WWE Fastlane 2018: B/R Expert Match Picks, Predictions and Analysis

WWE Fastlane is the final stop before WrestleMania 34, and the SmackDown brand has put together a pay-per-view with a lot of potential impact on the Mania card.

Here is the look at the final lineup for Sunday's Fastlane, according to WWE.com:

• Becky Lynch and Naomi vs. Carmella and Natalya
• Charlotte Flair vs. Ruby Riott (Women's Championship)
• Bobby Roode vs. Randy Orton (U.S. Championship)
• Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev
• The Usos vs. The New Day (Tag Team Championships)
• AJ Styles vs. John Cena vs. Baron Corbin vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn vs. Dolph Ziggler (WWE Championship)

Bleacher Report's lineup of writers will go through each feud and provide predictions for all of the matches. Our group is made up of the following:

• Anthony Mango (AM) (@ToeKneeManGo)
• Jeff Johnson (JJ) (@JeffJSays)
• Kevin Berge (KB) (@TheBerge_)
• Ryan Dilbert (RD) (@RyanDilbert)
• Yours truly (CM) (@BR_Doctor)

Let's go through each bout to see if we can correctly predict which directions WWE will go with their major feuds heading into WrestleMania on April 8.

Bobby Roode vs. Randy Orton (US Title)

Q: Based on recent events, would this match benefit from Jinder Mahal being involved or is it better as a standard singles match?

KB: I have enjoyed Mahal's work in this feud more than either Roode or Orton, and it is weird to me he has been such a heavy part of the build without being added to the match. While Mahal's inclusion might hurt the in-ring quality of the contest, it would make for a better story if he was involved. I can only assume he'll be involved in the U.S. Title match come 'Mania.

Prediction: Roode retains after Mahal interferes.

JJ: Right now, I think a standard match is better. If Mahal had more heat, I can see how injecting him generates more interest, but it would seem as random as this match does already.

Prediction: Orton completes his grand slam and captures the U.S. Title.

AM: That's a tough call to make, as it depends on what WWE has planned for WrestleMania. If a Triple Threat is the goal, it's better for Mahal to sit this one out, especially since there's already a Six-Pack Challenge on the card. However, if these three won't be fighting each other in New Orleans, it's strange Mahal was the impetus for this feud and isn't competing in it, as he would have—oddly—made this better with his inclusion.

Prediction: Roode retains the title.

RD: We don't need anymore of Orton vs. Mahal in any form. It's a played-out matchup at this point. WWE would be better off giving Roode proper space to have a strong match here. 

Prediction: Orton wins the title.

CM: It depends on who WWE wants to win. If Orton is supposed to be the victor, Mahal should be added so he can take the pinfall to protect Roode; if Roode is supposed to retain, Orton should be his only opponent. A clean win over The Viper is the best possible outcome for Roode.

Prediction: Roode retains the title.

The Usos vs. The New Day (Tag Titles)

Q: If you were in charge, how would you book the finish to this match?

KB: This feud has long been about proving who the better team is, so the best ending would be for The Usos to win clean and prove they deserve a featured spot on The Grandest Stage of Them All without New Day. I would also have The Bludgeon Brothers appear afterward to stake their claim as the next challengers to The Usos.

Prediction: The Usos take the final victory in this rivalry with a bunch of superkicks and a pair of diving splashes.

JJ: I would book it as a no-contest or inject some type of third-party interference so they can have a Wrestlemania rematch. That should have been the match anyway.

Prediction: The Usos will retain.

AM: The Usos and The New Day would have an extremely competitive match that would go on for a long time, but The New Day would just barely get the victory. Afterward, The Bludgeon Brothers would interfere; between their attack, The New Day as champions and The Usos having a rematch available to them, all three teams would face off at WrestleMania.

Prediction: The New Day become five-time champions.

RD: The two teams leave each other barely able to stand. After Jimmy and Big E smash into the barricade outside the ring, Jey superkicks Kingston and crawls over to cover him. The Bludgeon Brothers break up the respectful post-match handshakes and lay out everyone.

Prediction: The Usos hold on in a close one.

CM: Both teams stand a lot to gain from coming out on top in this feud. I would book The Usos to retain so WWE can give someone else a big victory over the team at WrestleMania.

Prediction: The Usos retain.

