WWE Fastlane 2019 was the final pay-per-view stop on the road to WrestleMania and through some ups and some downs, the show did what it needed to do to kickstart the buildup towards the show of shows.
WWE Fastlane 2019 wasn’t an overly hyped pay-per-view heading in, but even with a few misses, there were several solid hits throughout the show that definitely gives the WWE universe something to think about with only four weeks until WrestleMania 35.
The main card kicked off with the SmackDown Tag Team Championship match where The Usos defended their titles against Shane McMahon and the hometown boy The Miz in front of a Cleveland audience. This match was very good throughout and the crowd was solidly behind the co-besties, but in the end, a couple of minor mistakes proved to be the difference and The Usos escaped by the skin of their teeth still tag team champions.
However, the post-match shenanigans are what has everyone talking. While consoling The Miz on the outside, Shane O’Mac snapped and began attacking The Miz. It was a pretty shocking heel turn and it went even farther when Shane got a bit physical with The Miz’s father sitting in the front row. Most assumed Miz would be the one that turned on Shane, but seeing Shane turn on The Miz in his hometown with his father sitting ringside was the perfect way to go about this.
Asuka defended her SmackDown Women’s Championship up next against Mandy Rose in what turned out to be arguably the worst match of the night. It wasn’t that it was bad, but it was really only OK at best and it never got much of a chance to succeed. Asuka managed to retain her title partly thanks to an inadvertent mistake Rose suffered thanks to Sonya Deville on the outside.
It appeared as if Kofi Kingston would be added to the WWE Championship match to make it a Triple Threat Match, but instead of giving the fans what they wanted, Mr. McMahon screwed Kofi over even harder by feeding him to the wolves, disguised as The Bar in an impromptu handicap match. This turned out to be a bit of a clustered mess with quite a bit of outside interference, but the numbers game was too much for Kofi to handle and The Bar won this lackluster match.
The Raw Tag Team Championship was at stake next when The Revival defended against Ricochet and Aleister Black and Chad Gable and Bobby Roode in a Triple Threat Match. This match really picked up towards the end with high flying moves everywhere, most courtesy of Black and Ricochet. However, The Revival managed to walk away still tag team champions after a good match.
An unexpected Fatal 4-Way match followed when new United States Champion Samoa Joe defended his title against R-Truth, Rey Mysterio, and Andrade in a rematch from this past week on SmackDown. Much like that initial match between these four, this was a very good battle as well with everyone holding their own and impressing. But in the end, Samoa Joe wasn’t going to lose the title that quickly and he emerged victorious and still U.S. Champion.
The Boss ‘N’ Hug Connection defended the Women’s Tag Team Championship against Nia Jax and Tamina next. This turned out to be a pretty good match, but the real story came after Sasha Banks and Bayley won the match. Jax and Tamina attacked them on the outside, but Beth Pheonix, who was on commentary, took offense to their actions. So she punched Tamina in the face, only to get double-teamed by both Jax and Tamina in the ring.
However, real-life best friend Natalya came out to try and help Pheonix, only to fall victim to Jax and Tamina herself. This development opens up several different possibilities for WrestleMania involving the Women’s Tag Team Championship, including the possible return of The Glamazon alongside Natalya. Several teams are in play for a tag team title opportunity.
Mr. McMahon did say the WWE Championship match would be a Triple Threat Match earlier in the night, and even though it wasn’t Kofi involved, that did ring true when Daniel Bryan defended his title against Kevin Owens and the late-addition of Mustafa Ali. This turned out to be probably the match of the night with so many high-risk moves that it almost felt like someone was going to get hurt. It was a great battle, but Bryan managed to put away Ali and retain his title.
The most crucial match of the night followed when Becky Lynch took on Charlotte Flair in a match Lynch had to win in order to join the Raw Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania 35. Charlotte went to work on The Man’s injured knee and that was a theme throughout the match, but you just can’t keep Lynch down and she managed to fight herself back in the match. However, she got caught in what seemed like an insurmountable Figure Eight by The Queen.
Then enter Ronda Rousey, who surprised everyone by purposely struck Lynch just to get Charlotte disqualified so Lynch would be declared the winner. It was unconventional, but The Man will now be in the Raw Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania 35 alongside Rousey and Flair in what will be the most anticipated match on the card.
It was then time for the main event that saw The Shield reunite for one last time against Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre, and Bobby Lashley. This match turned out to be vintage Shield in every way. It was much better than some thought it could be and for what looked like a Shield farewell tour of sorts, the trio broke out nearly all of their greatest hits.
Chaos throughout the arena, triple powerbomb through the announce table, and a gang attack gave The Hounds Of Justice the big win. If this is indeed the final time Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose will ever team together, this was a great way to go out. It was also great to see The Big Dog back in the ring again after being out for several months.
Overall, this was a pretty good show. There were some high-quality matches and key moments throughout, but there were a few lesser moments as well. The SmackDown Women’s Championship match was a letdown, the Kofi vs. The Bar handicap match was a mess even if it made sense long-term, and the Flair vs. Lynch match was a bit odd given the finish. However, most everything on this card had a purpose and the matches did what they needed to do.
Lynch vs. Flair could have been much better obviously, but given how Lynch was selling an injury, the booking made sense for Rousey to cost Flair the match. It would have looked pretty bad for Charlotte if The Man beat her clean when she was far from 100 percent in kayfabe terms. The positives surrounding this show really did stand out and should create more intrigue moving forward.
The Miz and Shane O’Mac storyline is now red-hot, the U.S. Championship is in the best place its been in months, the Women’s Tag Team Championship picture is heating up, KofiMania is running wild, and seeing The Shield back in its vintage form was awesome. This show ultimately did enough to help build intrigue for WrestleMania 35 even with a few minor mishaps along the way.