With the third installment of WWE Fastlane approaching, we ranked every previous match from the past two years.
On Sunday, March 5, the third WWE Fastlane pay-per-view will take place. This will be the first time this show has been branded for Raw, as it had been used for the whole roster before the brand split. It’s set to see a main event of Kevin Owens vs. Goldberg for the WWE Universal Championship, Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns and Bayley vs. Charlotte for the Raw Women’s Championship.
The Fastlane PPV has been an interesting one over its first two years of existence. It’s been full of matches you’ll never go back to the WWE Network to watch, like the two Divas Championship bouts featured and a battle of brothers that you almost forget happened.
However, there have been positives too, like the main events in both 2015 and 2016. They had WrestleMania headliner implications, which made the matches feel bigger. Top-notch performances were put on as well by some of the largest names in WWE. Both winners went onto challenge for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the Showcase of the Immortals.
In between, there were other quality matches that are looked upon well. They may not be memorable, but provided depth to an otherwise average show that preceded WrestleMania.
Outside of the pre-show matches, there are 13 to break down from worst to best. What landed at the bottom of the list? How about at the very top?
13. Goldust vs. Stardust – Fastlane 2015
Goldust and Stardust had the makings of an intriguing undercard feud for Fastlane and even heading into WrestleMania 31. The Rhodes brothers had never rivaled each other before, which could have set up an interesting dynamic on TV. The inter-family or even inter-stable feuds have been some of WWE’s bloodiest and personal programs ever done, so this had potential.
However, the Goldust vs. Stardust match at Fastlane ruined any momentum these two had. They wrestled for about eight minutes, only to have an abrupt ending with Goldust defeating his younger brother. It was a curious move to make, but with the roll-up, it seemed like there would be more to come (WWE ended up scrapping the feud for WrestleMania 31).
After the match, Goldust went into the Andre the Giant Battle Royal and Stardust went into the multi-man ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship. Neither had a successful night.
The match had a chance of being something unique for WWE’s midcard, but a poor match and the company’s lack of interest in keeping it going halted this feud for good. The result didn’t make sense and hurt both Superstars’ careers, arguably sending the Stardust character into a deeper tailspin.
12. Nikki Bella vs. Paige – Fastlane 2015
Nikki Bella vs. Paige came a handful of months before the “Divas Revolution” began in WWE. This saw the call-ups of NXT stars like Becky Lynch, Charlotte, and Sasha Banks, longer match times, and more effort put into their feuds. So Bella and Paige just missed out on this during WrestleMania 31 season.
This Divas Championship match lasted five minutes, felt rushed, and served as a middle-match for two men’s title bouts. There wasn’t much important put into this along the way either, despite having Paige, who had been seen as the next star of the Women’s division. Bella had been in the midst of taking over the division too with her Divas Championship reign, but was neglected, along with the other women.
With a lack of time, Bella and Paige had little opportunity to impress and put on something memorable. With more ability to do so, maybe they could have, but since WWE held them back, they’re low on the list.
11. Bad News Barrett vs. Dean Ambrose – Fastlane 2015
This was one of the handful of times that Bad News Barrett held the WWE Intercontinental Championship from 2014 to 2015. He lurked around the picture, as well as Dean Ambrose, who is in the middle of his second reign.
At Fastlane 2015, Ambrose had been making his way into the title scene for the first time. Momentum was behind him after his feud with Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt, so would he and Barrett be able to capitalize?
Not much time would be given to these two for the Intercontinental Championship. There were no memorable moments besides the disqualification finish, which was only done to set up a multi-man ladder match at WrestleMania 31. It only ate up eight minutes and served as a bridge to Rusev vs. John Cena and the main event. So as something to set up more to come, it wasn’t horrible, but it’s far from something notable to look back on.
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10. Kane, Seth Rollins and Big Show vs. Erick Rowan, Dolph Ziggler and Ryback – Fastlane 2015
In the first of two six-man tag matches, Kane, Seth Rollins and Big Show took on Erick Rowan, Dolph Ziggler and Ryback. This was toward the end of the storyline with the Authority firing Rowan, Ziggler and Ryback for helping John Cena at Survivor Series 2014, only to bring them back.
This six-man tag was in the post-WWE Six-Man Tag Era, which saw the Shield and Wyatt Family invigorate this type of match. It constantly main evented episodes of Raw and provided some of the best bouts of the year. This one at Fastlane 2015 was not one of them.
This six-man tag wasn’t bad, but it didn’t do much to create interest, which falls back on the build. It had Ziggler, who arguably had the most momentum of anyone in WWE, be just another guy and took the pin. Rowan was never given much of a look in his singles run, and looked like a fool more often than not. Ryback drifted in the middle of these two during this time.
