WWE Fastlane 2018 Predictions: Bobby Roode To Retain?
Source: WWE.com
Six-Pack Challenge for the WWE Championship
AJ Styles (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn vs. Baron Corbin vs. John Cena
This match went from lukewarm to can’t miss with the inclusion of John Cena because of his storyline heading into WrestleMania.
Cena teased a match with The Undertaker this past Monday on Raw and regardless of contrary reports that The Deadman won’t be working WrestleMania this year, I don’t buy that for one second. There’s no way that WWE would have Cena go out there on Monday to create this type of buzz just to see him wrestle someone else at ‘Mania. I bring this up because I think that the biggest story coming out of this match will be that Cena has once again “failed”. The Undertaker will come out sometime after this loss (either on this show or over the next couple weeks) to tell Cena that he knows what it’s like to “fail” as well. He’ll address his loss to Lesnar at ‘Mania 30 and his loss to Reigns last year. Eventually the idea will be that at WrestleMania 34 only one of them will have room to fail, because the loser will be forced into retirement. I say all of this as a long way of predicting that John Cena will not win the WWE Title at Fastlane.
I don’t see any scenario where Owens or Zayn walk away from this match as the champion but I really enjoyed watching Sami get the big win earlier tonight on SmackDown in the Fatal 5-Way match.
I really enjoy the two of them as a team but I think they’re on borrowed time because a true split soon would lead to a fantastic match between the two at WrestleMania. I know that we’ve seen KO vs. Sami so many times at this point that it feels like overkill but they’ll be able to put on a classic performance at ‘Mania including emotion and moves that we have yet to see from either Superstar since they’ve both been on the main roster.
Dolph Ziggler is an interesting case because WWE never took the time to explain his character. Fans are confused as to whether they’re supposed to cheer or boo when he comes out.
He was clearly a heel when he vacated the US Title and disappeared for a short time but since he’s come back he’s felt like a babyface. He’s attacked mainly heels but also some faces along the way. Maybe he’s supposed to be playing a real “tweener” but it’d be nice to get a little clarity. We all know Ziggler is one of the best in-ring performers in the WWE and he’s technically one of the company’s most decorated champions in history.
A win here for Ziggler could be career-changing but it’s not going to happen. I don’t see Ziggler holding the “top belt” on any brand in the foreseeable future, but that’s not due to any fault of his own. He just doesn’t seem to be a priority in the eyes of the WWE brass.
Baron Corbin might as well not even be in this match.
While he’s shown improvement he still comes off very robotic to me, and the way he’s been booked since losing his Money in the Bank briefcase hasn’t done him any favors either. Corbin constantly looks like a big, dumb oaf.
It’s like he can get by to a certain extent on just his size and athletic ability but those things will only get him so far up the WWE card. I really think he needs dramatic improvement with his movement and mic skills. Being in the ring with all of these talented Superstars in this match will help him improve but Corbin definitely isn’t winning this thing.
That leaves AJ Styles, who I honestly believe is the best overall pro wrestler in the world in any company right now.
Due to the process of elimination here it’s obvious that he’s my pick to win this match and retain the WWE Championship. There’s not much to say here other than that this Six-Pack Challenge is just one last speed-bump on AJ’s road to a match against Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania.
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There is absolutely no reason for WWE to do anything other than AJ vs. Nakamura because it’s the perfect match that all of the fans have wanted to see since the last time the two squared off in New Japan. Because of these reasons, “face that runs the place” will walk out of Fastlane still being the “champ that runs the camp”. For the sake of making a pick, I’ll say that AJ makes Corbin tap out to the Calf Crusher for the win.