WWE Fastlane comes to us tonight as the final stop on the “Road to WrestleMania,” but much of WrestleMania itself still seems up in the air. On top of that, even the things that seemed clear have gotten less certain in recent weeks.
WWE Fastlane is the final event before WrestleMania 35, and as such it’ll serve to set the stage for much of that night. In the past, and especially as of late, WWE has seemed to lean towards the most shocking options in order to keep from being too predictable. Look no further than the build to Becky Lynch’s eventual title shot at WrestleMania 35.
It was clear at the Royal Rumble and almost before that they were headed towards a Becky Lynch vs Ronda Rousey match at WrestleMania, possibly including Charlotte Flair. That still looks like the plan, but WWE has taken the weirdest possible route to get there. These five bold predictions look at more unorthodox paths WWE might choose to take, but one that could still set up a fantastic WrestleMania.
1. Aleister Black & Ricochet win the Raw Tag Team Titles
The first unlikely selection sees new champions crowned in an increasingly dense tag team division on WWE Raw. Since news broke some time ago about their desire to leave WWE if things didn’t change, The Revival went on to have some instant classics against Chad Gable & Bobby Roode before finally winning the Raw Tag Team Titles.
While SmackDown Live has had a division led for months by veteran teams like The Usos, The New Day, and The Bar, WWE Raw has struggled to utilize their talent. Even the team of Chad Gable and Bobby Roode, as good as they’ve become, was a thrown together pairing of singles stars that won the titles far before they were an established duo.
It looked like WWE was finally breathing new life into that struggling division when The Revival captured the titles, but few could have predicted the fresh coupling of Aleister Black and Ricochet showing up on the main roster and constantly picking up wins over established teams. There are rumblings, but only that so far, that NXT could be on the way to being an official third brand of WWE.
Aleister Black and Ricochet have been competing on both WWE Raw and SmackDown Live. They’re also part of NXT’s annual Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. If WWE is looking to establish NXT as a formidable third brand on the same playing field as the main roster, having Aleister Black and Ricochet win the Raw Tag Team Titles and go on to win NXT’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic would be a huge step in that direction.