WWE Fastlane 2018: Fantasy Booking The WWE Championship Match
By Josh Raibick
This Sunday at WWE Fastlane 2018, AJ Styles will look to retain his WWE Championship when he defends against Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler, and John Cena. While the result of the main event this Sunday will be important, the story told in this match will be just as important.
The build to the WWE Championship match at Fastlane has been steady, and each character has had their own unique path. Zayn for example has used his “frenemy” Owens as a springboard to the main event of Fastlane.
Owens on the other hand has used Zayn as a Chris Jericho replacement to keep himself at the top of the card on WWE SmackDown Live. In a sense both superstars have used each other to get themselves another opportunity at the WWE Championship.
Another challenger for Styles’ championship is Corbin, who has been in a free fall since failing to cash in his Money in the Bank contract in August of last year. Corbin has been in big matches, but has not been on the winning end of many feuds recently.
Speaking of not being on the winning end of many feuds, that has been the biggest complaint with the WWE Universe when it comes to Ziggler. While the new character that Ziggler has portrayed has drawn interest, it still has not resulted in big wins.
And then there is Cena. The Leader of the Cenation does not have a path to WWE WrestleMania 34. Obviously one of the biggest stars in WWE history not having anything to do at the biggest show of the year is kayfabe to the max.
Finally there is Styles, who seems destined to meet Shinsuke Nakamura in what would be a WrestleMania dream match.
Still, just because there might be a clear favorite to win on Sunday does not mean that the story told during the match is irrelevant. Here are some steps to assure that the WWE Championship match reaches its potential.