Match Card, Potential Spoilers, Picks and More for WWE Fastlane 2019
Typically, Fastlane is one of WWE's most useless shows of the year, as most of the feuds heading into WrestleMania are set in stone. Few changes to the storylines, if any, tend to take place at Fastlane.
Thankfully, though, this year's event has enough stakes attached to the majority of the matches that Fastlane 2019 is justified and can have major effects on the WrestleMania card to follow.
While not every title is being defended, the WWE Championship, all three tag team titles and the SmackDown Women's Championship are on the line. There is also a match to determine who will challenge Ronda Rousey for the Raw Women's Championship at 'Mania on April 7.
All that is packaged along with The Shield's reunion to make Fastlane an event that may be worth investing in on Sunday.
Before the show goes down, let's put the matches under a magnifying glass and throw out some predictions and possible spoilers for what may happen at WWE Fastlane 2019.
Kickoff: The New Day vs. Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura
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It's odd that WWE went with a match between The New Day and Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura for the Kickoff given how many other feuds have been pushed aside for this event.
Finn Balor, Braun Strowman and Elias on Raw, Samoa Joe vs. R-Truth on SmackDown and more could have been booked. In fact, it would have made more sense for Rusev and Nakamura to face The Hardy Boyz, the team they fought with on Tuesday, not The New Day, who were absent from the show.
There must be a reason WWE decided to go with this illogical match, and if you have your tinfoil hat on, the conspiracy is in the promotional picture above.
Normally, all three members of The New Day are put on these images, and it's left ambiguous as to which two will compete in any given match. But WWE has already made it official that Big E and Xavier Woods will represent the team at Fastlane.
This coincides with how Kofi Kingston was passed over for the WWE Championship match, which may mean the purpose of this segment will be just to remind fans that Kingston was screwed over.
There may be no other goal in mind besides calling attention to the lack of Kingston. In which case, Rusev and Nakamura are only here to be heels who can lose and eat up some time. It's a role any team like The Colons or Sanity could have played.
Don't be surprised if this is less of a match and more of a promotional tactic to get the commentary team to talk about Kingston for two segments of the show.
Pick: The New Day wins.
Kickoff: Andrade vs. Rey Mysterio
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Ignoring house shows and sticking to television and pay-per-view outings, Andrade and Rey Mysterio have crossed paths six times, not counting the Royal Rumble.
These matches have had some variety to them, as three were singles bouts, one was a tag team affair and the most recent two were a Triple Threat and a Fatal 4-Way.
Funnily enough, their win-loss record is even at two wins, two losses and two draws apiece, making this contest for the kickoff of Fastlane another rubber match.
Curiously, WWE hasn't attached any stipulation or stakes to this. It's just another match, and it's in the worst part of the night to be booked, as pre-show contests are often ignored.
Does that mean it's a throwaway fight and nothing more, or is this all going to lead somewhere with some significance?
Those are unknowns, but one thing is for sure: Since Andrade was the one to take the pinfall loss in the Fatal 4-Way on SmackDown that earned Samoa Joe the United States Championship, a win here would help undo that damage.
Offsetting that loss isn't the most important thing in the world, and failing to take out Mysterio wouldn't destroy Andrade's career. But it wouldn't help to suffer two losses in a row, and WWE should take that into consideration.
Pick: Andrade wins.
Asuka vs. Mandy Rose for the SmackDown Women's Championship
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For whatever reason, be it laziness, a lack of ideas or a misguided attempt to make her appearances feel special, Asuka has spent the majority of 2019 sitting on the sidelines.
After Elimination Chamber was in the dust, it seemed WWE woke up and realized everyone had forgotten about The Empress of Tomorrow and that she should do something—anything—even if it wasn't going to be a big deal of a program.
Thus, the easiest booking strategy in the world happened, with Mandy Rose scoring a pinfall over Asuka to shoot her straight to the top of the list of contenders, resulting in this match for Fastlane.
It's doubtful the game plan is to put the title on Rose. She's popular and clearly brings something to the table, but she's no Asuka.
This isn't the middle part of the year when WWE is in a lull and can play around with title reigns, such as when Jinder Mahal was given the WWE Championship in 2017. WrestleMania is the next event, and the biggest names possible have to be given priority.
The smart bet on the SmackDown Women's Championship match is to assume Asuka retains the title and that Rose was used to make her look good in preparation for whatever her match at WrestleMania will be.
Pick: Asuka retains the championship.
Triple Threat Match for the Raw Tag Team Championships
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The Revival nearly lost the Raw Tag Team Championship on Monday, when Aleister Black and Ricochet had their numbers until Chad Gable and Bobby Roode stepped in.
By attacking Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder, Roode and Gable caused a disqualification. Obviously, this didn't sit well with the NXT Superstars, giving way to this Triple Threat match.
Since Gable and Roode lost to The Revival in February and the titleholders were about to lose to Black and Ricochet, it's logical to assume new champions will be crowned and that the NXT duo will walk out of Fastlane with the belts. But that most likely won't be the case.
The inclusion of Roode and Gable in this match is the out WWE has created to allow The Revival to keep the titles while not pinning Black or Ricochet.
As bad as Dash and Dawson have been booked recently, they have at least been on television, whereas Roode and Gable went to the back of the line and haven't made much of a peep since dropping the straps. They obviously aren't the priority, and they can be used as sacrificial lambs.
Plus, it would be strange for two of the top talents in NXT who also regularly appear on SmackDown to hold titles tied to the Raw roster.
Watch out for Ricochet and Black to be the stars of this match but to come up short when the champions steal a victory by pinning either Roode or Gable.
Pick: The Revival retains the titles.
