feud has been built around Jinder Mahal's meddling and the SmackDown Top 10 rankings, with lazy writing and lame ideas. It would seem obvious that Mahal will be involved in this match in one way or another, possibly setting up a three way at WrestleMania (despite the Orton vs. Roode match having much more of a big time feel) and if that's the case I'd expect Orton and Roode to plod through this one and tread water until the interference. I'm hopeful that we get the match that both are capable of in the right environment, but I certainly won't be surprised if that isn't the case. 

This could go either way, but it would seem like Roode is the more likely to win because he's not held the title all that long.

WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship // 

The Usos (C) vs. The New Day 

This bout has the potential to steal the show as The Usos and The New Day renew their rivalry that was one of the highlights of last year. These two teams know each other very well and a have a rich history to draw upon to bring extra depth to this tag clash. A slight change to their original programme, as it appears that Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods are transitioning back towards a heel role for the first time since the start of 2016, highlighted by both a cheap win over Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable and a fiery promo from Big E two weeks ago on SmackDown. How that change plays into the contest and what it allows the four (or five) to do creatively should be fascinating to watch unfold. Whether the two teams can top their matches at Hell in a Cell and SummerSlam Kick-Off, I'm not sure, but what am sure of is that they're going to give it a go and leave it all out there.

I'm picking the Usos to retain, because I feel like Jimmy & Jey vs. The Bludgeon Brothers is the most intriguing bout that SD tag division has for WrestleMania.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev 

Whilst this is one is a forgone conclusion match, with their being absolutely no chance that WWE would have Nakamura lose before getting a title shot at WrestleMania, there's still potential for an entertaining match here with Rusev. After disappointing matches with John Cena and Randy Orton last year, as well as an even more disappointing squash loss to The Big Show, Rusev needs to show that his in-ring work is up to his entertaining mic and character work, whilst Nakamura also could do with a good match after failing to show what he is truly capable of since switching to SmackDown from NXT last April. Their styles should match well with lots of heavy striking and submission wrestling that has the potential to produce a very good match if both turn up, whilst the crowd should produce a atmosphere conducive to great wrestling considering both men are still extremely popular right now. 

Obviously, Nakkers wins.  

Becky Lynch & Naomi vs. Natalya & Carmella 

Scrambled together on SmackDown this week, we have this absolutely nothing tag team match. I'm all for having a second (or third or fourth or whatever) women's match on the card, but I would've liked to have seen one with anything resembling a build. Becky Lynch and Naomi have mostly been feuding with the Riott Squad and helping out Charlotte Flair lately, but WWE decided to go with a random Becky Lynch vs. Carmella match on SmackDown and then chuck together this match with a backstage segment. There's talent here to do an enjoyable match, but I've been given no reason whatsoever to care about this and there's very little chance that this won't come off as absolute filler. 

I'm not sure it matters who wins, but seeing as I've gone all-babyface so far, lets say Natalya & Carmella win this, for reasons.

Six matches doesn't seem enough for a full PPV and pre-show, so expect potential appearances from any of Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin, The Bludgeon Brothers, Breezango, Tye Dillinger, Zack Ryder, The Ascension or Mojo Rawley to beef up the card.

Opinion: Running the Ropes with Marc P - Part 5

Hi guys thanks for dropping by, my whole life is up in the air at the moment so this month instead of writing about a particular topic I thought I’d left you guys know about a few things that are going on with me and the world of Pro Wrestling.

wrestling training……

As much as I enjoyed my time at Futureshock’s training school I’m afraid that I won’t be back there. Few reasons for this. Firstly and most importantly I’ve moved away from Stoke-On-Trent and am now living in the Cotswolds so to get to the school would be a 6 hour round trip! Secondly I’m sure dear reader that you remember that I tore my MCL in my left knee, well, truth be told it’s never really properly healed, still giving me a lot of pain especially at the moment when it’s cold. Lastly, you may remember that my confidence utterly failed me on my last training session, well, it never came back, the thought of making a tit of myself in front of people fills me with dread. So no more wrestling training for Marc P. Proud of myself for giving it a try though. 

live shows….

At the time of writing I’ve been to 3 shows this year, one each for Futureshock, Alpha Omega and Fight Club Pro. I promised myself after the 40+ shows that I attended in 2015 that I would drastically cut back on my live shows but MAN, I didn’t expect to cut down this much. Don’t get me wrong I intend you fully make use of my Season Ticket for the Stockport Futureshock shows, it’s just going to take me a while to find what promotions run in the local area. Guess I’ve got no excuse not to attend my first Attack show have I. Missing shows and missing my crew are the hardest part of this move, trust me on that one! Oh and my move meant I had to resign from my position at Southcoast Wrestling, that one hurt as well!

wwe……

I’ve barely watched any of WWE’s weekly programming in weeks, and that even includes NXT. Lucha Underground has taken NXT’s place as my must watch wrestling show as it has with so many people. Fastlane came and went and other than the pre show (that I fell asleep watching) I wasn’t bothered, Shane O Mac returned and both my Facebook and Twitter feeds lit up and I just wasn’t interested (seriously, why would Taker defend Vince?). My WWE network still gets used a lot but it’s always for old shows, on Friday night for example I watched WWF’s Royal Rumble 2000 but then last night I endured the Edge & Christian show and was so underwhelmed. How James manages to watch the product is beyond me and tbh its through his reviews that I still know whats happening in WWE! (Editors Note - Cos I'm a fucking maniac)

youtube.....

Ah the big one. Regular viewers of mine will no doubt have noticed that I haven’t made a video since the 8th of January, with no explanation really given. I don’t want to say Ive retired from making videos because that sounds so final, but, don’t expect to see any videos off of me anytime in the future. Truth be told I stopped enjoying making videos a long time ago and felt that they were a chore for the longest time. Watching the vids back that I made in the last 6 months they all feel very forced, that I’m relying on the same old dated catchphrases. Basically they just aren’t very good and my lack of motivation really shines through them. One day I may return full time, or I may just pop up to do the odd review at Wrestlemania time, or of course I could just say sod it and move on with my life. I am however, eternally grateful to anyone who has ever watched one of my videos. It means the world to me. 

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PPV Review: WWE Fastlane 2016 (Lesnar vs. Ambrose vs. Reigns *WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP #1 CONTENDERS*)

On the 21st February 2016, WWE aired the 2nd edition of Fast Lane on PPV and the WWE Network from the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. The show featured Brock Lesnar, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns battling it out to become Number One Contender to Triple H's WWE World Heavyweight Championship, AJ Styles facing Chris Jericho and Dolph Ziggler challenging for Kevin Owens' WWE Intercontinental Championship...but was it any good? Let's find out!

match card

Match 1 - Tag Team - Sasha Banks & Becky Lynch vs. Team B.A.D.

Match 2 - WWE Intercontinental Championship - Kevin Owens (C) vs. Dolph Ziggler

Match 3 - Six Man Tag Team - The Wyatt Family w/Bray Wyatt vs. The Big Show, Kane & Ryback

Match 4 - WWE Diva's Championship - Brie Bella vs. Charlotte (C) w/Ric Flair

Match 5 - Singles - AJ Styles vs. Chris Jericho

Match 6 - Singles - Curtis Axel w/The Social Outcasts vs. R-Truth

Match 7 - WWE World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contenders Triple Threat - Dean Ambrose vs. Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman 

Commentary Team - John "Bradshaw" Layfield, Michael Cole and Byron Saxton

fast-forward...Obviously, the show began with the regular hype package of things to come, focusing pretty much on the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Number One Contenders Match between Dean Ambrose, Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns and being interspliced with footage of Eva Marie in a tight leather gimmick waving some flags around...

sasha banks and becky lynch defeat team b.a.d.

I genuinely can't remember a WWE PPV that kicked off with a Women's match, get in touch if you can for a prize! I thought this was a decent opening contest, that played to the strengths of those involved well. Becky Lynch worked well in the face in peril role, in my opinion the more sympathetic of the two babyfaces, whilst this also allowed the Cleveland crowd to get some "We Want Sasha" chants, even if there weren't quite as many of these as one would hope for. I was pleasantly surprised by Naomi and Tamina as a tandem, as they used a cool power and speed combination, with Naomi doing the majority of the early work and Tamina always there to provide the extra muscle when needed. At times it felt like the ladies suffered from a couple of timing issues, with Naomi's legitimately well-worked near fall off a Rear View receiving almost no reaction when Sasha was able to tap out. Whilst I enjoyed the booking of the finish that saw both Becky and Sasha getting their opponents to submit in their respective submission holds, it definitely wasn't executed quite as smoothly as it could have been. Overall, a sound piece of booking to keep Becky and Sasha away from the Diva's Championship for a while, whilst Naomi and Tamina also deserve credit for the roles they played as road blocks on the road to WrestleMania.

fast-forward...A recap of the Fatal Five-Way bout that saw Kevin Owens take Dean Ambrose's WWE Intercontinental Championship in a match that also included Dolph Ziggler, Tyler Breeze and Stardust from Monday Night RAW #1186 aired, with the commentary team discussing how this might effect Ambrose heading into tonight's main event...

kevin owens defeats dolph ziggler to retain the wwe intercontinental championship

This was a bit of a mixed bag for me, as I thought that the first two thirds of the bout were particularly strong and some of the best work of the pairs recent series of matches, whilst the last third did little for more and descended into a superkick fest. The earlier part of the match saw Owens control the majority of the action, as the two worked a scrappy technical style and the Champion spent plenty of time to bad mouth Ziggler with "Your hometown likes me more than you" being my particular favourite. The Prizefighter and The Show Off seemed to have some real contempt for each other, amongst their competitive rivalry, which drew me into Owens dominance, whilst Ziggler's handful of hope spots, like dodging a charging Owens and sending him into the ringpost, kept things interesting. The Cleveland native hitting his signature jumping DDT after a great series of action stands out as a particular highlight for me. 

I feel maybe I was a little too harsh on the later parts of the match, earlier on, but for me, as soon as the match moved into the "Let's hit Superkicks in different ways" section, it lost some of the animosity that had original drawn me into the action. I wanted to see Owens and Ziggler continue to scrap it out and build on what they had done on earlier and this felt like something a little it different. It wasn't bad at all, I thought both men looked nice doing what they were doing and we got a sweet looking Fameasser from Ziggler, it just wasn't the avenue that I wanted to see the clash go down. That being said, Owens attempting to Powerbomb Ziggler onto the apron was a welcome addition, calling back to his dominance in NXT, and The Show-Off's rana reversal into the steel steps was also done particular well. Owens winning the bout clean with a vicious Pop-Up Powerbomb signalled the end of the pairs feud and Owens seems to have ridden out his time in the void to seemingly be positioned for decent slot on the WrestleMania card in five weeks time.

fast-forward...Backstage, The Big Show, Ryback and Kane threatened to take the Wyatt Family back to hell...

the big show, kane and ryback defeat the wyatt family

The kind of match that was mildly enjoyable while it lasted, but in a few months time you'll struggle to place it when asked to name the bouts on the show. This is the Pointless answer, surely? Nothing particularly wrong with the action, but having both Ryback and Kane work face in peril roles seemed a bit of overkill. This lead to neither hot tag having a whole lot of impact, and a lot of repetition as The Wyatt's simply rinsed and repeated what they'd done with Ryback on Kane. Big Show trying to get the crowd to chant "Feed Me More" for Ryback was bloody weird as well. Fair play though Ryback going nuts on Luke Harper just before the match broke down was pretty impressive, as was Big Show's gorilla press on Harper to the outside onto Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman and Kane. A nice little false finish slotted in there as well with Harper almost getting the win off a roll-up, following some distraction from Bray Wyatt at ringside.

After The Wyatt's dominant performance at the Royal Rumble last month and that bout seemingly positioning Wyatt to face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania I was left scratching my head when a sloppy looking Shellshocked from Ryback to Harper picked up the win. I'm not sure what Big Show and Kane have to gain from going over, and whilst a rejuvenated Ryback could hold promise if used properly, this didn't feel like the best way to showcase his talent. It was, at least, an unpredictable result, that leaves some questions open heading into Monday Night RAW #1187, but I'm still about as convinced by that this result was the best option as I am that Ryback is part of the "old guard" of monsters in WWE. 

fast-forward...Dean Ambrose interrupted Jo-Jo's interview with Roman Reigns, setting the stage nicely for the main event, showing glimpses of how their friendship might play out later on...

charlotte defeats brie bella to retain the wwe diva's championship

I knew from the hype package for this bout that it most likely wasn't going to be for me. The focus on Daniel Bryan's retirement told you all you needed to know about the direction that WWE had decided to take the match. Brie's character became so sugary, and the role just didn't suit her as a performer at all. The actual structure of the bout was laid out nicely and with a babyface that I could get behind then this would have been a damn good bout, as Charlotte played her bullying technician role well. It seemed to be the Diva's Champion that was the one keeping the crowd in the bout, as they remained fairly lively for the majority of the bout, although it has to be said that a decent proportion of the crowd were also joining in with Brie's "Yes" kicks.

