WWE Fastlane Review - March 21, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Kickoff Show: United States Champion Riddle def. Mustafa Ali

If WWE was always going to do this match on the Fastlane Kickoff show, then they should held off on doing it on Raw this past week. Riddle beat Ali clean that night, so there was no need for a rematch aside from further teasing tension within RETRIBUTION. This was the third match these two have had in recent weeks, yet it once again wasn't as good as it had the potential to be. The best part about this was what came afterward with RETRIBUTION walking out on and attacking Ali. It's about damn time. Now let's hope they can still salvage their careers.

WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax def. SmackDown Women's Champion Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair

There was no reason for this match to happen since we already got it at Elimination Chamber last month. It was well-wrestled albeit completely forgettable. The only purpose of this match was to drive a wedge between Belair and Banks, but surely WWE could have found another way to accomplish that. Banks getting pinned yet again was unnecessary. At least her slap to Belair afterward looked great.

Intercontinental Champion Big E def. Apollo Crews

This was one of the matches I was looking forward to most going into this show, and unfortunately, it underwhelmed. What we got from them was decent, but it was way too short and the finish came off terribly. Seriously, who signed off on that? Crews attacking Big E post-match obviously indicates that the feud isn't over yet and that's a positive, but Crews continuing to lose isn't going to help his credibility at all.

Braun Strowman def. Elias

Strowman was originally announced as facing Shane McMahon on this show until the advertising was pulled, which was when you knew they weren't going to do it. Why even bother announcing it for Fastlane in the first place if they were always going to save it for WrestleMania 37? Strowman vs. Elias was a total joke, but at least it didn't overstay its welcome and was thankfully kept on the shorter side.

Seth Rollins def. Shinsuke Nakamura

It's hard for two athletes the caliber of Rollins and Nakamura to have a bad match together, so unsurprisingly, this was a quality contest. It never reached that next gear and I honestly wouldn't recommend going out of your way to watch it if you missed it, but the action was entertaining. Nakamura losing was never in doubt as Rollins prepares to take on Cesaro at WrestleMania. I'm stoked Cesaro is getting the singles spotlight at The Show of Shows this year.

Drew McIntyre def. Sheamus in a No Holds Barred Match

This match would have meant more had WWE not already done it twice on Raw earlier this month. That said, it was a war and a damn fun one at that. The stipulation helped a lot as they took their fight all over the arena and beat the holy hell out of each other. If McIntyre was always going to win, then they might as well have put McIntyre's WWE Championship shot at WrestleMania on the line. I really hope Sheamus can still be involved in something meaningful coming out of this feud because he's done excellent work in the ring over the last six months or so.

Alexa Bliss def. Randy Orton

This was never going to be anything but an angle, so I can't say I was disappointed by what they did here. I've made it known that I haven't hated this storyline as much as most people, though I have been waiting for The Fiend to return because it started to drag weeks (if not months) ago. Thankfully, that was what happened here. After a series of shenanigans, The Fiend finally returned sporting a new look. Personally, I thought it was cool as hell. It's way better than if he came back looking like he wasn't burned alive three months ago. Fingers crossed they take the cinematic approach with their WrestleMania match because it might be a disaster if they don't. It could be a disaster regardless, but it's less likely if it's not in the ring. The editing tricks won't be an option now that fans will be back in attendance.

Roman Reigns def. Daniel Bryan (Edge Served as Special Outsider Enforcer)

You had to know Edge was going to interfere at some point, but that didn't take away from the excellence that preceded it. I was glad he was barely shown on camera until those final few minutes and that the focus was largely on what was going on in the ring. Reigns and Bryan had the tremendous chemistry I knew they would and Bryan even came close to capturing the championship on a few occasions. Reigns retaining was the expected outcome, but that was necessary with WrestleMania in three weeks. Edge's involvement was interesting in that he exhibited heel tendencies when he attacked both men with the chair. Needless to say, a Triple Threat at 'Mania is virtually guaranteed.

Overall Show

This isn't anything I haven't mentioned before, but Fastlane (and even Elimination Chamber to an extent) is a completely pointless pay-per-view. Most of these matches could have easily occurred on Raw or SmackDown or not occurred at all. The undercard was mediocre, but McIntyre vs. Sheamus and Reigns vs. Bryan made the show worthwhile and carried it into middle-of-the-road territory. The WrestleMania card still needs plenty of work, but at least we have a general idea of where they're going on both brands.