WWE Fastlane 2019 Preview And Predictions

Photo Credit: sportskeeda.com

The last stop on the road to Wrestlemania 35 will be in Cleveland, Ohio, at Quicken Loans Arena Sunday when the superstars of RAW and Smackdown Live battle for championships and bragging rights. There’s still a lot to be settled before we get to MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on April 7.

*NOTE: This preview only includes the matches on the main card.

Daniel Bryan(C. W/Erick Rowan) vs Kevin Owens. WWE Championship.

Smackdown’s headliner for this show involves the “new” Daniel Bryan, the self-proclaimed planet’s champion, defending his “echo-friendly” WWE Championship vs Kevin Owens. Owens was placed in this match by Mr. McMahon himself two weeks ago on Smackdown after McMahon said that previous number one contender Kofi Kingston was not the right man to face Bryan. Clearly, WWE is setting up a Kingston-Bryan WWE title match at Wrestlemania, so I do not expect Owens to win.

Owens is beginning his first run as a face in the WWE, so I expect Rowan to interfere when Owens is about to win the title off a stunner, Owens new finisher since he’s returned, but I think Bryan wins with the rebel lock. Maybe Mustafa Ali comes down to take out Rowan, the man who cost him his spot at Elimination Chamber(the spot went to Kofi), but I do not see The New Day getting involved in this match. Their characters do not call for an interference, and I think Kofi finds a way to earn a title match at mania in the next couple of weeks on Smackdown.

I am looking forward to Owens and Bryan going one on one. The former rivals in Ring of Honor and WWE should put on a classic. Just think; last year Daniel Bryan was responsible for sending Kevin Owens and his best friend Sami Zayn back to RAW. This year, Owens has the opportunity to take away Bryan’s most prized possession. It’s not likely, but WWE is always known for throwing curve balls when the entire WWE universe is expecting a fastball.

Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair. 

RAW’s headliner involves two women who have been going at each other’s throats since August. At Summerslam, Charlotte won the Smackdown Women’s Championship from Carmella in a triple threat that also involved Lynch. After the match, Lynch attached Charlotte, turning “heel” in the process. Over the next several months, Lynch and Flair would battle over the title with Lynch slowly becoming the face in the storyline, the WWE universe catching on to her I’m ‘the man” gimmick.

Lynch was scheduled to face RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey in a champion vs champion match at Survivor Series, a match the WWE universe has wanted for a long time, until Nia jax legitimately broke Lynch’s face during an invasion angle on RAW. The next night on Smackdown, Lynch picked Flair to replace her in the match. At the PPV, Charlotte intentionally got disqualified, beating Rousey from head to toe with a kendo stick, fully turning heel in the process. At Tables, Ladders and Chairs(TLC), Rousey would cost both Flair and Lynch the Smackdown Women’s title when she pushed both women off a ladder in a TLC match, allowing Auska to capture the gold.

Lynch convinced WWE correspondent Finley to let her replace Lana in the 2019 women’s royal rumble after Lana was injured earlier in the night by Shinsuke Nakamura. Lynch eliminated Flair to win the rumble, and the next night on RAW she challenged Rousey at Wrestlemania.

After word broke that Lynch had injured her knee during the rumble match, Stephanie McMahon confronted Lynch on RAW, and said she must see a doctor in order to compete at Wrestlemania. Lynch refused, attacking McMahon, and she was suspended. Two weeks later, she apologized  to Stephanie, but Vince McMahon had a different idea. He replace Lynch in the Wrestlemania main event with Flair and suspended Lynch for 60 days.

Since then, Rousey has flipped a switch. Two weeks ago on RAW, after Mrs. McMahon refused to reinstate Lynch, Rousey laid the title at the feet of McMahon and walked out of the building. This past Monday, Stephanie, in the best interest of the WWE universe, announced this match for Sunday for the vacant title under the condition Lynch would sign a hold harmless agreement to make sure she would not sue WWE if she got injured again while competing.

