WWE Fastlane Matches 2017: Ranking Bouts Most Likely to Steal the Show
Thus far in the short history of the latest brand extension, Raw-brand pay-per-views have lacked the spark SmackDown Live ones have, thanks in large part to a lack of diverse characters and stories. Sunday night, the Monday night staple presents its latest show, an event that will struggle to overcome underwhelming angles in the lead-up to the spectacular.
It should not be difficult.
For all of the issues facing the show, it does promote a card featuring some of the most extraordinary talents in the WWE.
From hard-hitting heavyweights with track records that speak for themselves, to female Superstars constantly battling to earn the respect of the fan base, the in-ring product should be enough to detract from the lack of effort put into building stories and creating stars.
Which of the eight matches is most poised to steal the show Sunday night?
Let's take a look.
8. Tag Team Title Match: Enzo Amore and Big Cass vs. The Club
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Sunday will not be the first time The Club does battle with Enzo Amore and Big Cass. The two teams met early in 2016 as part of a rivalry also involving John Cena and AJ Styles.
During that series, the matches were fun little sprints but never blew the audience away with anything that would suggest they can steal the show or even deliver a match any more inspired than their previous ones.
Amore and Cass are great at energizing crowds in the opening match slot, which they will likely call home come Fastlane.
The crowd will be hot, the action will be off-the-charts but the flow and story of the match will be the same generic bit audiences have come to expect from the two teams. Anderson and Gallows will likely retain, and fans should expect some sort of appearance by Sheamus and Cesaro to further their ongoing issues with both teams, but the finished product will be an uneventful match that probably sets the stage for something bigger and more significant come WrestleMania.
7. Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax
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The Royal Rumble pre-show featured a majorly disappointing match between Sasha Banks and Nia Jax.
A one-sided demolition for the heel, it damaged the reputation of Banks while propping Jax up as the next logical contender for the Raw Women's Championship. Beyond being lackluster, it hurt one of the women involved.
Sunday, they have the opportunity to improve upon that underwhelming first effort. The key to providing audiences with a better match is to better play to the strengths of the performers involved. The idea of two of the exact type of match on the same card is not appealing, but Banks and Jax would be best served to follow the example set by Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman.
Like Reigns, Banks is an explosive performer whose best work comes either as a heel or as a babyface fighting from underneath. Her offense suits the comeback to perfection so rather than laying out a match in which Jax dominates her way to victory, allowing Banks to fight out from underneath an oppressive onslaught.
Only then will the match live up to its potential. To paraphrase the great Jim Ross, potential does not buy groceries. There being no precedent to believe the match will be as good as it could be, it ranks lower on this countdown.
6. Rich Swann and Akira Tozawa vs. The Brian Kendrick and Noam Dar
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The wealth of talent in the Kickoff Show match pitting Rich Swann and Akira Tozawa against The Brian Kendrick and Noam Dar is something special.
Unfortunately, a secret admirer story involving Dar, Swann and Alicia Fox is likely to take attention away from the match and leave fans underwhelmed by the final product.
Of course, time is also a factor, and given the Raw brand's recent treatment of televised cruiserweight matches away from 205 Live, that figures to weigh against the likelihood that this one meets expectations.
A good match should be expected, but nothing that rejuvenates the division.
5. Cruiserweight Championship Match: Jack Gallagher vs. Neville
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The Cruiserweight Championship match will be the biggest disappointment of the entire Fastlane broadcast.
That is a loaded statement, and one that does not reflect the talent of the men involved, but there are too many extenuating circumstances to believe the match will reach its full potential.
"Gentleman" Jack Gallagher is a fun character who stands out among the other, one-dimensional characters who fail to capture the imagination of fans. He has an unorthodox offense but a charming personality and even fresher gimmick.
Unfortunately, his antics and gimmick have led to over-the-top antics that threaten match quality from time to time.
Fans got a taste of those antics at Royal Rumble, when an umbrella became central to his act. He oftentimes incorporates humorous spots into his matches, something that does not match the tone of Neville's character, who has been as mean and nasty as any other Superstar over the last few months.
