While I am currently very uninterested in watching SmackDown on Tuesday nights as the show has become quite awful in recent weeks and they've done a great job of driving away viewers. I now find myself DVR'ing the show and then fast-forwarding through the majority of it. That's quite incredible considering last year THIS was the show to watch.
That was then and this is now though.
Anyway, moving on to the upcoming Fastlane PPV! Here are my thoughts on each match. Please leave some comments and let me know if you agree, disagree, or just think that I am nuts.
Becky Lynch & Naomi vs. Natalya & Carmella
I promise that I am trying to care about this match but it's just not happening. You have so many odd things going on here that I don't even know where to begin.
I get that you're trying to incorporate some of the things from the Diva's show but the whole Natalya loves cats gimmick is already as annoying as the farting Natalya gimmick. This woman is quite talented as an in-ring performer but you continue to give her such lame roles that fans simply can't get behind her. The only time she's been worth watching and getting behind is when she was part of the new Hart Foundation, but that didn't last very long.
You then have Naomi, who is pretty fun to watch in the ring but again, her character is quite annoying and simply drives me crazy when trying to watch.
Carmella looked odd to me Tuesday night. It looks like she had some botox done to her face or something. On a non-wrestling note: women, PLEASE stop doing that to your face. It looks horrible and ends up with an end result exactly opposite of what you want.
Anyway - has there been another Money in the Bank holder that you've ever had less confidence in than Carmella? Maybe Baron Corbin, but it's a toss up.
Poor Becky Lynch. Is there any way we can get her back in the main event scene soon? Becky is one of the easiest women on the roster to like and she continues to be over-looked and booked like just a ho-hum worker. Turn her heel, have her come out and wallop Charlotte in her match and set up a feud heading for 'Mania (unless there is another contender which I will get to later).
For this match ... honestly ... I don't know or care who wins and I hate to be that way. They've done very little to make me care about this and it is a match that I would likely FFWD through if I were watching on my DVR.
I will take Becky & Naomi for the win as they both have a bigger need for the victory and WWE tends to de-push the Money in the Bank winner just before they cash in - so it would make sense for Carmella to eat the loss.
Winners: Becky Lynch & Naomi by submission
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev
Remember when PPV matches were reserved for big feuds and used to either end or progress a rivalry? There is literally nothing here other than Rusev wanting to fight Nakamura for hurting English? Silly.
That being said, these are two of my favorite wrestlers in the WWE right now, so I am looking forward to seeing them square off.
Obviously they have to have Nakamura win here so that he can seem like a legit threat to take the tile from AJ Styles are WrestleMania.
I am hoping they find a way to make Rusev look strong in defeat and put him in something worthwhile for 'Mania, though it doesn't look likely at this point. Maybe he and English will appear on RAW Monday night to challenge The Bar for the Raw WWE tag titles?!
This figures to be about a 10-12 minute match with Nakamura getting the win, clean, by pin fall.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura
United States Championship Match: Bobby Roode (c) vs. Randy Orton
Two guys that I really never expected to see go toe-to-toe at any point, but it should be pretty good. Neither guy is SUPER exciting to watch, but both are very solid workers that have their moments of greatness.
I am not sure how this one is going to go but you have to expect Jinder to get involved somehow. I'm honestly surprised that this wasn't a triple-threat match but they may be saving that for WrestleMania.
It would appear that that is the current thought process so the winner of this one really doesn't matter that much if they're going to face each other again for the title next month.
Though this one is quite tricky, I am going to go with Randy Orton to win the title here so that he can go to the big show next month as a champion. The future WWE Hall of Fame member deserves to have a belt if, for nothing else, as a form of showing WWE's gratitude for all he's done during his career.
Roode could potentially get it back at 'Mania, but I look for Jinder to get involved and cause a distraction which will lead to Orton hitting the RKO (out of no where) and picking up the win.
Winner: Randy Orton
SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match: The Usos (c) vs. The New Day
One thing I did not FFWD past on Tuesday was the in-ring promo between the Usos and the New Day. It was a nice change to see Big E get serious and take some shots at the Usos while also pumping up the road New Day took to get to where they are.
I'm BEYOND tired of the pancakes, the cereal, and all of the other silly shenanigans that New Day continues to do. I know they sell t-shirts and the kids love it but me, as a grumpy old man, is very annoyed by it all.
For the last several PPV's I have guessed that "this will be the one where the New Day breaks up" and, obviously, I have been wrong every time.
I will not say that for this one, but I do believe there will be some seeds planted about a future break-up, likely at WrestleMania.
The Usos current title run has been quite good and I believe they're working to set up a future feud with the Bludgeon Brothers so I expect them to hold on to the titles here.
Once the New Day break up I believe Big E will go out on is own while Kofi and Xavier will potentially stay together. If that is the case, I will say that Kofi takes the loss here and Big E shows a bit of frustration afterwards before laughing a bit and all leaving together but it would be cool to see all of that happen but Big E "caught" glaring at Kofi a bit as they go up the ramp.