For what it was, this match went on for, at least, five minutes too long. The match would actually have been improved by being given less time and remaining a lot more focused. You had Charlotte attacking Brie's neck after she pulled her head first onto the apron, which to me was the most interesting element, due to Brie's sister Nikki's recent neck injury (although the commentary team failed to mention that), before Brie was selling her stomach for a reason I couldn't work out and then things finished up with Brie's getting a leg injury off a Missile Dropkick. There was too much clutter and it made parts of the bout feel a little contrived. However, all in all, Charlotte looked like powerful champion and her feud with Brie has, at least, allowed her to develop her mean bitch of a heel character, separate from her Dad. Let's finally move into that three way programme with Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks for WrestleMania now pretty please.

aj styles defeats chris jericho

Once AJ Styles and Chris Jericho found their feet, the third match of their series was a enjoyable tangle. For me, the bout was made by the story that it told, which felt more like the style of Styles' old home promotion NJPW, than it did a WWE style contest. You had Y2J managing to one up Styles at every turn, whilst also denying the fans the chance to see some of The Phenomenal One's flashier offence, like when Jericho cut of a slingshot attempt to the outside with a well-timed dropkick. With plenty of exchanging holds and reversals as the commentary team reminded us of their previous two matches in close proximity, Jericho was positioned as the willy veteran, whilst Styles seemed to fall into a risk taking "rookie" role. It suited the two's positions with the WWE structure and allowed a crowd that was initially about 55-45 in favour of Styles at the start of the bout to gravitate much more towards the former 2 time IWGP Heavyweight Champion by the bouts conclusion.

For a while, I have to admit that the match did struggle to find a rhythm and truly bed in. Styles still looks to be getting used to WWE's ring set-up, looked a little awkward hitting the ropes and almost hesitant on his springboard moves. Getting into the little touches that the WWE requires as a television product looks to have been a bit more of a challenge for Styles than many would have imagined when he debut last month. His pure wrestling talent and being placed in the ring with a veteran like Jericho, who also spent time working styles that Gainseville, Georgia born star would be more familiar with, have been enough to pull him through so far. Hopefully he'll be bedded in just enough to blossom on the biggest stage of his career 

From the moment Jericho actually hit a Lionsault, I thought this contest hit it's stride. Both in terms of storytelling and wrestling, as Jericho upped his grizzled veteran act and began to lay in some serious slaps and even go as far as shouting in Styles' face telling him that he's stupid (which was reminiscent of Randy Orton's legit rant at Kofi Kingston back in the day). Styles reversing a Tiger Bomb attempt by Jericho, rolling through to hit a Styles Clash should have been the finish for me, as it was certainly the best sequence of action of the evening, even though it wasn't quite as smooth as it could have been if this was the Jericho of five or six years ago. I like that Styles has been given a couple of moves to finish matches with, and having Jericho tap out to the Calf Crusher was certainly a bigger statement than another pinfall victory, however, because of this I would have liked to have seen Styles working towards that hold during the match, with Jericho also famed for his leg-based submission hold it felt like a slight missed opportunity. 

fast-forward...The Kick-Off panel of Renee Young, former World Heavyweight Champion Booker T, former AWA World Heavyweight Champion Jerry "The King" Lawler and former NXT Tag Team Champion Corey Graves discussed AJ Styles beating Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens retaining the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Dolph Ziggler and the upcoming Triple Threat main event between Brock Lesnar, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns...A recap of The New Day dancing on Thursday Night Smackdown #861 aired, as a lead into the groups appearance on the Cutting Edge Peep Show...

the new day and league of nations on the cutting edge peep show

What on earth happened here? Everything up until Christian's bizarre impression of Rusev was entertaining and I definitely got a chuckle out of Edge and Christian ripping on the New Day and comparing the group to themselves. However, the whole time I was wondering exactly what the pay off would be. Both Edge and Christian are retired from the ring due to medical reasons, so bar a miraculous recovery or Bret Hart vs. Mr. McMahon style bout, we were never going to see them challenge the New Day for the title at WrestleMania, or even The New Day laying out the seven-time WWF World Tag Team Champions! Beyond a push for a show that would air directly after the PPV on a Network that most people would already have been paying for, I couldn't see the point. That is until we had the League of Nations turn up and despite the two groups working together on numerous occassions over the last three or four months, they suddenly hated each other, The New Day seemed to turn babyface and programme looked to be laid out for Mania. I guess WWE had booked themselves into a big of a corner by having the group take out pretty much every other tag team on the roster. Maybe this programme will bring out the best in Sheamus, Rusev, Alberto Del Rio (who couldn't be arsed selling his Two out of Three falls bout with Kalisto that took place on the pre-show) and the injured and apparently outward bound King Barrett...but I'm not holding out much hope.

fast-forward...One of the WWE Network trailers that crop up on every PPV now, a few more clips from Camp WWE, but no new show announcements...

