WWE Fastlane 2015: Final Picks and Predictions for All Matches on the Card
Sunday night, World Wrestling Entertainment merges into the Fastlane on the road to WrestleMania 31 in Santa Clara, California.
In the main event, two of the top stars in all of sports entertainment will vie for the right to challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the Showcase of the Immortals as Roman Reigns battles Daniel Bryan.
The match has major implications on the biggest show of the year. Will Reigns follow up his Royal Rumble match victory by knocking off the man who was at the center of last year's build to WrestleMania, or will Bryan complete his comeback to the squared circle after a debilitating neck injury by cashing his ticket to another main event on the industry's grandest stage?
John Cena will look to add to his Hall of Fame resume when he battles Rusev for the United States Championship. It was been a decade since the leader of the Cenation held the secondary title, but winning a championship is secondary to the idea of becoming the first Superstar to pin or make the Bulgarian Brute submit.
The Authority will look to gain more momentum, as Seth Rollins partners with Big Show and Kane to battle Erick Rowan, Ryback and Dolph Ziggler.
Will they succeed, or will the heels be left disappointed on a night when their fearless leader, Triple H, meets with Sting for a special face-to-face confrontation?
Paige looks to dethrone Divas champion Nikki Bella, Dean Ambrose hopes to deliver bad news to current WWE intercontinental champion Wade Barrett, The Usos defend the tag titles against Cesaro and Tyson Kidd and the brothers Rhodes explode as Goldust battles Stardust.
WWE Tag Team Championship Match: The Usos vs. Tyson Kidd and Cesaro
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Tyson Kidd and Cesaro were doing nothing of any real note when they were paired together and pushed as a tag team late in 2015. Two extraordinary talents, someone in WWE Creative thought they could channel their abilities into focusing on the tag titles, held by Jimmy and Jey Uso.
During last month's Royal Rumble pre-show, Kidd and Cesaro defeated The New Day to catapult themselves into title contention. Non-title wins over the champions helped earn the team a title opportunity.
At the same time, Kidd's treatment of wife Natalya earned the scorn of Jimmy Uso's wife, Naomi. Ignorant of just how badly she has been treated by her significant other, the former Divas champion lashed out at her friend, and a personal rivalry between the two women has ensued in recent weeks.
Now, with the most prestigious prize in tag team wrestling at stake, all eyes will be on the women around the ringside area as much as they will the men waging war inside the squared circle.
Prediction: The Usos
The Usos are the standard-bearers in WWE's tag team division. They are easily the most over team the company has produced in years and one of its most consistent from an in-ring performance standpoint.
While Kidd and Cesaro have made for a solid, entertaining team, the real money at this point is in a rivalry between Jimmy and Jey and The Ascension.
Expect to see The Usos successfully retain their titles in what will be an exceptional bout, especially if it receives enough time to reach the potential it has given the Superstars involved.
Goldust vs. Stardust
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When Goldust and Stardust clash Sunday night at Fastlane, fans will witness a match between two brothers who were once close enough to fight for each other's employment and reign over the tag team division. Now, unfortunately, the mental instability demonstrated by Stadust overt recent weeks has driven a wedge between the two, leading to their split on the February 16 episode of Raw.
Stating that "Cody Rhodes is dead," Stardust has clearly become lost behind the paint, overwhelmed by the madness.
Now, Goldust will attempt to rescue his brother from the darkness by defeating him in singles competition on the final pay-per-view stop before WrestleMania.
Matches between real-life siblings typically tend to go one of two ways.
In 1994 at WrestleMania X, Bret and Owen Hart wrestled a five-star classic. Seven years later, Matt and Jeff Hardy clashed in an incredibly underwhelming match at the Vengeance pay-per-view.
Which will this weekend's battle more closely resemble?
One thing is for certain: Stardust will emerge victorious.
Prediction: Stardust
At this point, Goldust has a limited amount of time remaining between the ropes. Stardust, on the other hand, is in the prime of his career.
Add to that the fact that the Stardust character has not been completely explored to this point while the Goldust one is two decades old, and you have even more reason for the heel to come out of Fastlane victorious.
The Stardust character is far darker, meaner and nastier than Goldust ever was. WWE Creative could have a lot of fun with the character and, at the same time, allow Cody Rhodes to delve deeper into the persona.
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Dean Ambrose vs. Bad News Barrett
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Bad News Barrett's return to WWE following a shoulder injury suffered last year has been nothing short of a disaster.