Winners: The Usos by pin fall
SmackDown Women’s Championship Match: Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Ruby Riott
Ruby Riott has upped her game recently, both in the ring and on the mic. This match could surprise some people if they're given some time to work.
Obviously Charlotte is a freak of nature and incredibly athletic, but Ruby is quite an in ring performer that can hold her own vs the Queen.
You have to expect that the Riott Squad will be at ring side so Becky and Naomi will likely also be out there to watch Charlotte's back.
I expect one of two things to happen here, though the winner of the match will be the same either way.
One: As previously mentioned, I could see Becky Lynch either getting involved somehow and distracting Charlotte or attack her post-match as they're in the ring celebrating. It would be fun to see a Becky v Charlotte feud with Becky playing the heel.
Two: Charlotte wins and, as she's celebrating, Asuka's music hits and she comes out to make her official challenge for the SmackDown Women's title at WrestleMania. Lets not forget, she gets to pick which belt she wants to go after and as of now she has not publicly made her decision. Michael Cole has mentioned a few times recently that he "wondered which champion Asuka will challenge" and I believe that she will pick Charlotte which then frees up the RAW title for a Bliss v Nia Jax match at WrestleMania.
Winner: Charlotte via submission
WWE Championship Six-Pack Challenge: AJ Styles (c) vs. John Cena vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin
There is so much going on in this match that I could write an entire post just focusing on this. I will try and keep my thoughts as short and sweet as possible.
Clearly they're moving towards a Kevin Owens v Sami Zayn match at WrestleMania (even though their last PPV match was billed as the last time they'd ever face each other - which we all knew even then that that couldn't possibly be the case) which I'm completely on board for as those two guys always put on a hell of a match.
Poor Dolph Ziggler continues to have absolutely no direction at all, which is a shame. Two weeks ago he came out and saved Cena and AJ, which closed the show with him looking like a face. This week he looked like a heel. I assume he's just ... kinda ... there. On a side note, if you're not following him on Twitter ( @HEELZiggler ) then you're missing out. He is quite an entertaining dude.
Baron Corbin, who was in the dog-house not too long ago, has made his way back to the main event scene, though I don't think there's any chance of him winning the belt just yet. Also, I have no idea what they have planned for him at WrestleMania. If he loses on Sunday then you have just a few weeks to find a feud for him if you plan to have him on the show, and I can't imagine that he'd be in the main event at Fastlane and then not have a spot on 'Mania. I am very curious what they'll do with him.
It has been long rumored that John Cena would be facing The Undertaker at this year's WrestleMania but I have been skeptical of this as Taker has looked really bad the last two years and the way he went out last year was the perfect ending to his career.
So if he is NOT facing Taker, who would he face?
Could he win the title at Fastlane and be in a triple-threat at 'Mania with Nakamura and AJ, just like Cena said in his promo on Tuesday night?
Honestly, I do believe this is a real possibility.
The problem is, I really feel that he needs a win at this year's WrestleMania as it seems like all he does is lose in big spots recently. This is also my problem with him facing 'Taker. Who takes the loss? Cena can't keep losing if they expect people to care about him but you really don't want to bring Taker back and have him lose AGAIN either, do you?
I haven't quite figured out where they go with Cena here, so this match is hard to pick for me. I believe it will be either AJ or Cena, but it's kind of a coin toss for me at this point on which one it will be.
It would be nice to see AJ win, as it would obviously make him look very strong heading into the dream match vs Nakamura at WrestleMania.
I've gone over the rosters a few times tonight trying to figure out who Cena would face if it isn't Taker and he loses at Fastlane ... and I think I have an idea.
I'm going to pick AJ to win tonight and then Cena show up on RAW Monday complaining yet again about not having a "road to WrestleMania" and out comes Braun Strowman to essentially tell him to shut up, setting up a feud between the two leading to a match on the grandest stage of them all.
Now, I know I just told you several times that Cena can't afford another loss BUT, if he is going to lose, getting mangled by the Monster among Men is a perfect spot for him to go down. I assume Cena has a movie or two to shoot coming up, so it would be a good spot for the two to have a match, as I believe Cena can get a good match out of Braun, even hitting him with an AA or two - but I'd have it end with Strowman completely crushing him at the end. That is my thought on that, but we're talking about Fastlane right now.
I am going to go with AJ to get the pinfall here and I think Corbin will take the loss. The end could even come after Cena hits the "super-AA" on Corbin or Ziggler and then AJ coming in and "stealing" the pin.
Winner: AJ Styles
All in all, this has the potential to be a pretty solid show. The women's tag match is one that I have zero interest in and honestly it barely worth of a pre-show slot. The rest of the card, however, should be pretty solid. Each time I get my hopes up for a PPV it typically turns out to be awful and I end up disappointed.
That being said, the Royal Rumble was very good and then the Elimination Chamber PPV was pretty freaking solid too, so maybe the WWE has made some changes for the better when it comes to these shows.
I reckon we'll see, but those are my predictions! What do you think? Am I crazy? Who do you think will win each match and how?
Let me hear your thoughts! Either comment below or Tweet your thoughts to me @EBIHester
