Rasslin’ Roundtable: 2016 WWE Fastlane

OFFICIAL MATCH CARD:

2 Out of 3 Falls for the United States Championship:

Kalisto (c) vs Alberto Del Rio

Becky Lynch & Sasha Banks vs Naomi & Tamina

The Wyatt Family vs Kane, Ryback and The Big Show

Divas Championship Match:

Charlotte w/Ric Flair (c) vs Brie Bella

Intercontinental Championship Match:

Kevin Owens (c) vs Dolph Ziggler

Chris Jericho vs AJ Styles

#1 Contender’s Triple Threat Match for a WWE Championship Match at WrestleMania 32:

Dean Ambrose vs Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar

2 Out of 3 Falls for the United States Championship:

Kalisto (c) vs Alberto Del Rio

Pat Metalhead: Wasn’t really impressed by their previous matches, I’m not expecting to be impressed by this one either, stipulation notwithstanding. Especially since it’s kind of obvious ADR will regain the title since Sin Cara is back in action. That Kalisto title run has been quite pointless if you ask me…

Winner: Alberto Del Rio

Joseph O’Brien: I was disappointed that what seemed to be their “blow-off” match at the Royal Rumble was by far the worst of their series but it appears they have a chance to redeem themselves here. I’m not going to go on about Del Rio again but I do hope this finally signals the end of this feud and Kalisto can keep entertaining on RAW.

Winner: Kalisto

James Wright: I really hope Kalisto wins here, not just because it will help to build a new star but because I am already sick of this rivalry. The US title already had Cena try to raise its standing through having solid matches, although that became more about the man than the title, so now lets see it be featured in a number of solid rivalries. Del Rio was fine to begin with but since they can’t seem to move on from the very start where Del Rio was underestimating Kalisto and was upset because of it they need someone new to add a different angle into the mix. My suggestion would be Kevin Owens, although probably not until after WrestleMania where his one prize isn’t enough/he wants to prove he is the better champion. It’s possible the WWE will once again yank the title away from Kalisto and put it on Del Rio just because, but you really hope they wouldn’t do that again as it would kill any momentum that the guy has garnered since becoming champion, for the second time. I’ll try not to be so pessimistic.

Winner: Kalisto

Michael McMonigle: I am guessing they give the belt back to Del Rio here, since they don’t seem to have any plan in place for Kalisto (or for Del Rio for that matter, but I am sure they are paying him more). Del Rio wins the first fall with his stupid finisher. Kalisto survives for 10-15 minutes after that, getting his hope spots and lucha flippy offense in and gets the second pinfall with his much better finisher. Almost immediately afterwards, though, Del Rio, rolls up Kalisto and holds on to the tights to win the third fall and the reclaim the belt. After the match, Sami Zayn comes out to challenge Del Rio for the title and set up a new feud.

Winner: Alberto Del Rio

Kate Hartford: These matches are tough for me to predict.  A lot of these matches could go either way, including the US Title Match.  My feelings on this match are about the same as their match during the Royal Rumble – both wrestlers are deserving of the title, but either way, can we imagine an interesting title reign for either one of them?  We’ve seen more of Kalisto as the US Champion, which hasn’t been much (but should we be surprised?).  And then again, another reign for Del Rio probably wouldn’t be much different.  We also have to consider that the League of Nations crew may not last much longer, due to Wade Barrett’s resignation from WWE, so that’s one less thing Del Rio will have going for him either way, regardless of whether or not he gets the title this Sunday.  However, if WWE wants to draw this feud out even more – which I can see them doing – Del Rio will get the title and that’s more heat on him from the fans.

Winners: Alberto Del Rio

Brittney Soban: I am glad this will be 2 out of 3 falls as this will do two things for this match. 1 – give the match more time as most 2 out of 3 matches are longer and therefore allowed to take up more time. 2- put the US title into more prominence. Any match with extra stipulations tends to draw the eye of the fans and therefore, improve the standing of all wrestlers (and titles) involved. This has been a good back and forth with Kalisto showing off his abilities in a way he normally wouldn’t have been allowed to. While I want to say Kalisto will win I feel the return of Sin Cara may hurt his career in the sense that he will be tied down to his tag partner once more. Due to that I think Del Rio will win and Kalisto will be put back in the tag team mix. I hope I’m wrong on this one. 

Winner: Alberto Del Rio

Sam Pacelli: A Mexican hates another Mexican and they’re going to have a fight. It’s like Saturday night in a San Diego parking lot. Kalisto is a bundle of fun, but Del Rio hasn’t been the right guy for him to bounce off. Quite literally. Keep the strap on Kalisto, and give him an opponent who at least looks interested. Please and thank you.

Winner: Kalisto

Becky Lynch & Sasha Banks vs Naomi & Tamina

Pat Metalhead: At least they are smart enough to put their best female performers (not talking about you Team BAD, sorry) into a match this time. Sasha and Becky on the same team should be fun and they will probably be able to drag the other two to a decent match. If this is leads to a triple threat match at WM, then I’m all for it.