The right booking decision was likely made here with the Authority and Seth Rollins gaining traction toward WrestleMania 31. Don’t forget this was just weeks after Rollins played part in an excellent WWE Championship match at the Royal Rumble, and Kane and Big Show survived into the final four of the Royal Rumble match. Despite the cringeworthy placement of the older stars, they were still used as top stars during this time, so WWE put them over in a match that meant little to Fastlane.
9. Charlotte vs. Brie Bella – Fastlane 2016
Before WrestleMania 32, it seemed obvious that Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch were being groomed as Charlotte’s challengers for the show. It would have all three women from the Divas Revolution come together to put on a great match,
However, before this happened, we had Brie Bella target Charlotte’s WWE Divas Championship for one last opportunity at a title, before retiring at WrestleMania 32. Everyone knew she wouldn’t be winning the match to defend at the Grandest Stage of Them All, so it took the drama out of this bout.
On the other hand, this didn’t turn out that well either. It felt clunky at times, with Bella and Charlotte not working well together. It was also as the Nature Girl had still been getting her feet under her as a heel, and didn’t seem fully comfortable yet. Neither did Brie, whose promos didn’t help build this match too.
It’s a forgettable match from Charlotte’s mostly impressive reign as champion and isn’t remembered much, other than for it being one of Brie Bella’s last bouts.
8. Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks vs. Naomi and Tamina – Fastlane 2016
After four poor matches from Fastlane 2015, the 2016 show makes its way onto the list at No. 9 with Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks vs. Naomi and Tamina.
The match result for this had been obvious. Lynch and Banks were on their way to a WrestleMania 32 match with Charlotte for the Divas (eventually the Women’s) Championship and had no reason to lose this match. Naomi and Tamina didn’t have much direction under the Team B.A.D., leading to them losing the match.
This tag bout didn’t wow, but wasn’t bad by any means due to the little things. As Bleacher Report’s Ryan Dilbert said:
"Great tag team psychology powered a fun match. The arc of the bout allowed Naomi to shine early as the dominating villain and showcased Banks as a house of fire toward the end."
It opened the show with a fun performance and had the babyfaces stand tall. Nothing out of the ordinary here to stand out.
7. Kane, Ryback and Big Show vs. Erick Rowan, Luke Harper and Braun Strowman – Fastlane 2016
For the second straight year, WWE set up a six-man tag match at Fastlane. Erick Rowan, Big Show, Kane and Ryback were all part of it too, with the former three having changed from face to heel or vice verse since the 2015 bout.
This match didn’t deliver and was hard to get into. Kane, Ryback, and Big Show were hardly interesting babyfaces, veteran ones that fans hadn’t shown much interest in. None of them had direction either, so it hurt the in-ring performance too.
On the other hand, this former incarnation of the Wyatt Family was in a similar boat to the faces. With Bray Wyatt not getting a WrestleMania 32 match, it put his three cronies — Erick Rowan, Luke Harper and Braun Strowman — in a position where they were almost deemed irrelevant. They lost most feuds they were involved in, which hurt the group every time. That included going down to these three babyfaces at Fastlane.
This didn’t help anyone involved on the losing side, but it’s amazing to see where Strowman and Harper are just one year later. One is a red-hot heel on the Raw roster, while the other has the opportunity to join the WrestleMania 33 main event.
6. Rusev vs. John Cena – Fastlane 2016
John Cena ended up being the one to conquer Rusev, becoming the first one to pin him and later, submit him. It eventually sent the Bulgarian Brute into a downward spiral that he hasn’t recovered from. Before that, however, he had a win over Cena at Fastlane 2016.
Cena and Rusev received a healthy 18 minutes to put on their match, which was the precursor to the main event. It mostly saw Rusev control this instead of the Face That Runs the Place, which went along with the year-long dominance of his on WWE programming. There was a fight to overcome the heel, but Cena was mostly grounded and even had his AA kicked out of. The slow pace of the bout also hurt it, though, and made it somewhat drag.
To not have the 16-time World champion take a pin or tap, he passed out via the once-powerful Accolade. It kept Rusev dominant heading into WrestleMania 31 and protected Cena before his United States Championship win.
It’s not going to be remembered as a great match, but is one of Fastlane’s better ones through two years.
5. Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler – Fastlane 2016
In late 2015 and into 2016, WWE loved to pair Kevin Owens and Dolph Ziggler in matches. They always worked well together, so it was decided to put them on Fastlane with little-to-no build. It was developed minutes after Owens won the Intercontinental Championship in a fatal five-way, giving both men something to do at the show.
To no surprise, KO and the Showoff put on a very good match. It didn’t have much to invest in since these two barely had interactions leading up to this, but it still delivered. Owens dominated in a good chunk of this and eventually put Ziggler away with a Pop-Up Powerbomb. Before that, though, there was a fisherman’s buster off the top rope that was maybe the signature move of the match.