curtis axel defeats r-truth

Curtis Axel's first singles PPV match since he failed to take the WWE Intercontinental Championship off Big E Langston at Survivor Series 2013 and R-Truth's first since he went over Brodus Clay on the very next PPV, TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs 2013. The match lasted minutes, but was full of absolute shenanigans, as The Social Outcasts did a victory lap around ringside mid-match and Goldust came out to help R-Truth, continuing their storyline of Goldust wanting to becoming Truth's tag partner. A little bit of fun before the main event, but I've no idea what WWE are doing with Truth and Goldust after the later accidentally cost the other the match by chucking Adam Rose into the ring and allowing Axel to nick his first televised win since August.

roman reigns defeats dean ambrose and brock lesnar to become #1 contender to the wwe world heavyweight championship 

Who doesn't love Brock Lesnar chucking people about? It's been one of the highlights of any PPV that Lesnar has appeared on since his return in April 2012 and this match had plenty of it as Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns took turns to get thrown around by the Beast Incarnate. Seriously, the first five minutes or so of the bout was just Lesnar moving from one guy to the other and suplexing them. It was glorious. All joking aside, there was a cool layer of narrative here. That being that Reigns and Ambrose couldn't take down Lesnar on their own. Personally, I thought the point was hammered home just a little bit too much, as any man and his dog could have seen what was coming and the fact that it took Reigns and Ambrose so long to realise made them both look a bit simple. However, I suppose it could be written off as them stubbornly wanting to prove they didn't need each other, but without this being covered by the commentary team, I'll assume that wasn't the case.

After Reigns and Ambrose returned to their Shield days delivering a beat down to Lesnar and powerbombing him through the announce table, before battling it out amongst themselves. Whilst I enjoyed The Lunatic Fringe fighting valiantly alone against Lesnar, I thought that his work one on one with Reigns produced the best action of the contest. The two friends seemingly wanted to make up for their lacklustre WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at Survivor Series last year, as they went at it, putting on a physical sequence, including The Lunatic Fringe sending Reigns into the steps. The two stopping their fight after seeing Lesnar get back to his feet at ringside was another narrative touch which I got a kick out of. This section also saw the best near fall of the bout, after Reigns missed two spears and Ambrose rolled over to hit Dirty Deeds. The Cleveland crowd were quite happy to chant "This is Awesome" despite loudly booing Reigns for long portions of the bout.

Ah man, I was really getting into things when Dean Ambrose started to battered Lesnar and Reigns with a steel chair, it felt like the match was about to really kick things into the next gear. And then Reigns hit a Spear and pinned him. Now, I'd fully expected The Juggernaut to walk away as the Number One Contender, and whilst a match with Triple H doesn't particularly thrill me, I'm more than happy to see Reigns get his moment at WrestleMania. But this finish felt so flat. Reigns hitting the spear on Ambrose felt like a your big Samoan pal popping your balloon on your birthday, just as your favourite song hits and everyone's having a swell old time. Five more minutes of exploring Ambrose' frustration at not being able to put Lesnar or Reigns away and getting the steel chair involved in some serious spots, before Reigns gets the victory would have felt much more satisfying. But nah, we needed time for Triple H to come out and have a stare down.

finally...

atpw scale rating - 5.65/10

A step down in quality from last month's Royal Rumble PPV, but there was still plenty to like about February's Fastlane PPV. Obviously, if you're one of those that still has the dislike for Roman Reigns and knew he was going to win, but are disappointed that he won, because it was "too predictable", then you'll probably have hated (PS - If you predict you won't like the outcome of PPV, don't fucking watch it! You're a moron if you choose to watch something you think you'll probably end up not liking and then still complain about it) Whilst I did have problems with the main event and especially it's conclusion, I still feel it was a very good storytelling match between three premier talents. AJ Styles and Kevin Owens positioned themselves for a mouth-watering WWE Intercontinental Championship match at WrestleMania, with two belting efforts opposite Chris Jericho and Dolph Ziggler respectively. 

The show was let down by a little too much filler, with the Cutting Edge Peep Show with The New Day and The League of Nations having no real place on PPV, with same definitely being the case for Curtis Axel's victory over R-Truth. The two women's bout put Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks in better positions for a potential WrestleMania Triple Threat, but there's no covering up that neither of the contests were anything but ways of holding that match off for as long as possible (with the Diva's Championship match also being a cheap way of using Daniel Bryan's retirement).

Overall, this was kind of, yanno, alright. Not a classic, but I found it a pretty easy watch from start to finish. Hence the slightly above average rating.

Thanks for reading. xoxo