Winner Becky Lynch & Sasha Banks

Joseph O’Brien: If the WWE knew Becky/Sasha/Charlotte would still be this popular months after their main roster debut, I give them a sh-t ton of credit. What seemed be a given with Charlotte versus Sasha headlining the Divas Division at WrestleMania now seems to be in doubt with how well Becky Lynch has gotten over as a babyface. Sure the safe bet is still Banks/Charlotte but the fact that Becky hasn’t lost cleanly to the reigning Diva’s Champion leaves room for her inclusion at WrestleMania. Look for Becky & Banks to build some momentum here, only to turn on one another after the win.

Winners: Becky Lynch & Sasha Banks

James Wright: While the Divas Revolution started off kind of shaky I have to admit that as the groups have splintered off from each other and the new characters have started to develop and diversify, the divas division really is changing for the better. Sure this might not have been what the WWE envisioned when they debuted these teams, but it seems to have worked out anyway. Naomi and Tamina as a team before the debut of the three new divas were basically pointless, whereas now they kind of seem like badasses and could play a much bigger role in the division going forward. Despite this I can’t see the team of Becky and Sasha not coming out on top, I just hope that they get the time to put on a decent tag match.

Winners: Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks

Darren Paltrowitz: I suspect that this is just an attempt at building Sasha Banks for a big WrestleMania match against Charlotte.

Winners: Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks

Michael McMonigle: Lynch and Banks win the match with some surprising teamwork. Naomi is showcased for a large portion of the match, while Tamina looks like she is about to be “future endeavored.” Post-match, Lynch and Banks argue about who should go on to face Charlotte at WrestleMania, leading to a best of 5 series of matches in the following weeks on Raw and Smackdown, each being 4+ stars in quality. (Hey, I can dream, can’t I?)

Winners: Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks

Kate Hartford: Becky and Sasha have got to win this.  It would make zero sense and would cancel out of the awesome build-up that those two have been given and deserve.  Becky is especially crucial.  While I like Tamina and Naomi, Sasha and Becky have more going for them at the moment.  You can’t just leave them on the sidelines.

Winners: Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks

Widro: Its cool that WWE has two strong women’s angles at the same time! I think miscommunication leads to Team B.A.D. winning.

The Wyatt Family vs Kane, Ryback and The Big Show

Pat Metalhead: Do I even have to comment this one? Better yet, does this mean we will REALLY get The Big Show vs Braun Strowman at WrestleMania? I actually thought they were trolling us with that one. Silly me…

Winners: Who cares? OK, OK Wyatts

Joseph O’Brien: Talk about a WrestleMania placeholder! I do believe that if Brock Lesnar wasn’t involved in the main event then The Wyatts would have had this event off. This is purely a momentum builder for when they (Bray Wyatt) take on the ultimate Beast in Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania. I just hope this match doesn’t go unnecessarily long.

Winners: The Wyatt Family

James Wright: This is a match I care very little about. The only use of this match is to build the Wyatts up before they take on Lesnar leading up to WrestleMania. However if you remember general Wyatt/WWE booking then they will probably lose here and go on to attack Brock anyway, despite looking really weak against three guys who a win won’t serve in any way. Again I will choose optimism, but I worry about the potential the WWE has to screw this PPV up completely.

Winners: The Wyatt Family

Michael McMonigle: Why would this match even be on the card unless the Wyatts were going to go over? And go over huge? This is the last big moment too push the Wyatt Family as monsters going into WrestleMania, so I am pretty sure that’s what they plan to do. However, what the Wyatts do after this, and for WrestleMania, who knows. And does anyone really care about Ryback, Big Show, or Kane anymore?

Winners: The Wyatts

Kate Hartford: The Wyatt Family wins.  It’s likely one or all of them will head to WrestleMania for something involving Brock Lesnar.

Winners: The Wyatts

Brittney Soban: The Wyatt family is trying to get back in the spotlight. Ryback, Big Show and Kane are usually footnotes as two out of the three are veterans nearing closer and closer to retirement. At this point I think that Ryback, Big Show and Kane will be defeated just so the Wyatt family can be more impressive. This feud will go nowhere, in my opinion.

Winners: The Wyatts

Sam Pacelli: We’ve traveled back to 2013. The Wyatts are doing the exact same thing, except they’ve got a jacked up Samwell Tarly in tow. Tedious.

Winners: The Wyatts? I don’t care.

Divas Championship Match:

Charlotte w/Ric Flair (c) vs Brie Bella

Pat Metalhead: I can only assume they want to capitalize on the Daniel Bryan sympathy wave with this one. And give Total divas some extra publicity. Other than that, I don’t even know why we are made to watch this. Nothing against Brie, don’t get me wrong, but the way she came into the title picture was, well, total nonsense. Which probably fits the Total Divas show quite well now that I think about it. Charlotte retains and that’s that.

Winner: Charlotte

Joseph O’Brien: If the finish to this match was ever in doubt, Brie Bella publicly acknowledging that she will be retiring this summer washed all of those doubts away.

Winner: Charlotte

James Wright: Here’s another case of potential pessimism where the WWE thinks, again, that somehow they can transfer the fans feelings for Daniel Bryan onto his wife Brie Bella and they might just actually put the title on her because of it. Doing this would kind of undervalue any progress they have made since the start of this Divas Revolution since it would make title changes arbitrary again, whereas at the moment they have been hard earned and contested, or at least its taken a damn long time to knock the champ off the mountain. As time goes on the details of these reigns will be forgotten and all that will remain will be the fact that AJ, then Nikki and now Charlotte were all long-reigning champions. