VROOM! VROOM VROOM VROOM!! Tomorrow is the annual WWE PPV between the February show and WrestleMania. Fastlane began in 2015 and is a show that the company airs to build storylines heading into Mania. I have attended two of these shows in 2016 and 2019 (because when I think of racing, I think of Cleveland, OH!). It is easy to dismiss these shows as a placeholder show but storylines can be built for WrestleMania, i.e. Shane McMahon turning on the Miz in 2019 to set up their WrestleMania match.
My goal for this piece is to rank the matches in order of which I am most excited to watch. One thing I pride myself on is being able to find excitement out of even the smallest things. Every night when we watch Jeopardy, my fiancée has the fortune (misfortune?) to watch me hit my chest like I just made a game winning three pointer when I get several questions in a row correct. When I wake up in the morning, I think it’s automatically going to be an outstanding day because I get to walk my dog at sunrise and then run eight miles on the treadmill. That’s not to say everything in the world excites me, as you will see when I get to the bottom of this list. But I try my best to hope for the best in everything.
I hope that you can enjoy this piece no matter what sort of WWE fan you are. Maybe you watch nearly 10 hours of a programming a week. Maybe that used to be you but you have since become a lapsed fan. Maybe you’re just watching wrestling right now because we are on the “Road to WrestleMania.” Or maybe you don’t watch at all and don’t plan on watching but just wanted to check out my writing!
I also wanted to note that this is the first PPV that is going to be available on the Peacock app. It will still be available on the previous WWE Network but that will end come WrestleMania. I personally will be watching on Peacock because I want to get used to it prior to WrestleMania.
1.) ROMAN REIGNS (C) v DANIEL BRYAN for the Universal Title with Edge as the “Special Enforcer”
This is a rematch from the first Fastlane (2015) when the WWE thought that by beating Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns would earn the respect of fans and they would start to cheer him. The opposite happened, with fans booing Reigns with even more intensity. It’s something that Roman Reigns, as a babyface, never really escaped from until he turned heel in the summer of 2020.
Well, we don’t have that problem here, mainly because there aren’t any actual fans in the Thunderdome to cheer or boo! But also because Roman Reigns finally turned heel and has been on the best run of his career. Constantly delivering great matches in the main event, Reigns has become the star of pro wrestling since August. When Reigns is on TV, coupled with Paul Heyman as his manager, it automatically becomes a big deal. This man screams WORLD CHAMPION. He is so amazing at playing a man that has an aura that he is better than everyone else around him. His promos are solid, his ring work is terrific, and his presence is great as well.
Daniel Bryan, pushing this as maybe his last opportunity at the Universal Title, is everything you want out of your babyface challenger. While certainly not having the bravado of a Steve Austin or The Rock, Daniel Bryan is the best promo in the company and maybe all of pro wrestling. His promos are concise and to the point, always getting his desired messaged across. More importantly, when Bryan delivers a promo you BELIEVE in him. To give a sports example, when Bryan talks, I have the same feeling as when one of my sports teams is down in a game but is about to stage a comeback. I can feel the excitement and feel the energy of my team and that they have a chance to succeed and win a game. Very few wrestlers in history have had the ability to do this.
Edge will serve as the “Special Enforcer” of this match after beating Jey Uso last night on Smackdown. I really don’t get the point of this to be honest. Edge is in the main event of WrestleMania no matter what because he won the Royal Rumble in January. Yet he is so angry that Daniel Bryan is trying to win the title against Roman Reigns. Who cares, Edge? You’re in no matter what! Look, I love Edge and he is one of my all time favorites, but if there were actual fans in the audience, Edge would start to get booed out of the building. Just let it go, Edge!
Oh, and besides being a great promo, Daniel Bryan’s matches always deliver. He is so talented at putting together a match, especially as a babyface. He has vowed to make Roman Reigns tap out Sunday night. It should be an absolutely incredible match and will be the match of the night. Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan are the two best at what they do right now. I expect an incredible match and do not see any way that it is not a great contest.
MIKE’S EXCITEMENT LEVEL: 10/10
2.) BIG E v APOLLO CREWS for the Intercontinental Championship
A month ago, I would have been really surprised to have this ranked as high as I do for excitement level. Apollo Crews, while a good wrestler, had been pretty bland as a character. He would have good matches. He would win some. He’d lose some. He was just kind of there. He was even the United States Champion last year, but no one really cared until he lost to Bobby Lashley.
Within the last month, however, Crews finally turned heel after several unsuccessful attempts at beating Big E for the IC title. He has taken on a character that is embracing his Nigerian ancestry. He has even taken on an accent for the character and his promos are way more intense. Apollo has given Big E some severe beat downs in recent weeks that make you take him seriously as a wrestler.
Big E as Champion has done a really good job. He has kept some of his jovial New Day presence but can also pick up his intensity, especially in this feud. While watching Smackdown the last couple of weeks, you get the feeling that he is really, really angry at Apollo. He wants to kick Apollo’s ass and is going to do everything within his power to do so on Sunday.
