Credit: WWE.com
WWE Fastlane 2018 is less than a week away as the SmackDown brand closes out the brand-exclusive pay-per-view era in the WWE as the road to WrestleMania reaches another level.
There are several key battles at WWE Fastlane 2018 that could greatly shake up the blue brand heading into WrestleMania 34 in about a month. Six superstars will vie for the WWE Championship as well as a few other key title matches.
Not only will this be the final pay-per-view before WrestleMania, it will also be the final brand-exclusive pay-per-view with the WWE going back to the Raw and SmackDown combo pay-per-views following WrestleMania.
Several superstars could benefit from a win at Fastlane, but which one’s need a win the most? Keeping in mind the card likely isn’t set in stone yet, let’s take a look at the three superstars in need of a win the most at WWE Fastlane 2018.
3. Bobby Roode
The Glorious Bobby Roode has quickly emerged as one of the biggest threats on the blue brand over the past few months. The former NXT standout captured his first main roster title by winning the United States Championship earlier this year, but will be greatly challenged at Fastlane.
Roode has been entangled in a recent feud with Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton that has been a pretty lackluster one up to this point. A topic of dispute in this feud has been the SmackDown Top 10 List, which seems pretty meaningless at this point. But this feud can really get going at Fastlane when Roode and Orton meet up with the U.S. Championship on the line.
It’s not out of the realm of possibilities that Mahal could be added to this match before Fastlane gets here, but that doesn’t change what the outcome needs to be at the conclusion of the pay-per-view. A title change needs to happen eventually and likely will happen sooner than later, but it does not need to happen at Fastlane.
The Glorious One needs to retain his title somehow, some way. Whether it’s a clean victory or a screwy finish, Roode needs to head into WrestleMania 34 as the U.S. Champion. If Orton is destined to become the U.S. Champion, it needs to happen on the grandest stage of them all, not at a seemingly B-level pay-per-view.
The U.S. Championship has become glorious as of late and Roode needs to retain his title at Fastlane and head into the show of shows as U.S. Champion.
Photo by WWE.com
2. Charlotte Flair
The Queen of the WWE has been Charlotte Flair over the past few years and that shouldn’t change anytime soon. Charlotte has developed into not only one of the best women’s competitors in the world today, but one of the best of all-time by most accounts.
But at Fastlane, Charlotte will be challenged by Ruby Riott for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Riott and her Riott Squad has wreaked havoc on the blue brand since debuting towards the end of 2017 and despite some shortcomings, the trio has gained momentum as of late.
Riott, alongside Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan, has one-upped Charlotte’s allies of Naomi and Becky Lynch with singles victories over the past few weeks on Tuesday night. Riott has staked her claim as a legit threat to The Queen, but can she emerge victorious at Fastlane in the biggest match of her main roster career so far?
Eventually, Riott does deserve to be the SmackDown Women’s Champion. But at this moment in time, Charlotte needs to retain her title. Heading into WrestleMania 34, the SmackDown Women’s Championship would be in a much more stable state with Charlotte as champion. Not to mention, the possibility of Charlotte vs. Asuka at WrestleMania is still prominent and could lead to a classic showdown.
There will be a time soon enough for Riott to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship, but that time shouldn’t be at Fastlane and The Queen needs to emerge victorious.
Photo Source: WWE.com
1. AJ Styles
No superstar has meant more to a specific brand in recent memory than what AJ Styles has meant to SmackDown. The Phenomenal One has carried the brand on his back at times while proving to be its most valuable superstar.
At Fastlane, however, Styles will have not one, not two, not three, not four, but five challengers for his WWE Championship when John Cena, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Baron Corbin, and Dolph Ziggler challenge The Phenomenal One in a 6-Pack Challenge for the richest prize in the game. The late addition of Cena after knocking off Styles this past week on SmackDown has drastically changed the course of this match as well.
The on-paper odds are not in Styles’ favor in this match, but he has proven in the past he can win in tough situations, such as successfully defending his title against Owens and Zayn in a handicap match at the Royal Rumble. But can The Phenomenal One do it again, this time with five challengers? As it turns out, having multiple challengers probably increases his odds of retaining in the grand scheme of things.
To put it mildly, Styles needs to retain his championship at Fastlane for one simple reason, The Phenomenal One vs. The King Of Strong Style for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34. The dream match everyone wants to see between Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura is a must for an otherwise up-and-down WrestleMania card.
Next: Predicting The Entire WrestleMania 34 Card
The Phenomenal One is in need of a win the most at Fastlane and he needs to emerge victorious from the 6-Pack Challenge and officially set up one of the most anticipated WrestleMania matches in years.