WWE Fastlane 2018: Final Picks, Predictions for Last PPV Before WrestleMania 34
WWE Fastlane 2018 is rushing our way Sunday at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, and it has a lot of weight on its shoulders.
Not only is it the final SmackDown pay-per-view before all future events switch to a co-branded platform, it also is the last major event to take place heading into April 8's WrestleMania 34.
This is the blue brand's last opportunity to sell audiences on tuning into SmackDown for the next few weeks with the promise that the roster has some significant stories to tell on the Road to WrestleMania, rather than being the B-show you can catch up on with recaps from Monday Night Raw.
Sadly, the card for Fastlane isn't the most promising, as half the matches have had such little effort put into them or have almost no vigor that it seems unlikely they will garner much attention from the crowd.
Thankfully, a few other noteworthy performers should spark some interest, so there's still hope WWE has a plan and will execute a solid show that gets people talking.
At the very least, since this show has major implications for what's to come in the immediate future, who WWE has chosen to win these matches should be subject to talk around the water cooler.
Which Superstars are likely to steal that spotlight and come out with a win?
As the event draws closer, it's time for one final round of predictions about which Superstars will win at Fastlane 2018.
Becky Lynch and Naomi vs. Carmella and Natalya
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On the go-home episode of SmackDown, Becky Lynch, Naomi, Natalya and Carmella were rushed into a makeshift feud in the span of two segments, undoubtedly when WWE realized there weren't enough matches on the card.
What is a shame is that all four of these women are more talented than the impression this gives off, which is more reminiscent of the bygone era of pointless Divas matches nobody cared to see.
Zero effort was put into this. It exists purely to get some more people on the card and to eat up time.
If there is a bigger plan for it, WWE did a poor job getting the story to that point, since this was thrown together sloppily.
Since it doesn't seem to have any real purpose or value, nothing is on the line, all four Superstars are just lingering around with nothing to do and anybody could realistically take the pin without it hurting their momentum, this is hard to guess. There's no incentive for any judgment call to be made.
If the babyfaces win, it doesn't matter. If the heels win, who cares?
Basically, it's a toss-up. So when that happens, it's easier to assume the heroes come out on top, as the heels can whine about it afterward.
Final Pick: Lynch and Naomi are victorious.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev
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Very similarly to the women's tag team match, WWE must have realized at the last minute that the Royal Rumble winner hadn't been seen on television in a while and paired him up with Rusev Day with no real thought behind it.
This is a harmless match if you look at it from the perspective that it will just get Shinsuke Nakamura a win, but the downside is that a win over Rusev means nothing for someone who could win the WWE Championship in a few weeks.
Nakamura's greatest problem right now is how he doesn't have much for fans to latch on to other than his in-ring performances. It would have been nice to get some backstory and some personality over these past few weeks so the crowd could get more invested.
Instead, WWE opted to put him up against someone who the creative team continues to keep a heel, even though he routinely gets some of the biggest pops of the night.
This could prove to be disastrous, as Nakamura could lose momentum by being booed here, making him seem like not the best option to put the responsibility of SmackDown's future viewership success on.
That is something that won't be noticeable until many weeks from now, but for Fastlane, WWE has already set this up, so the only option is to have Nakamura win.
A victory for Rusev would get cheers but stand in the way of the Royal Rumble title shot and devalue it. Meanwhile, a win for Nakamura risks boos, but it at least keeps him from looking weak.
Final Pick: Shinsuke Nakamura wins, and WWE officials wonder why the segment ended up being problematic.
United States Championship Match: Bobby Roode vs. Randy Orton
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There are two matches which could potentially end in a no-contest after outside interference, with the United States Championship fight being one of them.
Naturally, this should be a one-on-one contest between Bobby Roode and Randy Orton, but Jinder Mahal has been between the two of them from the very start of this feud and has never stopped involving himself in the mix.
Surprisingly, The Modern Day Maharaja never found a way to be inserted into this match officially to make it a Triple Threat, even though all signs were pointing in that direction.
That is possibly the plan for WrestleMania, in which case it doesn't make sense for Roode or Orton to get a clean victory over the other. The loser would have little to no validation for continuing to fight for the title—unless, of course, Roode were to be the one to lose.
In that scenario, he would have his rematch clause to fall back on, while Mahal could complain that he should move to the back of the line.
Alternatively, Mahal could just interrupt the festivities and prevent either man from winning, just to prove a point.
The potential for an Orton heel turn is palpable, and with it comes the possibility he takes the title from Roode in an underhanded fashion.
This is tough to call, which makes it one of the most interesting matches on the card.
Final Pick: Bobby Roode retains the title, somehow.
SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match: The Usos vs. The New Day
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The other match at Fastlane 2018 that fans should prepare themselves for possibly ending with no real ending is the SmackDown Tag Team Championship bout between The Usos and The New Day.
These two teams have fought each other time and time again, putting on fantastic performances and stealing the show every single time they go out together.
That shouldn't be called into question, as this match should follow suit, but the actual winning team is something up for speculation and theories.
Throughout the past few weeks, The Bludgeon Brothers have made it a point to hover around both The Usos and The New Day in different ways by popping up during entrances and cutting backstage promos.
Without a doubt, destruction is coming, and it will be delivered by their hands. It's only a matter of time before that happens, with this match possibly being when that takes place.
Fundamentally, this match should have two primary outcomes: Either The Usos retain the titles by winning or by the champions' advantage rule of disqualification or being counted out, or The New Day take the titles from them.
How WWE wants to factor Luke Harper and Erick Rowan into this situation, though, is where things can go astray.
Will The Bludgeon Brothers attack both teams, causing a draw and leaving this segment ending without a winner being declared, or will they wait until after someone has come out on top before laying everybody to waste?
If a true winner is going to happen and a Triple Threat match is in the works for WrestleMania, it makes sense for The New Day to win the titles so The Usos can use their rematch clause, similar to the situation with Roode and the United States Championship.
However, if WWE prefers to keep the title change on hold until WrestleMania, a no-contest could definitely be declared here.
Final Pick: The titles go to The New Day, who don't get a chance to celebrate for more than a moment.
SmackDown Women's Championship Match: Charlotte Flair vs. Ruby Riott
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Cutting right to the chase, there is absolutely no way Charlotte Flair drops the SmackDown Women's Championship to Ruby Riott at Fastlane.
Flair retaining the title is the obvious move, as she's in an entirely different league compared to Riott as far as importance to the roster is concerned.
By no means is Flair going to lose the title to someone who hasn't been on the main roster long enough to make a dent, sacrificing a spot at WrestleMania and allowing Riott to headline for the women's division on SmackDown.
The Riott Squad hasn't done anything of value whatsoever, and the momentum isn't there for a shocking twist.
Instead, the big surprise will be the announcement that Asuka has decided to challenge Flair for the SmackDown Women's Championship, rather than going with Alexa Bliss and the Raw title.
This has been hinted at for weeks. WWE has perpetually refused to make the supposed Bliss vs. Asuka title match official on the website or elsewhere and continually referred to it as something that is pretty much guaranteed but not set in stone.
The writers have been setting this up so people let their guards down and then pop when Asuka's music hits.
Flair and Asuka will fight because there is no solid option on SmackDown for this title other than bringing in The Empress of Tomorrow, leaving Raw's championship situation to focus more on Nia Jax's pending babyface turn.
For all that to happen, though, Flair has to first defeat Riott, which she will do.
Final Pick: Charlotte Flair retains the championship.
WWE Championship Six-Pack Challenge Match
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Last, but certainly not least, is the Six-Pack Challenge for the WWE Championship.
This match features current champion AJ Styles up against seemingly insurmountable odds as any of his five opponents could pin him or anybody else and take the title away from him.
Those five men are Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, Baron Corbin and John Cena, who all have the same goal in mind, despite how Zayn previously teased that he would sacrifice himself and not win the title on purpose.
That went out the window with the Helluva Kick he blasted Owens with on this past episode of SmackDown, which proved that he is not blindly doing his friend's bidding.
Neither of them can win this title, though, as that would put them in a match with Shinsuke Nakamura rather than each other.
Likewise, Corbin and Ziggler can be easily ruled out, as a match between them and Nakamura doesn't strike the same chord as one with Styles as champion.
The Lone Wolf and The Showoff simply don't have the track records over the past year to put them in a position where they would be in one of the main events of WrestleMania. They could very well be in this match more to take the loss than do anything else.
With Cena, it's a different story. His history and clout more than speak for themselves. He is always a contender who can win any match at any moment, no matter what the circumstances.
However, his storyline of late has been that of failure and struggling to find his spot on the card for WrestleMania. Winning his 17th world title at Fastlane, of all places, and securing that role on the biggest pay-per-view of the year would cause that story to come to a screeching halt.
This is a win for The Phenomenal One, for sure, as WWE has already invested screen time trying to build some allure to seeing that match.
If Nakamura challenging Styles specifically and repeating on a regular basis how he wants to fight him and nobody else—with the feeling being mutual—wasn't enough to convince you of the certainty of Styles winning this match, all you have to do is look on the promotional material for WrestleMania.
Ever since Nakamura won the Royal Rumble and called out Styles, this has been promoted as something that is definitely going to happen, and it will.
Final Pick: AJ Styles retains the WWE Championship.
Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.
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