WWE Fastlane 2017: Best Finishes for Each Match on the Card for Raw PPV
The finish of a match can be the difference between an all-time great and a near-classic. It can determine the effectiveness of the match and propel a given feud forward. It ends rivalries or sets up their next chapter and, in the process, elevates Superstars in the eyes of the fans.
Sunday night, just one month before WrestleMania 33, the Superstars of WWE Raw roll into Milwaukee for Fastlane.
The seeds will be planted for the top matches and moments at the biggest show of the year.
With titles up for grabs and grudges playing out for the WWE Universe to see, these are the best finishes for each match on the March 5 card.
Rich Swann and Akira Tozawa vs. Brian Kendrick and Noam Dar
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Akira Tozawa only recently debuted and will figure to be a focal point in this match.
The Japanese competitor has been the recipient of several "lessons" at the hands of Brian Kendrick. The former cruiserweight champion has attacked him, leaving him lying on more than one occasion and will now look to finish his master plan Sunday night with a win over Tozawa and partner Rich Swann.
Swann has been at the heart of a love triangle of sorts.
Recently, Noam Dar has watched as girlfriend Alicia Fox received flowers from a secret admirer. While that person has not officially been revealed, enough has been done from a Creative standpoint to suggest Swann is the man behind the courtship.
That storyline could factor heavily into Sunday's match.
Best Finish
The babyfaces will likely win, but the heels could desperately use it.
Kendrick and Dar have become doormats in the cruiserweight division—the two Superstars all newcomers work before moving on to bigger and better things. They need their credibility reaffirmed, and there is no better way to accomplish that than to knock off the former champion and his dynamic newcomer of a partner.
Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax
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Sasha Banks was thoroughly demolished at the Royal Rumble, beaten down and humbled by an unstoppable Nia Jax.
Looking to rebound from the humiliation that loss dealt her, she squares off with Jax one more time, seeking to re-enter the conversation for a Women's Championship opportunity at WrestleMania 33.
Another definitive loss will essentially eliminate her from the discussion, but a victory would put her at the front of the line. More impressively, it would be one of those rare times Jax has been pinned or made to submit since arriving on Raw.
Jax, to her credit, has been a force of nature since debuting on the main roster.
She has beaten everyone put in front of her, and convincingly at that. A win of that nature would establish her as the undisputed top contender to Raw's most prestigious female prize.
Best Finish
After a resilient showing from Banks, who shows more fire than she did in the previous, lethargically laid out match, Jax powers out of the Bank Statement and delivers a massive Samoan Drop to secure another impressive win.
Banks, frustrated that her friend Bayley does not reciprocate the support for her friend The Boss does, makes her presence felt later in the night's Women's Championship match.
Cruiserweight Championship Match: Jack Gallagher vs. Neville
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Neville is a super-serious cruiserweight champion, hell-bent on establishing himself the king of the division.
Sunday, he faces the latest challenger to his crown in "Gentleman" Jack Gallagher, an adorably fun, unique and entertaining grappler with a knack for utilizing his trusty umbrella. An unconventional competitor who keeps opponents off-guard with a flurry of innovative offense, he will attempt to ground Neville.
Unfortunately for Gallagher, Neville has shown a recent propensity for working the mat and tapping his opponents out.
That does not fare well for Gallagher, who is more one-dimensional than his opponent, who can also soar through the air with grace and accuracy when necessary.
Best Finish
Neville overcomes Gallagher's offensive onslaught and flair for the dramatic to defeat him with his new submission finisher.
Raw Tag Title Match: Enzo Amore and Big Cass vs. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows
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Fresh off two Handicap matches in which they were beaten down, overshadowed and had their credibility erased by Roman Reigns, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson make their first pay-per-view defenses of the Raw Tag Team Championships Sunday when they battle Enzo Amore and Big Cass.
Amore and Cass earned a championship opportunity by defeating Cesaro and Sheamus, neither of whom is happy with either team in this match.
