WWE Fastlane 2017: 4 Missed Opportunities
At WWE Fastlane, multiple booking decisions missed the mark.
The WWE Fastlane pay-per-view has come and gone with plenty to take away from the show. It saw one title change, a few bizarre antics and some controversial moments.
In the main event, Goldberg defeated Kevin Owens in 21 seconds for the Universal Championship, something that will be talked about for days to come. It sets up a match with Brock Lesnar for the title at WrestleMania 33.
Another part of Fastlane that came off quirky was Charlotte’s PPV streak ending to Bayley after Sasha Banks provided a distraction. What were reactions coming out fo this?
WWE made some curious booking decisions in these matches and others. Most importantly, there were opportunities missed.
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4. Using the Filler Time Elsewhere
Coming into Fastlane, with Goldberg vs. Kevin Owens having been guessed to be heading toward a very short match, time needed to be filled. It could have gone to Samoa Joe vs. Sami Zayn, Bayley vs. Charlotte, or even Neville vs. Jack Gallagher. However, it went to Jinder Mahal and Rusev.
In the Fastlane Kickoff Show, Mahal and Rusev stormed Mick Foley’s office to tell him they’re done as a tag team. So Foley decides to let them get their frustrations out in matches during Fastlane.
After Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax ended, Rusev and Mahal came down to the ring and brawled for maybe five seconds. This left Mahal in the ring to get an opponent, leading to Cesaro coming down. They wrestled for eight minutes while the crowd chanted for CM Punk.
Rusev would get Big Show in another eight-minute match. It looked like the Bulgarian Brute upset someone backstage, because the World’s Largest Athlete squashed him like he was Curt Hawkins.
These 16 wasted minutes hurt the flow of a show that hadn’t started off terribly. There were some gripes with Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax and the tag title match, but nothing to throw off the pace. Mahal and Rusev airing out their grievances and looking like fools in Raw-quality matches set the tone for the rest of the PPV, which was at a snail’s pace and lacked intrigue.
WWE pushed Fastlane past 11:00 p.m. ET. Without Rusev and Mahal’s performances, they could have ended this closer to 10:30, which used to be a norm for WWE Sunday Specials. Instead, we had useless filler that could have been given to other matches or to the fans to get home just a little bit earlier.