Charlotte Flair vs. Ruby Riott (Women's Title)

Q: Has WWE done enough to build up Riott into a believable challenger for the women's title?

KB: Yes, Charlotte and Riott have done all they can to make this story work, and it has been the only story told well these past few months on SmackDown. Especially with the Riott Squad to help her, Ruby has emerged as SmackDown’s top female heel, and she has a clear direct vendetta against Charlotte. While it is still unlikely she wins, it is far from an unreasonable move.

Prediction: Charlotte makes Riott tap to the Figure-Eight then is met by a surprise appearance from Asuka who challenges her to a match at 'Mania.

JJ: I don't think they've done enough. The Riott Squad is cool but not interesting enough for me to believe them. If they took Smackdown over a la The Shield or even Nexus, the impact would be stronger.

Prediction: Charlotte retains the gold.

AM: Absolutely not. The Riott Squad hasn't established itself in the slightest as a unit that makes any sense and Riott hasn't been on the roster long enough, or had enough focus put on her, to stand out as a legitimate threat. Right now, she's just the best option that hasn't been done a million times, but she'll fail, because this is WrestleMania season and she has no big wins to her name, especially in comparison to the importance of Flair.

Prediction: Flair retains the title.

RD: We haven't seen nearly enough images of her taking apart the rest of the division. WWE missed an opportunity at the Royal Rumble to elevate her in a big way by eliminating more folks.

Prediction: Flair wins one of the night's better offerings.

CM: Not at all. The Riott Squad has been little more than a minor annoyance to anyone on the roster. Their debut was strong, but WWE had them lose some early matches and stalled their momentum. Riott will be a champion some day, but it's too early right now.

Prediction: Charlotte retains.

Bonus Question

Q: Book another match with Superstars who don't already have a place on the card and explain why they deserve to be involved. 

KB: One name sticks out to me that is being criminally overlooked on the current SmackDown roster: Mojo Rawley. He could be paired with Tye Dillinger, who also has been ignored lately, with both hoping to prove their worth on the Road to WrestleMania. Ideally, this match would have been built for weeks already, but they at least deserve a spot on this card.

JJ: I would book The Bludgeon Brothers in a squash match. Unannounced as a treat for the fans. This worked like a charm when WCW did it for Goldberg when he was fresh into his streak, and I think the fans would love more of the same. You can book "random out-of-towners" or four men such as Breezango and The Ascension and have them get annihilated.

AM: There aren't too many options, but I would go with Mahal vs. Tye Dillinger. If this SmackDown Top 10 list is supposed to mean anything, Mahal should be upset he isn't on it, while Dillinger is and hasn't been seen for weeks. To prove he's better and The Perfect 10 is not just ranked last but also at the bottom of the barrel on SmackDown, Mahal would seek to beat him and gain more momentum toward his United States Championship feud. 

RD: A small-scale Battle Royal would be a good way to add some more talent to the card. And some WrestleMania stakes of some sort would help the brand build more buzz ahead of the big event. This would be an easy way to get Rawley some momentum and take advantage of his quality work as a heel.

CM: I would book some kind of No. 1 Contender's match for the Tag Team Championships. Either a Tag Team Turmoil bout with the rest of the division or something along the lines of Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin vs. The Bludgeon Brothers. The tag team division has been a major highlight for the blue brand and deserves to be featured more often.

Rusev vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Q: Has WWE missed the window to capitalize properly on the Rusev Day movement or is there still time for him to find success as a main event star? 

KB: WWE always misses the boat on these situations. Rusev got over on his own, so there was never a plan to turn him face. Now, even if he snuck in and won the tag team titles with English, it would be a consolation prize as this excitement dies down.

Prediction: Nakamura takes out Rusev with a Kinshasa and moves on to wait for Styles to win.

JJ: There’s still time. The movement is going nuclear. If you get Rusev Day chants at Ring of Honor, you know something is right. They should devise a plan to capitalize, but Rusev Day is officially in the wrestling-mark lexicon. All they have to do is book him right.

Prediction: Nakamura wins.

AM: There is still time, but it's going to start to wane if WWE doesn't pull the trigger soon and allow Rusev to turn babyface and connect with the crowd in a different way. I wouldn't go so far as to say he'll be a main event success, but he could at least become one of the primary contenders for the United States Championship again, because a valuable catchphrase can do a lot of the heavy lifting to getting someone over. If WWE doesn't turn him face, though, he'll be another Bad News Barrett or Damien Sandow, where the potential was there and the company didn't let it grow.