Lynch would sign the agreement, but then Rousey stormed down to the ring and took her title back. Stephanie then made the announcement that if Lynch defeats Flair at Fastlane, she would be added to the Wrestlemania main event. After the announcement, Rousey turned heel, attacking both Lynch and Flair to end the show.

I do not think we have a clear winner in this match. This storyline has been done so well because you have the big face everybody loves in Lynch; the queen everybody dislikes in Flair; and the women who just does not care who she hits in Rousey.

This reminds me of the Daniel Bryan situation at Wrestlemania 30 where Bryan had to beat Triple H just to be inserted into the main event. I think something similar could happen here. Rousey probably interferes in the match, costing Lynch her spot, which she will earn back somehow, and allowing Rousey to do damage on Flair at the same time. If the WWE Championship does not main event, this will.

The Shield vs Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre, and Bobby Lashley(W/Lio Rush).

The Shield is back! After announcing he was fighting leukemia only five months ago, Roman Reigns will wrestle in a match! For me, I’m so happy Reigns’ back wrestling that I don’t even care that the Dean Ambrose heel turn is squashed.

They may still turn Ambrose heel on Reigns, setting up a Wrestlemania match between the two because nobody knows whether Ambrose is leaving in April or not, and Reigns would be the perfect opponent for Ambrose’s last match. However, the fact the Shield is back together gives me goosebumps, even if it is just for one night, so I will give them the win, considering this match was really made to give all six guys a spot on the show, and we’ll see what happens with this story down the road since Seth Rollins will be moving on to face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at Wrestlemania.

The Revival(C) vs Aleister Black and Ricochet vs Bobby Roode and Chad Gable. RAW Tag Team Championship.

This match has no build for me. The team division has been terrible overall for the last year, but especially on RAW. Since winning the titles from Gable and Roode, The Revival have not won a match, and they are not believable champions. Gable and Roode are not going to win the titles back, so I do believe Black and Ricochet walk out of the Q with the belts to make the titles worth something again, and hopefully we get a fresh feud going into Wrestlemania.

The Usos(C) vs Shane McMahon and The Miz. Smackdown Tag Team Championship.

At Elimination Chamber, the Miz cost the duo the tag team championship against the Usos after Shane laid his body on the line for the team. I suspect in Miz’s hometown of Cleveland, Miz will take the fall again, but after the match he will turn on Shane with his dad sitting in the front row. Remember, Miz demanded McMahon to team with him not only because they were “the best in the world”, but because Miz’s dad admired McMahon growing up. How perfect would it be if Miz’s dad was there watching his son turn on his favorite wrestler as a child to set up a Wrestlemania encounter?

Auska(C) vs Mandy Rose(W/Sonya Deville). Smackdown Women’s Championship.

The most entertaining part of this match Sunday will be Corey Graves and Byron Saxton fighting over Rose while Tom Phillips tries to call the action. While WWE seems to be high on Rose’s future, now is not the time to put the strap on here. This match should be used as a test for Auska as she heads to Wrestlemania, and it might also be used to set up a Sonya Deville heel turn and a match between the team of Fire And Desire at Wrestlemania.

Boss And Hug Connection(C) vs Tamina and Nia Jax. WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship

Over the last few months, Jax and Tamina have been booked as a dominant heel team on RAW, but the champs have been booked to overcome all obstacles as best friends. Sasha Banks and Bayley have not been the greatest champions so far, but that is because WWE is not focusing as much on the Women’s Tag titles as they should be at the moment. Bayley defeated Jax on RAW two weeks ago which did not make any sense.

WWE needed to build this match more than just two singles matches over the last two weeks. This seems like a filler feud for the Boss And Hug Connection before they move on to bigger things, so I think they will walk out of Fastlane as the champs with a clean finish.

While some results on this card are predictable, all the matches should be decent for the most part, and I expect a better PPV than Elimination Chamber. When WWE announced that Fastlane was happening this close to Wrestlemania, I was skeptical, but the build has been decent for a B PPV.