Could they make their presence felt, or will the contest have a relatively clean outcome?
Best Finish
Gallows and Anderson need a major rebound from the last few weeks. There is no better way to accomplish that than for them to cleanly and successfully retain their titles over the popular duo of Amore and Cass, pinning one of them to earn the victory.
Raw Women's Championship Match: Bayley vs. Charlotte
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Bayley defeated Charlotte to capture the Raw Women's Championship in Los Angeles, completing a meteoric rise and storybook run for the beloved babyface. It came after interference from Sasha Banks and Dana Brooke, two female Superstars whose presence could determine the outcome of Sunday's pay-per-view clash.
Ideally, Bayley's victory would have come at WrestleMania, where the blowup people and fan fervor would have been at a high.
Instead, it unfolded earlier than expected, leaving WWE fans with a month to get past the possibility of another Charlotte pay-per-view win hanging over the Fastlane proceedings like a dark cloud.
Will the woman who touts her Second Nature greatness be able to add a sixth title reign to her championship resume? Will Bayley overcome the odds?
What role, if any, will Banks, Brooke or Nia Jax have in the proceedings?
Best Finish
Charlotte regains her title, setting up a major championship clash for WrestleMania, where Charlotte's streak of pay-per-view victories hopefully comes to an end.
Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe
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Sami Zayn is one of WWE's most enduring babyfaces, a consummate underdog who has an innate ability to force cheers and emotion from fans. He is likable, and it shows in the reaction fans give him when he explodes through the curtain.
Samoa Joe has been a relentless force, punishing any Superstar put in front of him. Unfortunately for Zayn, he was just another victim of The Samoan Submission Machine's onslaught.
Zayn has retaliated, most recently this past Monday on Raw, but will he have enough to upset Joe and score one of the biggest wins of his WWE career?
It is a question that will be answered in Milwaukee Sunday night.
Best Finish
Zayn fights ferociously while caught in the grips of Joe's Coquina Clutch. He refuses to give up, ultimately succumbing to the boa constrictor-like grasp of his ruthlessly aggressive opponent.
Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman
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Braun Strowman has punished Roman Reigns at every turn, pummeling him and leaving him lying in a heap.
Reigns has given every ounce of energy he can to thwarting the unstoppable force of his rival but has proved incapable, each flurry of offense met by brutish offense ahead of Sunday's titanic battle.
All signs would point to Reigns overcoming the odds and winning the match, but the real question will be just how serious WWE officials are about Strowman's push. If he is meant to continue on as one of the marquee villains on the Monday night brand, a substantial victory over former WWE champion Reigns would ensure that happens.
Best Finish
Reigns is surging, ready to put Strowman down with a spear and pick up the victory, when the lights dim and a familiar ringing of the gong sounds. Undertaker, hell-bent on avenging his elimination from the Royal Rumble, appears and plants him with a chokeslam that draws a disqualification.
Neither man loses, Strowman retains his heat and WrestleMania has a legitimate main event in Reigns vs. Undertaker.
Universal Championship Match: Goldberg vs. Kevin Owens
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Goldberg defeated Brock Lesnar in 85 seconds at Survivor Series.
The same Brock Lesnar who has been booked as strongly as any other Superstar in WWE over the last four years.
Kevin Owens is a Universal champion whose biggest victories are accompanied by cheating and interference from Chris Jericho.
He has been booked as weakly as any champion in recent history.
Is there even a question as to whom will win this, thus setting up a gigantic WrestleMania main event?
Best Finish
Like it or not, the Kevin Owens Experiment comes to an end Sunday night at the hands of Goldberg.
There are numerous ways to go about booking the match, including a longer match that makes Owens look like a threat. In that instance, though, it would be wholly unbelievable given Lesnar's inability to put up anything close to a fight against Da Man.
Thus, the best finish would be a quick, definitive win for the WCW icon that sees him bowl over an Owens distracted by the returning Chris Jericho.
Goldberg gets his title, Owens moves onto Jericho and everyone is happy.
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