WWE Fastlane 2017: Predicting Winners for All Projected Title Matches

WWE Fastlane 2017 is the last pay-per-view stop on the Road to WrestleMania, and The Show of Shows will be greatly affected by the results of the latest Raw pay-per-view. 

Two title matches are already set for March 5, with WWE universal champion Kevin Owens set to square off against Goldberg and Neville defending the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Jack Gallagher. 

Four of the five championships that call the red brand home are likely to be on the line at Fastlane, with the results having huge implications on WWE's biggest annual spectacle, WrestleMania. The one champion who will likely not defend his title is United States kingpin Chris Jericho, who is recovering from Owens' brutal attack on the most recent edition of Raw.

In the coming weeks, the Fastlane card will be fleshed out, but let's look into the crystal ball and predict the matches that will occur and who will walk into WrestleMania 33 in Orlando, Florida, with gold around their waists.

Raw Tag Team Championships (Triple Threat Match)

When in doubt, WWE tends to throw multiple teams into a tag team match, and that appears to be the direction in which we're headed for Fastlane. 

It wouldn't be surprising if WWE booked a Triple Threat match between champions Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, Sheamus and Cesaro and Enzo Amore and Big Cass for the Raw Tag Team Championships.

The company has teased this feud for weeks, introducing The Realest Guys in the Room into this story since Royal Rumble. 

While Enzo and Cass continue to be popular among the WWE Universe, the duo's act is beginning to wear thin on some. Without some change to how the group is portrayed, WWE runs the risk of having one of its most popular attractions turning off its fanbase.

It's a similar feeling that a segment of fans felt toward The New Day at the end of its run as WWE tag champs. Enzo and Cass haven't even sniffed the titles and are receiving the same treatment. 

WWE will have to answer an important question in the build to WrestleMania 33: Can Enzo and Cass win back the WWE Universe, or has their shtick gotten so routine and stale that they're no longer the darlings of the Internet Wrestling Community and live audiences?

Match Prediction: Gallows and Anderson retain, setting up a WrestleMania 33 match in which Enzo and Cass attain their first tag team championships. 

WWE Cruiserweight Championship (Neville vs. Jack Gallagher)

Neville has been a revelation since turning heel upon his return at WWE Roadblock: End of the Line in December. With the cruiserweight division floundering—mainly because of poor storytelling—WWE found its rock in Neville. 

Since December, a lot of things have changed in the company's newest division. The blossoming of Superstars such as Jack Gallagher, Akira Tozawa and Mustafa Ali and improved storylines throughout have renewed interest.

Gallagher has been one of the brightest spots in the division since WWE turned the spotlight on him. Both a gifted comedic performer and in-ring tactician, Gallagher is among the best cruiserweights—a point proved by his inclusion in Fastlane's championship match.

However, Gallagher's opportunity is merely a bump in the road for a potential WrestleMania 33 blockbuster. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE is considering pitting Neville vs. Austin Aries, who has reportedly been cleared to wrestle after suffering an orbital fracture after being on the receiving end of a Kinshasa from Shinsuke Nakamura (h/t Rob Wolkenbrod of Fox Sports). 

Match Prediction: Neville wins via pinfall.

Raw Women's Championship (Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair)

As WWE continues to play hot potato with the Raw Women's Championship, it's likely we'll see former champion Charlotte Flair get her rematch against Bayley at the Fastlane pay-per-view. 

The circumstances surrounding Bayley's win on Monday night, however, would indicate that more shenanigans could take place in Milwaukee on March 5.

Sasha Banks and Nia Jax have been an intimate part of the main event scene throughout the Bayley-Flair feud, and there's little reason to believe they won't be involved in the outcome at Fastlane, either.

If that were to happen, the rumored Fatal 4-Way match for the Raw Women's Championship at WrestleMania 33, reported by Figure Four Online (h/t Matt Boone of 24Wrestling.com), would be in play. 

It could come about any number of ways—from a double disqualification to a surprise attack to a distraction finish. But there are two things that WWE fans should count on at Fastlane when it comes to the Raw Women's Championship: Flair will keep her pay-per-view streak intact, and the four main eventers of the Raw women's division will find their way into a headlining match at WrestleMania 33.

Match Prediction: Flair wins back her Raw Women's Championship after a distraction from Banks. 

WWE Universal Championship (Kevin Owens vs. Goldberg)

There is only one way for this match to end, and that is with Goldberg holding the WWE Universal Championship. 

WWE has booked itself into this corner in a number of ways, and deviating from the intended path could create chaos.

Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar has already been booked for The Showcase of the Immortals, and the former WCW champion has decimated The Beast Incarnate in both of their meetings. Having Owens go over Goldberg would be a head-scratching decision on the same level of David Arquette winning the WCW Championship.

Having Lesnar interfere with Fastlane's title match doesn't make sense, either. Why would Lesnar stop Goldberg, his WrestleMania opponent, from winning the title and thus deny himself a shot at acquiring the belt in Orlando?

Kevin Owens just publicly went through the most hostile split possible with former best friend Chris Jericho, making a match between the two at WrestleMania 33 inevitable, likely for Jericho's United States Championship.

The Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rolla will be taking a break from WWE following WrestleMania 33, saying in an interview with Martin Hines of Metro that "there will be no wrestling from May" and that his current WWE run "has gone way longer than it was supposed to." That means that, between now and then, Jericho needs to drop his title, and doing so to KO makes too much sense. 

SmackDown's recent title situation would help push a Goldberg-Lesnar title match into the WrestleMania main event. By virtue of his Royal Rumble win, Randy Orton is guaranteed a title match and a headline spot at WrestleMania 33.

With Orton telling WWE champion Bray Wyatt that he refuses to face him, SmackDown is left with no contender and, therefore, no match for WrestleMania. It would be easy for WWE to announce that Lesnar vs. Goldberg for the WWE Universal Championship will slide into the headline spot in Orlando. 

All signs point to Goldberg walking out of Milwaukee's Bradley Center with gold around his waist. 

Match Prediction: Goldberg wins the WWE Universal Championship.