WWE Fastlane 2019: Predicting Most Likely Swerves for WrestleMania 35 Payoff

WWE Fastlane is the last pay-per-view before WrestleMania, and it's more akin to a speed bump than a fast lane. There's a limit to how many ways WWE Creative can twist the plot, in new and interesting ways, this close to their biggest show of the year.

Any game-changing swerves have been laid out way beforehand; Fastlane is largely a matter of moving all the pieces in place so that we can get to matches that we really want to see a month later.

Here are the major swerves that might go down on Sunday, March 10, at the WWE Fastlane PPV. And after that, it's a straight shot to the thirty-fifth annual Showcase of the Immortals.

No Titles Will Change Hands

Credit: WWE.com

First, a safe prediction: Everyone who has a title, right now, is going to keep that title through Fastlane.

WWE Champion Daniel Bryan is doing some of the best character work of his career. Asuka has held the SmackDown Women's Championship belt for too short a time; she needs a lengthier run to restore some of her lost luster. The same is true for the inaugural Women's Tag Team champions Bayley and Sasha Banks, and SmackDown Tag Team champions The Usos, and Raw Tag Team champions. They're trying to build (or, in the latter two's cases, rebuild) their respective tag division. Playing hot potato with the title will breed instability.

What you might see at Fastlane, instead, are screwy finishes to matches that end in a count out, or a no-contest or disqualification, but not a title change. This then forwards the storyline, and a follow-up stipulation for the match we really want to see at WrestleMania.

Shane McMahon Will Turn Heel

Credit: WWE.com

Shane McMahon and The Miz are going to break up, and their feud against The Usos will be the catalyst. They've already teased the breakup, which will result in the requisite Shane McMahon WrestleMania match that we've been getting for the past three years.

We might have a little changeup this time around, though. Miz played the heel in his last three Mania feuds; this time, he's going to be the face, and Shane will be the heel. They've involved Miz's father in the angle for this reason: to draw sympathy.

Watch out at the end of the match for Miz to turn his back. And if the backstabbing doesn't happen at Fastlane, it's happening at Raw one day after. There isn't enough time between now and April to do anything different.

Ronda Rousey Will Interfere in the Match Between Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch

Credit: WWE.com

This will advance the tit-for-tat war that Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch have been fighting since before Survivor Series. Becky has interfered and interrupted in multiple Rousey matches; it will be karmic and fitting for Rousey to now do the same.

Anticipate a DQ finish to the match between Becky and Charlotte. It'll put even more heat on Rousey, establish more sympathy for Becky and hand Becky the victory, assuring her place in the Triple Threat title match at WrestleMania.

Lacey Evans Will Finally Do Something Other Than Strut

Credit: WWE.com

And lastly, this is a little less inconsequential. But expect Lacey Evans to finally do something on WWE television—other than prancing up and down the ramp.

A good guess would be to look out for her after the Asuka match. Asuka will beat Mandy Rose, but she'll be winded afterwards, having had to contend with both Mandy and Sonya Deville. Lacey Evans will use that vulnerability to her advantage and lay out the Empress of Tomorrow.

A WrestleMania match between Lacey and Asuka won't be far behind.