WWE Fastlane 2017: Final Picks and Predictions for Entire Match Card
WWE Fastlane 2017 will be the third installment in the event's history, and it airs live Sunday night from the Bradley Center in Milwaukee at 8 p.m. ET.
Mere weeks removed from his shocking betrayal of Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens will defend his Universal Championship against Goldberg in the main event. How will he be able to overcome the former WWE and WCW world champion and advance to WrestleMania 33 with his title intact?
Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman have been on a collision course for weeks, and on Sunday, they will settle their score once and for all. Who will emerge from this epic clash of titans with bragging rights?
For the third time since the Royal Rumble, Bayley and Charlotte Flair will meet in a match for the Raw Women's Championship, though Charlotte will be the one in hot pursuit of the title this time around. Can she extend her storied streak on pay-per-view with a win over Bayley?
Prior to the Raw-exclusive event, let's look at which Superstars will reign supreme and build momentum ahead of WrestleMania 33, as these are the predictions that matter most.
Akira Tozawa and Rich Swann vs. the Brian Kendrick and Noam Dar (Kickoff Match)
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Over the last month, Akira Tozawa has made quite the impact on WWE's cruiserweight division and has quickly cemented himself as one of the most charismatic competitors the division has to offer right now. His program with The Brian Kendrick has also been booked well so far, hence why it's strange they aren't facing off in singles competition on the Fastlane Kickoff match.
Granted, adding Rich Swann and Noam Dar to the mix might make the match more exciting from an in-ring standpoint, but that feud has hardly been furthered since it started three weeks ago. In fact, it's odd Swann hasn't announced his intentions to attempt to regain the Cruiserweight Championship he never received a rematch for.
Truth be told, it ultimately doesn't matter who wins this match, if only because the cruiserweights tend to trade victories every week, regardless. Tozawa seems to be an exception, though, and he would benefit from stacking up as many wins as possible going forward.
Putting him in the title picture anytime soon might be premature, but he can start working his way toward the top of the division by first reigning supreme in this match. From there, he can finally beat Kendrick one-on-one before setting his sights on the strap.
I expect the babyface duo to go over here, but look for more matches similar to this one to take place en route to WrestleMania 33 with the cruiserweights colliding in some sort of multi-man matchup.
Prediction Akira Tozawa and Rich Swann win.
Neville vs. Jack Gallagher (WWE Cruiserweight Championship)
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Before Neville returned to Raw as part of the cruiserweight division late last year, the cruiserweight division was struggling to establish its own identity. It might be a while before the cruiserweight competitors hit their stride, but the best thing WWE has done with the division up to this point has been positioning Neville as its lead heel.
Neville showed some signs of how good of a heel he could be during his NXT run, but he has exceeded all expectations in this new role over the last three months. He has always been an exceptional wrestler, but now his promos are equally compelling as well.
With that all being said, for WWE to cut his hot streak short at this moment would be foolish. Granted, Jack Gallagher is a tremendous talent who is worthy of holding the gold down the line, but the game of hot potato with the strap needs to come to an end.
The only other individual in the division who comes close to being on Neville's level is Austin Aries, who is due back in the ring any day now. While that would be a WrestleMania-worthy match, I get the feeling we might be headed toward a Cruiserweight Open involving everyone.
As for Neville and Gallagher, these two have never clashed one-on-one in WWE, so I have no doubt that the match will be extraordinary, especially if they are granted the event's opening slot.
Prediction: Neville retains the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.
Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax
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The bad blood between Sasha Banks and Nia Jax has been brewing for months, dating back to late December when Jax initially attacked Banks on Raw. She went on to beat The Boss in singles competition on two separate occasions, cementing herself as a threat to the Raw Women's Championship in the process.
Based on how she has responded to these various defeats, Banks is bound to turn heel eventually. However, it would be wise for WWE to hold off on having her flip the switch considering she and Bayley are the only babyfaces in Raw's women's division at the moment.
Additionally, it became quite clear coming out of the tag team match that took place on this week's Raw that a Fatal 4-Way for the Raw Women's Championship is likely for WrestleMania 33. Regardless of who wins between Bayley and Charlotte Flair at Fastlane, Banks and Jax should enter the title picture in the coming weeks.
By and large, WWE has done an excellent job of building up Jax as a dominant force in the women's division, but she shouldn't have suffered her first ever one-on-one defeat to Bayley two months ago. Jax should have gone undefeated up until this show because Banks winning at Fastlane won't mean as much now that she's already been beaten once before.
Despite that, Banks is due a big win at some point following countless pay-per-view losses, and I imagine she will finally find a way to conquer Jax on this show.
Prediction: Sasha Banks wins.
The Club vs. Enzo Amore and Big Cass (Raw Tag Team Championship)
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From their failed feud with The New Day to their lack of direction, The Club had been mishandled by WWE for so many months that it looked like the damage had been done. Even after finally capturing the Raw Tag Team Championship at the Royal Rumble, they have still been booked as inferior athletes against Roman Reigns, Enzo Amore and Big Cass.
It's great Enzo and Cass are getting a shot at the straps because they're fresh faces in the tag title picture, but they too have lost some luster since debuting on Raw roughly one year ago. Their atrocious program with Rusev late last year didn't do them any favors, and it still feels too soon to take the titles off The Club.