The Usos vs. Shane McMahon and The Miz for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships
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The odds were stacked against The Miz and Shane McMahon to become a functioning tag team, but they managed to win the titles by defeating The Bar at the Royal Rumble.
Sadly, in their first defense at Elimination Chamber, they lost those belts to The Usos, who are in their sixth reign as tag team champions in WWE.
Despite the supposed abolition of the automatic rematch clause, McMahon and The Miz have a shot to win back the titles on Sunday and to prove to their fathers that they aren't failures, according to this storyline.
It would be a shame if WWE played hot potato with these belts and only gave them to The Usos for a temporary swerve, particularly when Jimmy and Jey are the superior team.
They have a better track record, and this is their specialty, whereas The Miz and McMahon are a random pairing birthed out of a storyline.
The idea that they can split and set up a Miz vs. McMahon match at WrestleMania hovers over this fight like a black cloud, and it could be the driving force for their loss.
Meanwhile, The Usos would be much better off heading into the biggest show of the year with the titles in their possession so they can face a team like The Hardy Boyz and showcase the tag team division in a way that would make them proud.
Pick: The Usos retain the titles.
Women's Tag Team Champions Bayley and Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax and Tamina
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Bayley and Sasha Banks made history at Elimination Chamber by defeating five other teams to become the first WWE women's tag team champions.
Now that they are holding the gold, they have targets on their backs that Nia Jax and Tamina have been aiming for.
Jax and Tamina are the biggest physical threats that the women's tag team division has to offer, so it's a good test to see whether The Boss 'n' Hug Connection can withstand the pressure of being champions.
However, since these teams clashed inside the cage several weeks ago and Banks and Bayley came out on top, it's essentially a guarantee the babyfaces will be victorious again.
Banks and Bayley are the bigger stars, the more unified team and the ones WWE will want to market for WrestleMania as having a match against either Trish Stratus and Lita or The Bella Twins. Those contests are the biggest ones possible, as opposed to anything with Jax and Tamina.
It will be a hard fight, but Bayley and Banks will win.
Pick: The Boss 'n' Hug Connection retain the titles.
Daniel Bryan vs. Kevin Owens for the WWE Championship
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There is so much buzz surrounding Kofi Kingston that if WWE doesn't go with him as the challenger for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania, everyone will wonder who made such a stupid alternative call.
Luckily, it seems like this is the case, as Kingston was booked for Fastlane and replaced with Kevin Owens, who was probably going to be Daniel Bryan's challenger at the Show of Shows until KofiMania became a thing.
Because of those changes, WWE has painted itself into a corner in that Bryan has to retain the WWE Championship over Owens in order to maintain the proper feud for Kingston or risk tainting everything by forcing the Prizefighter into the mix.
The money is in Kingston challenging Bryan for the belt, not Owens, and having a third party to make it a Triple Threat would water everything down.
As great as Owens is, he would only get in the way as a secondary babyface, so Owens would default to a tweener role, which would hinder his recent face turn.
All reasonable signs point to Bryan keeping his title, with or without some assistance by ringside companion Rowan, in order to both protect Owens from looking weak and to keep the Bryan vs. Kingston match alive.
Pick: Daniel Bryan retains the title.
Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch
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After countless changes to the Raw Women's Championship scene, dating back to Survivor Series in November, some stability will finally be put in place when Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch square off at Fastlane.
The stipulation for this match is that if Flair wins, she stays the sole challenger for Ronda Rousey's title come WrestleMania. However, if Lynch is victorious, she will be inserted into the match and the main event at the Showcase of the Immortals will be a Triple Threat.
Lynch has quite the hill to climb, as she's dealing with an injury that has her hobbling around, which makes the story of her struggle to get the match she rightfully deserves as Royal Rumble winner all that more harrowing.
Everyone knows The Man has to somehow turn this into a Triple Threat one way or another, so she w'll be the favorite to win, although that may not be a guarantee.
WWE loves to throw fans for a loop and throw promises out the window in irrational or spontaneous ways. Just look at how this championship was vacated, set for a title match at Fastlane and given back to Rousey in the span of one hour on Monday.
There is a good chance WWE swerves everyone by having Rousey attack both Flair and Lynch, causing a no-contest. In response to that, Stephanie McMahon will simply put Lynch in the match anyway to punish Rousey.
Place your bets on Lynch getting the win, but if you have the ability to hedge your bets with a draw, that might yield more fruitful results.
Pick: Becky Lynch wins.
The Shield vs. Drew McIntyre, Baron Corbin and Bobby Lashley
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Brothers fight, but they stand by each other when things get difficult, which is the story going on with the reformation of The Shield after Dean Ambrose fractured the group several months ago.
That is the one and only reason this match is happening, as it has nothing to do with the random group of Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre, who are just three of the five heels to be causing a ruckus of late.
Elias and Lio Rush have just as much tied into this feud, as do Braun Strowman and Finn Balor on the babyface side of things, but because the focal point is on The Shield, this is a six-man tag team match instead of a five-on-five brawl—and that's ignoring Kurt Angle too.
Since this is all over the place and none of it matters outside of seeing Ambrose team with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns again, there are only two ways this could possibly go down.
The easiest, simplest option is for The Shield to stand tall, vanquish their foes and send the audience home with a feelgood moment.
However, there's still a chance Ambrose isn't on-board with this reunion and turns on the team once more, setting up a match against Reigns for WrestleMania.
The possibility of Ambrose's departure could dictate which direction WWE goes, as there may be a plan in place to ship him off as a fan favorite people clamor to see come back or as a disgusting heel Reigns can beat and send packing.
Since those details of his potential exit are being kept hush, we simply don't know which of these two outcomes will take place, but enough work was done to bring the band back together that it might be worth going with the flow and not creating too many waves.
Pick: The Shield is victorious.
Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.
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