Gone are the elements that helped make the character one of the most over just one year ago, and in their place is a ridiculous TMZ ripoff. Worse yet is the fact that, since capturing the WWE Intercontinental Championship shortly after his comeback, Barrett has lost numerous non-title matches to the likes of Dolph Ziggler and R-Truth.
In the process, his credibility as a competitor has been tarnished, as has all of the work Ziggler did to restore meaning to the IC title.
Dean Ambrose, on the other hand, has seen his stock plummet in the wake of his feud with Bray Wyatt. With little other opportunities available with the road to WrestleMania underway, the Lunatic Fringe has found himself stuck in the deep, dark abyss of the WWE midcard.
After Barrett repeatedly refused to give Ambrose a shot at his title, the Brit found himself forced into signing a contract, thus officially setting up Sunday's championship clash.
Prediction: Dean Ambrose
The booking of this match was a bad idea.
Barrett has been irreparably damaged by his recent booking, thus dragging the title down with him. He has lost more than he has won, making him a lame-duck champion.
Should he lose the gold to Ambrose Sunday night, Barrett's entire title reign will be deemed a failure, as would his return from injury.
On the other hand, beating Ambrose would only make the Cincinnati native look equally as bad. After all, that would mean he went from headlining pay-per-view events against Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt to struggling to defeat someone who could not even beat R-Truth in a non-title match.
Ambrose is far more valuable to the company and much more vital to the future of the industry; therefore, he should be protected more.
Especially since WWE Creative has managed to repeatedly screw up Barrett's pushes over the last five years.
Divas Championship Match: Paige vs. Nikki Bella
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At the Royal Rumble in January, Paige watched from the ring apron as the Bella Twins decimated and dominated Natalya in a huge Divas tag team match.
Having only been allowed to compete in the match for a brief moment, Paige could hardly take blame for the loss. In fact, shortly after the events of that night, she was named the No. 1 contender to Nikki Bella's Divas Championship.
In an attempt to get in the head of someone widely considered a superior wrestler, Nikki began poking fun at Paige and her unique look. She and sister Brie made sure to point out the fact that the top contender is incredibly pale, not to mention the opposite of a prototypical Diva.
They attempted to humiliate her by spraying her with tanner and then stole her gear, thus forcing her to borrow the outfit of an Adam Rose Rosebud in order to compete in her scheduled match.
But Paige has persevered and continues to roll into Fastlane, proving that all of the twins' attempts at tearing her down via Mean Girls methods have failed miserably.
Prediction: Nikki Bella
While Paige certainly deserves the title, expect to see Nikki Bella retain as WWE continues to (inexplicably) position she and sister Brie as the faces of women's wrestling on the main roster.
Paige is still the future of the Divas roster, the woman who will help carry the division well into the future, but Vince McMahon sees the Bellas as a much more valuable asset at this point.
A tainted victory, thanks to interference from Brie, should help to keep Paige looking strong and remain a legitimate title contender.
Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan and Ryback vs. Seth Rollins, Big Show and Kane
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The war between Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan, Ryback and The Authority dates back to the Survivor Series pay-per-view, proving that WWE Creative really has not had anything else better for the men involved in Sunday's Six-Man Tag Team match to do over the last four months than face each other in the same repetitive TV bouts fans have already witnessed countless times before.
At Fastlane, the feud will (hopefully) come to an end when Ziggler, Rowan and Ryback attempt to avenge the brutal beatdown they suffered at the hands of Seth Rollins, Kane and Big Show on SmackDown by defeating them and knocking The Authority down a peg or two as the biggest show of the year approaches.
Of note in the contest is the interaction between Big Show and Kane.
Recently, The Authority's two behemoths have demonstrated dissension between them, including a KO Punch from the giant to the Big Red Monster that cost them a Tag Team Turmoil match a few weeks back on SmackDown.
Could the tension between the 20-year veterans be the key to a babyface victory?
Prediction: Seth Rollins, Big Show and Kane
The end of the February 19 episode of SmackDown would suggest that the babyfaces would be set up perfectly to pick up a big pay-per-view victory. After all, they were left lying to close out that broadcast, and according to WWE's 50-50 style booking, that would seem to indicate that they will rebound with a win Sunday night.
Unfortunately, Ziggler, Rowan and Ryback are nowhere near the level of Rollins when it comes to importance in the grand scheme of things.
The former Architect of The Shield, and current Mr. Money in the Bank, is likely to hold the WWE World Heavyweight Championship sooner than later.