One of the few negatives about this is the ending, which saw Ziggler almost superkick the referee. It distracted him enough to be powerbombed and lose. This didn’t let Owens win completely clean, but also wasn’t the dirtiest finish. He eventually stuck around the Intercontinental Championship scene, while Ziggler floundered until the brand split.
4. Cesaro and Tyson Kidd vs. The Usos – Fastlane 2015
About two years ago, Cesaro and Tyson Kidd came together to become a tag team. They were two singles competitors that lingered around the WWE roster in late 2014, only to be paired to add depth to the tag team division. Natalya, Kidd’s wife, even joined them as their manager.
At Fastlane 2015, Cesaro and Kidd went after the Uso’s WWE Tag Team Championship. While only being given about 10 minutes, these teams made the most out of it. They stole the show with technical wrestling from the challengers and high-flying moves that made the Samoan tag team famous.
The pace of this match was terrific too, which helped having four very athletic wrestlers in the ring. They flew all over the ring and made the action nonstop.
In the end, Cesaro and Kidd walked out with the WWE Tag Team Championship, beginning a road that seemed to have potential. They even walked into WrestleMania 31 and successfully defended the belts, so WWE liked what they saw. These two entertained the fans with their hard-nosed in-ring work and made an impact, beginning with this win.
3. AJ Styles vs. Chris Jericho – Fastlane 2016
Perhaps the most anticipated match at Fastlane 2016 saw AJ Styles make his WWE pay-per-view singles debut — even more so than a main event with WrestleMania 32 implications. This came against Chris Jericho, who had built a friendly rivalry with Styles after the Royal Rumble. However, more often than not, the Phenomenal One got the better end of Y2J.
Styles and Jericho had four singles matches during their feud, but Fastlane may have been their best one. These two stepped up their game from Raw and SmackDown, putting on entertaining action that mostly felt grounded. This wasn’t a bad thing, however, as it teased what was to come with Jericho and only made Styles look stronger when he overcome the assault.
It’s arguably interchangeable with No. 4 and 5 on this list, as all three were solid matches that received a fair amount of time and provided maybe the second-best action on the card — only being outdone by the main events in both 2015 and 2016.
What puts Styles vs. Jericho ahead is the big match feel around it, going back to it being the former’s WWE PPV singles debut. This made the action something you never wanted to take your eyes off and having more invested in this, as it had been built up for weeks. That hadn’t been the case for the 2015 WWE Tag Team Championship match or Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler.
2. Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose – Fastlane 2016
The WWE Fastlane main events take over the No. 1 and 2 spots on the list. They also were for a spot in that year’s WrestleMania main event, which gave the PPV a much-needed importance.
The second of these matches saw Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose compete to face Triple H in the main event of WrestleMania 32 for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. It was a high paced bout that went all over the place.
Lesnar destroyed Ambrose and Reigns throughout this match, looking like the ruthless star he had been built to be over the past two years. He sent them flying around the ring with the German suplexes while the crowd counted along. The two former Shield men were even suplexed at the same time to show off a wild visual.
At one point, Reigns and Ambrose had been left to fight each other and teased a future feud. This never ended up happening, as the Big Dog simply got the better of his friend for the second time in three months and proceeded onto more important things. They didn’t put on anything eye-popping during this time, but provided a good middle ground to the match.
Again, though, Lesnar came back, destroyed these two, and looked like a monster. He even nearly won too, until the Lunatic Fringe lived up to the nickname by trying to use a chair and having it cost him a pin.
The only drawback about this match was its predictability and some of the chaos. Everyone knew the path for Reigns would be the WrestleMania main event against Triple H, who took his title at the 2016 Royal Rumble match. It made too much sense to go in that direction.
1. Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan – Fastlane 2015
The cream of the crop for Fastlane came in 2015, which saw Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan main event the first-ever PPV of this name. They competed for the WrestleMania 31 main event spot against Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. This came after fan outrage from Reigns’ 2015 Royal Rumble match win led to WWE needing to delay the inevitability of him headlining the Show of Shows.
For those who are new to WWE and never saw Bryan wrestle, he could put on a great match with just about anyone. It’s a quality AJ Styles also has. This helps them make their opponent look like a million bucks, which would be the case for the still-green Reigns in February 2015.
The Bearded Superstar put on one of the last great performances of his WWE career, doing his best to make Reigns ready for the WrestleMania 31 main event. He worked a technical bout, putting the former Shield man in a vulnerable position, something he hadn’t been through before with the intense in-ring psychology.
Despite Bryan’s work to ground the bigger star, Reigns’ power became too much and led to him breaking out throughout the match. He ended up hitting a vicious spear to put the current SmackDown General Manager away and secure his WrestleMania 31 spot.
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This match result was predictable, as seeing WWE go back on their Royal Rumble winner never happens. Adding Bryan, the WrestleMania 30 headliner and the most popular star with the fans, to the mix created at least a little bit of doubt about the finish, but ultimately led to the expected result.