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.
Photo by WWE’s Twitter
Fast Start
Not only is the main event at Fastlane for the WWE Championship, but it is for a major spot on the card for WrestleMania. Because of the implications of this match there must be a sense of desperation early.
A mistake would be letting all six superstars alternate signature moves and finishers immediately. This is not going to be a five minute match, which means well structured flow will go a long way in telling a compelling story.
Saving finishing moves for later in the match does not mean the match starts out slow. Since the stakes are so high, each superstar should start the match like it is a contract signing gone wrong from a “Go Home” show of SmackDown before a pay-per-view.
Simply put, the WWE Championship match should feel like a fight with everything on the line. The match should start with takedowns followed by strikes and superstars being thrown into solid objects, not dropkicks, arm drags, and high risk maneuvers.
When this match turns into a brawl it favors the superstar that it should, a former Golden Gloves champion, Corbin. Corbin is the biggest superstar in the match, and when a fight breaks out, it plays to Corbin’s strength.
This part of the match is Corbin’s moment to shine.
Credit: WWE.com
Fight Forever
Before this past Tuesday on SmackDown it appeared that Zayn and Owens would be walking into Fastlane as allies. The Zayn and Owens friendship narrative was erased with one Helluva Kick on Tuesday night that proved that Zayn is willing to do whatever it takes to capture the WWE Championship.
Come Sunday at Fastlane though, Owens and Zayn will have four other opponents to worry about. Early on there needs to be a temporary alliance formed between Zayn and Owens, and this will be used to keep their cowardly heel characters intact for the time being.
But as we have seen with previous temporary alliances in similar matches, there is a point where the arrangement must end. The disagreement will happen following a double team, either Zayn or Owens attempts to go for the pin.
This leads to the other member of the temporary arrangement to break up the pinfall attempt, which leads to arguing and shoving. Just as it seems that cooler heads might prevail, that is when the rivalry reignites between Zayn and Owens.
Both superstars understand how important the WWE Championship is, but the history between Zayn and Owens proves to be too much. A brawl between the two longtime rivals carries beyond ringside, and both superstars fight their way out of this match.
Zayn and Owens appear destined to fight forever, and this will be the start of a new rendition of the rivalry.
Credit: WWE.com
Ziggler Comes Close On A Few Occasions
Unfortunately Ziggler will never have main event level momentum without consistently stringing together victories, but looking strong at Fastlane is a start. Before dismissing the booking in what would be another Ziggler loss, remember the alternative would be be Ziggler being a non-factor and getting pinned.
Once the match settles in from the fast start, Ziggler hits a big Zig Zag. Unfortunately it is so early in the match that the rest of the participants are fresh enough that this is not enough for the three count.
A little later in the contest, Ziggler rolls one of his opponents up, but due to a slight distraction (there are six competitors in this match) the ref does not notice the pin attempt immediately. By the time the count is administered Ziggler only gets a two count.
Despite being close two other times, Ziggler has one final close call. Ziggler finally connects on a Superkick. As seen on SmackDown this past Tuesday, Styles has to work overtime to make sure that other superstars do not get pinned and cost him his WWE Championship, and that is once again the case here.
After this third pin attempt is disrupted, Ziggler does not get close again, but his valiant effort does not go unnoticed by the WWE Universe.
Credit: WWE.com
And Then There Were Two
It would not feel right if the pinfall that determined the winner of the WWE Championship at Fastlane was any combination of superstars other than Cena and Styles. In this fantasy booking we already have Owens and Zayn brawling themselves out of contention.
Yet there still is Corbin and Ziggler at ringside battling for the same prize as Cena and Styles. Both Corbin and Ziggler are realistically removed from contention in this match due to a Cena Attitude Adjustment to Corbin through one table, and Styles hitting a 450 splash on Ziggler through another table.
Obviously a 450 splash takes much more out of Styles than an Attitude Adjustment takes out of Cena, and because of that Cena tries to capitalize by getting Styles into the ring. Cena is desperate, his storyline is of his desperation to be a part of WrestleMania, and that is why he tries to take advantage of a hurt Styles.
The last five minutes of this match is a straight one on one encounter between Cena and Styles. Cena connects on an Attitude Adjustment, and that is not enough.
Multiple attempts at the STF is still not enough to break Styles. A desperate Cena attempts a Super Attitude Adjustment, but it is reversed into a hurricanrana.
A dazed Cena staggers to his feet, and turns around right into a Phenomenal Forearm, 1…2…3! It is key for Cena to be pinned by Styles.
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For one it gives Styles a measure of revenge for losing clean to Cena one on one, but it also makes Styles look strong. At the same time, Cena losing only furthers his desperation and makes more sense in building to a Cena and Undertaker feud.