The difference in tone, as well as a clash in styles, will most likely lead to a match that never reaches its potential.
Unless, that is, it is a ground-based match. If that is the case, a lack of crowd heat could be the determining factor in its quality.
4. Universal Championship Match: Goldberg vs. Kevin Owens
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The main event of Sunday's Fastlane pay-per-view is a difficult one to gauge.
Will it be a one-sided obliteration in favor of Goldberg—a 30-second demolition that sees him win his first world championship in 14 years? Or will Owens' status as a full-time performer for the WWE force management's hand, encouraging them to book a lengthier title defense that allows The Prizefighter to shine?
The uncertainty surrounding the bout and the company's booking plans makes it difficult to forecast where this match belongs in these rankings.
If anyone can deliver a great, main event-style brawl with the rusty Goldberg, it is Owens. Yet, there is little evidence that the WWE wants to book the Quebecer as the iconic star's equal.
With no sign of a quality match to be had in sight, the contest ranks lower on our list.
3. Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman
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Braun Strowman proved his worth as a legitimate main event competitor when he worked a very strong match with Big Show in the marquee position on the February 20 episode of Raw.
Roman Reigns has repeatedly delivered in big-match situations, proving an innate ability to work with Superstars of various sizes and styles.
There is no reason the two of them cannot come together Sunday night to deliver a show-stealing brawl that far exceeds expectations and ranks at the top of the list as the show's best. There is also no reason the match could not turn into a slow, plodding bout that does not work to the strengths of either man and, ultimately, wallows in mediocrity.
Expect more of the former as the intensity is in place, and groundwork has been laid, for a wildly entertaining brawl that portrays Strowman as the unstoppable force he is and Reigns as the resilient babyface who throws everything he has at his rival in hopes of securing victory.
That dynamic, matched with their in-ring chemistry, should result in a quality main event that sneaks up on even Reigns' harshest of critics.
2. Women's Championship Match: Bayley vs. Charlotte
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Charlotte and Bayley could have the best match of the night at Fastlane.
Their Raw main event from a few weeks earlier was a fantastic match that captivated fans and led to the crowd-pleasing moment in which the babyface paid off her story with a victory over Charlotte, winning the Women's Championship before a raucous crowd in Los Angeles.
The story is there, the characters are well-defined and, most importantly, people legitimately care about the performers involved. The big question is whether or not interference from Sasha Banks, Dana Brooke or Nia Jax will muddy the match and, thus, drag down its quality.
The WWE is putting the pieces in place for a big Fatal 4-Way match at WrestleMania based on recent booking decisions. It wants Bayley, Charlotte, Banks and Jax to wage war over the Women's Championship and the best way for that to happen is for one, or both, of the other women not directly involved in the match to make their presence felt at some point.
The result could be a mess that does more to detract from the in-ring product and, ultimately, lessen the impact of the action and story.
Still, the emotions will be off the charts, and the result will, at the very least, be a strong bout between two talented in-ring workers.
1. Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe
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Longtime fans of NXT know just how extraordinary the previous matches between Sami Zayn and Samoa Joe have been, thus believing strongly that the two Superstars will once again create magic Sunday night when they meet in what should be the show-stealing match of the Fastlane card.
Joe is the savage beast, a violent and relentless force who brutalizes the competition and leaves them lying in a heap, no choice but to submit to his dangerous Coquina Clutch.
Zayn is the consummate underdog, the babyface who takes a hellish beating but never gives up. He has felt Joe's wrath before, on several occasions, but has gotten up each and every time. On the February 27 episode of Raw, Zayn returned the favor to the sneaky Joe, attacking him from behind and building some momentum for himself ahead of Sunday's pay-per-view.
The intensity and Zayn's ability to absorb the beating from Joe should provide the match with two elements essential to the overall quality of the bout.
Anything less than a superb match, given the talent of the Superstars involved, would be a massive disappointment and a not-so-extraordinary way for Joe to kick off his main-roster pay-per-view run.
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