WWE Fastlane 2018: Results, Highlights, Analysis, and Grades

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SmackDown Women’s Championship Match

Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Ruby Riott

Result: Charlotte Flair defeated Ruby Riott via submission

Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars

Guys, I swear I was just kidding before when I said that a Roman Reigns video was on the agenda for tonight. But there it was, anyway – glad to see the brand war is alive and well.

Interestingly, Riott came out for the match alone – no Riott Squad. Both champion and challenger went for their home runs early. But neither the Riott Kick nor the Figure Four connected in the opening moments, and the match rolled on.

The Riott Squad didn’t stay absent for long – Charlotte ended up outside the ring, and Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan appeared from the crowd. That opened the door for Riott to take charge, and she went to work on the champ. A Riott Kick connected, but Flair kicked out at two.

Riott caught referee Mike Chioda’s attention with an eye issue – as he checked on it Morgan and Logan seemed poised to attack Flair. But out came Naomi and Becky Lynch to even the odds and keep the Squad at bay. But Riott still had the advantage from the first distraction, hitting a stage dive senton for a two count.

The match was never bad, but it really picked up right before everyone was ejected from ringside – and continued to be amazing after that fact. The constant attention paid to the happenings outside the ring took away from the great stuff happening inside it, though. Riott looked like a million bucks in this one – loved the top rope “Heidi-can-rana” that almost led to a victory.

But Charlotte retaining is absolutely the right call. Especially because after her victory, Asuka (finally) made her way out to the ring to officially challenge Charlotte to a match at WrestleMania. I am all in for that – put that in the main event, forget the rest of the matches on the card.