That said, The Club must walk out of Fastlane with their titles intact. Enzo and Cass do deserve a run as tag team champions at some point, but to have the titles change hands for the third consecutive pay-per-view would devalue any prestige those belts have left.
Similar to the Raw Women's Championship picture, it appears WWE is setting up some sort of mutli-team matchup at WrestleMania for the straps with these two tandems as well as Cesaro and Sheamus. It would make for a more meaningful moment with Enzo and Cass picking up their first set of tag team championships there.
From an in-ring standpoint, this match should be solid considering their last encounter at Hell in a Cell was passable, though it will certainly benefit from gold being up for grabs.
Prediction: The Club retain the Raw Tag Team Championship.
Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe
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Samoa Joe wasted no time in making an immediate impact on Raw by (unintentionally) injuring Seth Rollins before shifting his focus to Sami Zayn. It appeared the original plan was for Joe to face Rollins at Fastlane, but Rollins getting hurt might have been a blessing in disguise for Joe.
Of course, Joe vs. Rollins is a marquee match and would have been an amazing addition to the Fastlane card, but there's a decent chance Joe would have lost to give Rollins a big win ahead of his WrestleMania matchup with Triple H.
With Joe taking on Zayn instead, he can score the decisive victory and Zayn won't lose anything in defeat. In fact, as the ultimate underdog, he tends to benefit from coming up short because it forces fans to rally behind him.
These two have had a hot rivalry thus far, and if their matches in NXT last year were any indication, their Fastlane match should be a ton of fun. If WWE intends to have Joe absolutely decimate Zayn in a matter of minutes, that would be an interesting and acceptable approach as well.
Either way, Joe emerging victorious is virtually guaranteed, and this is a classic case where predictability is not always a bad thing. Allowing this program to run through WrestleMania is also an option I would be completely in favor of.
Prediction: Samoa Joe wins.
Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair (Raw Women's Championship)
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Personally, I am not a huge fan of how frequently the Raw Women's Championship has changed hands since WrestleMania 32. I was hoping Charlotte Flair would have a lengthy reign with the title following her latest win at Roadblock: End of the Line, but Bayley ended up beating her for the belt sooner than anyone could have expected.
Granted, their match on the Feb. 13 edition of Raw was by far their best in-ring encounter to date and was worthy of taking place in the main event of the show, but it immediately became apparent Bayley was dropping the belt back to Charlotte at the subsequent show.
In having Charlotte go undefeated on pay-per-view for so long, WWE has painted themselves into a corner. According to the company, she is 16-0 on the grand stage, and having Bayley snap that streak at a random B-level event would be completely nonsensical.
Obviously, it would be smart to hold off until WrestleMania where Charlotte is the defending champion. There, she can go up against Bayley, Sasha Banks and Nia Jax in a Fatal 4-Way match and wouldn't have to be pinned or submitted to lose the title (again).
It will be unfortunate to see Bayley's initial title reign end after only three weeks, but it should lead to a more memorable run at a later date.
Prediction: Charlotte Flair wins the Raw Women's Championship.
Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman
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Truth be told, I was not looking forward to this feud whatsoever when it was first teased at the Royal Rumble in January. I assumed it would simply end with Roman Reigns decisively defeating Braun Strowman before moving into a program with The Undertaker, and while I firmly believe that is still the plan as of now, the buildup to the bout has actually been excellent.
Strowman has improved immensely in all areas since breaking out on his own over the summer, and his gradual rise to superstardom has been well done. He is a legitimate threat to the main event scene on Raw and is bound for big things if he can continue along this path going forward.
During each of their encounters in the weeks preceding the pay-per-view, Reigns was annihilated by "The Mountain of a Man" and not once was able to get the better of him. The story told with these two has been brilliant, but the anticipated outcome hasn't changed in my mind.
The seeds were planted for Reigns vs. The Undertaker in the Royal Rumble match, so all signs point to that match happening at WrestleMania 33. Where this leaves Strowman remains to be seen, but without a solid sense of direction, that likely means he will suffer his first loss at the hands of Reigns at Fastlane.
Undertaker causing a distraction and costing Reigns the victory here would be ideal, but I just don't have faith that will happen.
Prediction: Roman Reigns wins.
Kevin Owens vs. Goldberg (Universal Championship)
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It's safe to say Kevin Owens' reign as Universal champion wasn't all that it should have been as a result of bad booking and coming across like an upper-midcard competitor instead of a world champion. However, having him redeem himself these last few weeks with amazing character development was better late than never.
With as much momentum as he has right now, Owens losing in a matter of minutes to Goldberg would squander anything he has accomplished as of late. He should be able to put up a fight against the legendary competitor and look credible in defeat.
In a perfect world, I would have Owens successfully retain his title via outside interference and defend the belt at WrestleMania 33, but that doesn't appear to be in the cards. Owens vs. Chris Jericho will battle over the United States Championship, while Goldberg and Brock Lesnar fight for the world title in the main event.
Goldberg vs. Lesnar alone is an attraction, so the addition of the title isn't necessary, nor do I think they will have a good enough match to justify it taking place in the main event slot. Furthermore, Lesnar getting involved at Fastlane and costing him the championship would make zero sense considering he already has his title shot set in stone if Goldberg captures the title.
Nevertheless, Jericho has been absent from programming since being betrayed by Owens on Raw, so I assume he will play a part in Owens' loss of the championship on Sunday.
Prediction: Goldberg wins the Universal Championship.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is a Digital Journalism major at Endicott College. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.
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