WWE Fastlane 2017 Matches: Results Guaranteed to Disappoint Fans

If everything worked out the way that WWE Creative wanted it to, fans would boo for the heels and cheer for the babyfaces.

Instead, we live in a post-kayfabe era where audience response is unpredictable. Sometimes, fans boo because they hate the heel and suspend their disbelief. Sometimes, fans boo because they hate the performer behind the character no matter what the character has done. And sometimes, the fans boo out of spite because they're angry about some backstage slight that has nothing to do with the storyline at hand.

This creates an impossible circumstance; there will be a percentage of fans who are disappointed in a match's outcome no matter the result. And at WWE Fastlane, the pay-per-view before WrestleMania, those reactions become magnified. Who is owed a prominent spot at the Show of Shows? Who will take a backseat? And who is being pushed to a level that he or she does not deserve?

Here are three Fastlane results that are guaranteed to disappoint fans. Why?

Sami Zayn Is Losing, Probably in Convincing Fashion

Credit: WWE.com

WWE just called Samoa Joe up from NXT. The writers have pushed him as an unbreakable, heartless monster, an enforcer for The Authority who put Seth Rollins back on the shelf. Joe will win his first main roster pay-per-view match, and he'll probably do everything short of killing Sami Zayn to do it.

Zayn has fallen precipitously. He was once the golden boy of NXT, the irrepressible babyface who took on all comers. Last year, Zayn was pushed as a future world champion. He beat current universal champion Kevin Owens at WWE Battleground last July in a showdown that many fans considered a match of the year. He lost (barely) to Shinsuke Nakamura at NXT TakeOver: Dallas in what was the match of the year.

But in recent months, WWE Creative has purposefully booked Zayn to look weak. He came across as an insufferable pain in the ass in multiple backstage segments. And even when he wins matches, he loses. Remember the 10-Minute Challenge versus Braun Strowman at Roadblock? He didn't really win that match; he just exceeded low expectations.

Don't get it twisted. Samoa Joe needs to win this match from a narrative standpoint. But does Joe's win have to come at the expense of Zayn?

Both men need the push, and clearly, WWE does not see Zayn as main event material. Booking him to lose against Samoa Joe would be all the evidence one needs.

Charlotte Flair Will Preserve Her Pay-Per-View Win Streak. Again.

Credit: WWE.com

Charlotte Flair's PPV win streak has become a burden to the Raw women's division. WWE keeps pushing Charlotte as a former four-time women's champion. All that means is that she's lost the belt four times since July. It doesn't sound that good when it's put that way, does it?

The result of maintaining this meaningless distinction is a devaluation of the title and a devaluation of the women who are fighting for it. None of them can sustain any sort of performance consistency for longer than a month.

Bayley is the latest victim of bad booking. She won the women's title on Raw when she should have won it at WrestleMania. And now, she's going to lose it back to Charlotte at Fastlane before regaining it in a "WrestleMania moment."

This match is disappointing because it's predictable. And for a company to claim that "anything can happen," it should put more effort into mixing up its women's division.

Kevin Owens Is Dropping the Belt to a Part-Timer

Credit: WWE.com

There's probably going to be a sizable pop when Goldberg clinches the universal title tonight. But call it what it is: a 50-year-old, part-time wrestler with stamina issues is going over a 32-year-old workhorse. And for Kevin Owens fans, it marks the end of what has been a frustrating title run for the prizefighter.

After Triple H literally handed Owens the universal title, there was no explanation and no follow-up to one of the most shocking twists in recent years. We still haven't gotten an official in-story explanation. Triple H hid backstage, and instead, Jericho took on the responsibility of mentoring the new champion. And although a scarf-wearing, list-toting Jericho did some of the best heel work of his career, his antics did nothing to get Owens over.

Owens is at his best when he's ruthless; he finally showed some of that edge when he turned on Jericho at the Festival of Friendship. But it's too little, too late. It would have been nice to see some of that fire over the past six months while he was holding the top prize in the company.