What’s also nice is that both men WANT the Intercontinental Championship and value it as an important belt. In many instances for the non-World Title feuds, the belt is seen as nothing more than a worthless prop that some guy just so happens to have. Not this time around, and for that I am thankful. Expect a good brawl for this match:
Mike’s Excitement Level: 8/10
3.) SHAYNA BASZLER and NIA JAX (C) v SASHA BANKS and BIANCA BELAIR for the Women’s Tag Team Titles.
This is more about storyline than the actual match. Bianca Belair won the Royal Rumble match in a really incredible performance and has elected to wrestle Smackdown Women’s Champion, Sasha Banks, for the title. Sasha Banks is an incredible wrestler. Paired with Belair (maybe the best athlete on the main roster,) we should have a great match at Mania.
But back to Fastlane. Banks in recent weeks has been met with infatuation by Reginald, Carmella’s former sommelier. That has distracted Banks which has annoyed Belair in their feud with Jax and Baszler. Jax, in turn, has taken a fancy to Reginald in what is likely to play more mind games with Banks and Belair. I expect that this comes into play on their match on Sunday and somehow Reginald costs Banks and Belair the match, allowing them to intensify their feud heading into WrestleMania.
I think all the women have done a great job in their roles heading into their match. Belair has respect for Banks but that isn’t going to change her goal of becoming World Champion. She frequently calls out Banks for not being focused. Banks, in turn, has added a bit more of a heelish edge for this feud. Look for an okay match but a potentially great angle.
Mike’s Excitement Level: 7/10
4.) DREW McINTYRE v SHEAMUS
McIntyre and Sheamus apparently have a friendship that goes back 20 years. Sheamus in recent months turned on McIntyre and they have since wrestled in a series of match. McIntyre is the man (not “The Man” though) and has been a really excellent world champion in the last year. Sheamus is a good brawler and is perfectly capable of having good to great matches.
I honestly would be okay with either guy winning here. Drew is eventually going to be the world champion and is going to likely defeat current WWE Champion Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania. So if he loses tomorrow, maybe it does look kind of weird heading into WrestleMania. But also, by having Sheamus win, he can be Drew’s first challenger post Mania. I guess I would not be upset by either outcome. While with the Women’s tag match, I am most looking forward to the storyline, with Drew and Sheamus, I’m most looking forward to the potential of the match quality.
Mike’s Excitement Level: 6/10
5.) SETH ROLLINS v SHINSUKE NAKAMURA
Seth Rollins recently returned to WWE television after taking time off for paternity leave after the birth of his and Becky Lynch’s child. I was hoping he would return to his old music and go back to being a babyface. Well, we got the old music back, but he’s still a heel. He has since started a feud with Cesaro, who called Rollins out on his BS and was tired of hearing about how highly Seth thought of himself. Rollins beat up Cesaro two weeks ago. Cesaro’s friend, Shinsuke Nakamura, wants to stand up for his buddy and is going to be wrestling Seth in what should be a decent match.
Even though the match should be good, I really am not very excited for it. Rollins as a heel annoys me to no end (and not in a way where I want to see him get his comeuppance.) I would just rather see him as a babyface where his wrestling style is better fitted. His promos are whiny in a way I don’t take seriously. He just comes off as a dork when he can do a lot better than being a dork. In over eight years, the only Seth Rollins promo that I have enjoyed was when he turned babyface in 2016-2017 and told HHH that he started to finally like himself again. It was what you want when you root for a guy. But it was one promo in eight years. Not a great ratio.
Mike’s Excitement Level: 4/10 (Bret Hart nods in approval)
6.) RIDDLE v ALI for the United States Championship
I honestly don’t have much to say for this match. I don’t really enjoy the “Bro” character that Matt Riddle has. I reserve the right to change my opinion, but it just isn’t for me. Ali is a terrific wrestler but they have saddled him with the Retribution stable, which is one of the worst stables that I can think of. It’s like Aces and Eights from TNA but only the bad part of it. Ali is also a great promo. He deserves a lot better than this.
It should be a good match, and I expect Riddle to win.
Mike’s Excitement Level: 3/10
7.) RANDY ORTON v ALEXA BLISS
I know you see this match and are confused by why a man is wrestling a woman. The reason is that they are involved in one of the worst feuds in company history.
“The Fiend” Bray Wyatt, the worst main eventer in the history of WWE, was set on fire and killed by Randy Orton in December. In the meantime, his partner in crime, Alexa Bliss, plays mind games with Randy. In recent weeks, Orton has magically thrown up ooze during matches and promos. If that sounds really stupid to you, it is because it is really stupid.
I really do not expect these two to wrestle. I would imagine The Fiend returns from the dead and sets up a match with Orton at Mania. Wyatt and Orton delivered probably the worst ever WrestleMania world title match at WrestleMania 33. And that time, they actually had a great feud behind it! This time around, they have an all time bad feud.
Bray Wyatt as a main eventer just doesn’t work for me. His matches are terrible, his character is pretty stupid, and he just wastes time on tv that can be devoted to other talented wrestlers on the roster.
For this match, I would recommend turning down the volume and set an alarm for ten minutes. Read a book, fold some laundry, call a friend or family member. Do anything but watch this “match.”
Mike’s Excitement Level: 0/10
So there you have my first “Excitement Level Rankings” of which I hope to make a regular piece. I hope you enjoyed and hope you check out (most) of the show on Sunday.
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