Prediction: Nakamura obviously wins this.

RD: Fans are still chanting for Rusev and the fire hasn't died down. But WWE can't afford to waste time. The audience clearly wants to see him showcased more but will get worn down if he remains a low priority.

Prediction: Nakamura wins in under eight minutes.

CM: Unless Rusev is suddenly going to be given a huge push heading into WrestleMania, I think WWE missed the boat. He is still getting huge reactions, but the WWE Universe is fickle. Zack Ryder was once the most popular Superstar on the roster and nobody is chanting "Woo woo woo" anymore. Rusev Day has been fun, but it won't bring him to the WWE title.

Prediction: Nakamura wins a tough battle.

Becky Lynch and Naomi vs. Natalya and Carmella

Q: Which one of these four women would benefit the most from turning heel or babyface? 

KB: Honestly, I don't know that I would want any of them to turn, but Lynch is the only one who would benefit. She is one of the most underrated mic workers in the company, but she rarely gets to show it as a face, a role she has had since Day 1 on the main roster. If she turned, it would give her a greater spotlight to show how good she can be even if she should be getting that credit as a face already.

Prediction: Lynch and Naomi take out the heels to prove they are still top contenders.

JJ: I liked Heel Becky in NXT, I think her character would show a new dimension on SmackDown as the indignant heel who insists on more respect and does whatever she needs to get the gold.

Prediction: Becky and Naomi win.

AM: Lynch is too over to turn right now, Naomi has finally hit her stride with the "glow" character and Carmella plays one of the best brats on the roster, whereas Natalya struggles to come off as a heel. Her mannerisms aren't natural enough to buy into her being a horrible person; another babyface turn for her wouldn't necessarily be better as far as giving her titles and pushes, but it would save her from continuing to fail to come off as a true villain, which is a different sort of benefit in the long run.

Prediction: Flip a coin. Lynch and Naomi are victorious. In no way does this matter at all.

RD: Lynch would thrive as an aggressive, condescending heel and a character shift would better put her in line to feud with Flair again. That rivalry was her best stretch thus far.

Prediction: The babyfaces win.

CM: I think the only reasonable choice is Lynch. Natalya and Carmella are better suited as heels and Naomi's gimmick wouldn't work as a villain. The Lass Kicker needs to pour some gas on the fire (pun intended) and turning heel might be the only way to do it.

Prediction: Naomi and Lynch get an easy win.

6-Pack Challenge (WWE Title)

Q: If AJ Styles were to lose, who would make the best opponent for Nakamura at WrestleMania?

KB: The only wrestler who would make sense would be Sami Zayn. One of the best wrestlers on the roster, he has been solid as a heel but needs a bigger story to solidify his status. He and Nakamura were phenomenal in NXT together, and they might be even better together than Styles and Nakamura.

Prediction: Styles emerges from the crowd still champion, stealing the pin on Zayn from Cena.

JJ: I would say Cena if they didn't already wrestle on Smackdown, but Owens works best for me to tell an engaging story with an excellent heel. Cena would be ideal, but the Styles/Nakamura (WWE) Dream Match is too good to pass up.

Prediction: AJ Styles retains the title.

AM: Ideally, if Styles weren't Nakamura's opponent, the champion would be somebody else and not one of the other five men involved in this match. If that was the limitation for picks, though, it would be nice to see some traction with Ziggler's goals to have his main event spot back and a singles match at WrestleMania. He and Nakamura have the right chemistry and it would be less predictable than Owens or Cena winning, for example.

Prediction: Styles retains the title.

RD: Cena vs. Nakamura is the most WrestleMania-worthy bout on the table here that doesn't involve Styles. Ziggler and Corbin aren't at that level at the moment, while Zayn and Owens would be better off fighting each other to continue their current story.

Prediction: Styles survives to keep the dream WrestleMania match alive.

CM: Considering how good Nakamura's first match in NXT was, Zayn is the best option. He and Nakamura had incredible chemistry and would likely steal the show against anybody else fighting at WrestleMania.

Prediction: Styles wins a close match.