WWE Fastlane 2015 Review: Daniel Bryan vs. Roman Reigns, WrestleMania 31 Implications

Rob Wolkenbrod

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The first ever WWE Fastlane pay-per-view is in the books. It was a great night of action that featured some phenomenal matches and the presence of one of wrestling’s greatest icons.

Fastlane also revealed plenty of implications for next month’s WrestleMania. If this night was an indication of what is to come, the fans at home should be very excited.

Ready to check out what happened at WWE Fastlane? Click “next” to find out!

MizTV with Paul Heyman

The segment starts off with Damien Mizdow imitating The Miz, which gets the latter man very upset. He orders Mizdow into the corner of a ring like a dog and tells him to sit.

Miz then previews the Daniel Bryan vs. Roman Reigns match. He follows that by welcoming Paul Heyman to the ring.

Heyman begins by criticizing Miz’s acting skills, which was hilarious. Heyman then says that Brock Lesnar is not here this evening. They discuss if Lesnar would be concerned about Bryan being the the #1 contender, but Heyman teases that The Beast Incarnate would not be worried.

In the middle of the segment, Heyman points out that Mizdow is in the corner staring at him. Miz then calls out Mizdow, which gets the personal assistant annoyed. He turns and sits facing the crowd.

While Heyman is discussing Reigns, the crowd starts chanting for Mizdow, which annoys both heels in the ring.

Heyman gets back to Reigns, puts him over but says that he will lose to Lesnar.

This was an entertaining segment. However, I am a little surprised that Mizdow did not complete his face turn.

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Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan and Ryback vs. Big Show, Kane and Seth Rollins

Result: Big Show, Kane and Seth Rollins defeat Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan and Ryback via pinfall.

Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

Following the match, Randy Orton made his highly anticipated return and RKO’d everything in sight.

Rob’s Take

Ziggler and Rollins got this match going quickly and set up a nice pace.

What annoyed me a little was that they continue to make Big Show be a thorn in Rowan’s side. It is more of what WWE thinks of him, however, as they haven’t given him much of a chance.

Ryback ended up getting the hot tag and really made this match speed up. However, The Authority would end up going over until Randy Orton showed up and RKO’d every Authority member except for Rollins, who got away clean.

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Goldust vs. Stardust

Result: Goldust defeats Stardust via pinfall.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Following the match, the Rhodes family appeared backstage. An angry Stardust yelled at his father and attacked Goldust, leaving him injured on the ground.

Rob’s Take

It seems like Stardust is making the transition back to Cody Rhodes, as he didn’t have the full suit on.

This had a pretty slow pace, which didn’t get the crowd very excited.

Goldust ended up getting the tight roll-up pin on Stardust, which did not look like a three-count. It looks like we’re getting them facing each other at WrestleMania. Maybe Dusty Rhodes as the guest referee?

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The Usos (c) vs. Cesaro and Tyson Kidd – WWE Tag Team Championship Match

Result: Cesaro and Tyson Kidd defeat The Usos via pinfall and win the WWE Tag Team Championship.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Rob’s Take

I enjoyed this match a lot. It had a slow build to it, but once the tags were made to Jey Uso and Cesaro, the action really picked up.

I was very surprised that Cesaro and Kidd won this match. However, WWE clearly sees how well they work together, which is great.

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Triple H – Sting Face-toFace

We get a video package for the history between Triple H and Sting.

Triple H quickly called Sting out to the ring and out he came. HHH says that he was part of the reason why WCW and Sting went out of business.

The Game then says he can give Sting his legacy back. He tells him to walk away from this so that they can work together. He says Sting’s legacy can live through DVDs, merchandise, the WWE Network, etc. HHH then promises a WWE Hall of Fame spot.

Then Triple H says they can do it the hard way, which would be Sting getting beaten up him.

Triple H then goes to attack Sting, but The Vigilante countered. He starts fighting back until Triple H hits him with a microphone and starts hitting him in the face. HHH then grabs his famous sledgehammer, only for Sting to grab his bat and aim it at Triple H’s throat. Sting then continually starts pointing at the WrestleMania logo, which alludes to the fact that they are going to have a match on March 29.

Sting then walks away, only for Triple H to try to attack him from behind. Sting counters and hits him with the Scorpion Death Drop. I’m very glad they didn’t try changing the name of his famous finisher.

This was a great segment and all but confirmed Triple H vs. Sting at WrestleMania 31.

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Nikki Bella (c) vs. Paige – WWE Divas Championship

Result: Nikki Bella defeats Paige via pinfall to retain the WWE Divas Championship

Rating: 2.8 out of 5 stars

Rob’s Take

This had a very quick start with Paige spearing Nikki and continually punching her. Nikki even showed an aggressive side too.

Just as Paige was about to take advantage, Nikki rolled up Paige and grabbed the tights for the win, which was kind of underwhelming. However, it looks like this feud is set to continue.

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Bad News Barrett (c) vs. Dean Ambrose – WWE Intercontinental Championship

Result: Bad News Barrett defeats Dean Ambrose via DQ to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Rob’s Take

The crowd was mostly dead for this, which is a shame because Ambrose and Barrett are phenomenal out there.

The match itself was okay. Barrett kept trying to escape the match, which got Ambrose mad. This resulted in The Lunatic Fringe stomping Barrett until the referee called the match off. This would seem like Ambrose turning heel, but it’s also part of his character. The segment overall probably confused fans, which is why it got a low grade.

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Bray Wyatt Promo

We hear The Undertaker’s entrance music as the lights dim. A casket is then brought out, however, it turned out to be Bray Wyatt in there.

Wyatt begins to call out The Undertaker and says he is the new face of fear. He then challenges ‘Taker to a match at WrestleMania 31.

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Rusev (c) vs. John Cena – WWE United States Championship Match

Result: Rusev defeats John Cena via submission to retain the United States Championship

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Rob’s Take

This was a solid match in what looks to be the first match in their rivalry. Seeing Rusev win and not have a double count-out was a little surprising. However, it gives The Bulgarian Brute momentum heading into WrestleMania where Cena may be on his way to ending the year-long winning streak.

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Daniel Bryan vs. Roman Reigns – #1 Contender’s Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Result: Roman Reigns defeats Daniel Bryan via pinfall to become the #1 contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars

Rob’s Take

I did not know what to expect from this. It was either going to be okay or fantastic. I think it is safe to say that this one was fantastic.

Reigns has improved as a wrestler, there is no doubt about it. He obviously is not the best one out there, but could he have a good match with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania? Yes.

As for Bryan, where he goes from here is a mystery. The match with Dolph Ziggler could still be on or Sheamus could be waiting in the wings. I’m thinking the latter feud will be done for WrestleMania.

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Final Thoughts

Rob’s Take

WWE Fastlane was a decent pay-per-view.

The whole point of this show was to set up WrestleMania 31 matches, which was accomplished in almost every contest throughout the night. It likely means that we’re going to have a ton of rematches, which doesn’t really excite me. Round two of these feuds needs to be phenomenal so people don’t say “well, we have seen this before.” Whether the stars step up remains to be seen.

The fallout on Monday Night Raw is going to be interesting. I’m looking forward to see what’s next with the WrestleMania cast set in place.

What did you think of WWE Fastlane?

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Rob Wolkenbrod

Robert is an editor, writer, and video editor. He covers the San Antonio Spurs for Forbes and the Toronto Raptors for Hoops Habit.