Add to that the fact that he is the top heel on the roster, at least of the full-time competitors, and you have every reason to suggest that Rollins and company will emerge from this contest victorious.
Unless Big Show and Kane's egos prove too much, or Randy Orton finally makes his return and avenges the beatdown he suffered at the hands of The Authority prior to the Survivor Series, expect the heels to pick up a win in what is likely to be a wildly entertaining tag bout.
United States Championship Match: John Cena vs. Rusev
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Rusev has rolled over the competition for one year, knocking off heavyweight champions and real American patriots en route to capturing the United States Championship and establishing himself as one of the brightest stars of WWE's future.
As the wins piled up, it began to become more and more evident that the Bulgarian Brute was being built into a monster heel for one purpose only: a high-profile showdown with John Cena.
Most assumed the contest would occur at WrestleMania, but a post-Royal Rumble showdown between the two led to the announcement that they would clash at Fastlane, a questionable decision at best.
In the weeks that followed, Rusev portrayed Cena as the beaten, broken old man whose best days were behind him. Contrarily, the U.S. champion is a young, super athlete whose talents are unmatched by any other Superstar on the roster.
Cena responded, leaving his new rival lying on the February 16 episode of Raw.
To prove that he would not allow the humiliation he suffered that night derail him, Rusev sent a message loud and clear to the leader of the Cenation, pummeling both the Usos and Tyson Kidd on the following Thursday's SmackDown.
Now, Rusev will attempt to preserve his unbeaten streak when he battles the industry's biggest star on Sunday evening.
Prediction: John Cena via disqualification
One cannot help shake this feeling that Cena and Rusev will meet again, presumably at WrestleMania. Thus, their match at Fastlane should do just enough to provide a payoff for the story that has been told to this point while subsequently leaving fans wanting more.
A disqualification finish in which Rusev is forced to resort to underhanded tactics to avoid being defeated not only sets up a natural rematch weeks later, but it also proves his assumptions about Cena were wrong.
Booking that finish would not leave fans satisfied, which is the point. Come WrestleMania, and the much more high-profile meeting, WWE Creative would have the opportunity to rectify that.
No. 1 Contender's Match: Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan
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Roman Reigns' victory in the 2015 Royal Rumble match should have been the greatest moment of his young career. Instead, a Philadelphia crowd disenfranchised by the booking of the contest and the early elimination of Daniel Bryan rained down with boos directed at the young star.
Almost immediately, WWE changed its original plans, interjecting Bryan into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship picture.
After defeating Seth Rollins on Raw, Bryan earned the opportunity to head to Fastlane to battle Reigns for the right to challenge Brock Lesnar for the top prize in the industry.
In the weeks that followed the revelation of the match, Reigns and Bryan have spent each episode of Raw and SmackDown at each other's throats. Still, in the process, they have developed mutual respect for each other, thanks to their common enemy in The Authority.
Now, with all of the buildup over and The Authority out of the picture, the stars will battle in a match that will not only determine the creative direction the company takes heading into WrestleMania but also how fans will accept the Superstar who is able to come out victorious and face Lesnar for the WWE title.
Prediction: Roman Reigns
It would be so easy for WWE Creative to involve Daniel Bryan in the heavyweight title match at WrestleMania, but it would essentially be recreating a scenario the audience already witnessed a year ago. Worse yet, it would prove a complete lack of faith in Reigns, a guy the company clearly sees as its next face.
At a time when hardcore fans have taken to acting like petulant children whenever something does not go the way they believe it should, this would be the one scenario in which WWE would be justified in staying the course and going ahead with the coronation of Reigns as the next big thing in the pro wrestling world.
Fans are always begging for fresher, newer and more exciting stars. With John Cena becoming more and more stale by the minute, and Bryan's neck potentially giving out at any moment, it is time for the company to bite the proverbial bullet and execute the push that will ultimately lead to Reigns' WWE World Heavyweight Championship victory at WrestleMania.
Will it be the most popular decision with everyone? No.
But if that portion of the audience cannot remove its own personal preferences from the equation for a moment and recognize that the company is elevating one of the stars that they, the fans, rooted so passionately for as little as seven months ago, then there really is no making them happy.
A loss to Reigns does not suggest that Bryan has to go away or that he will no longer be a main event star for WWE. It simply means he will not be winning the top prize in the sport for the second consecutive year on the industry's grandest stage.
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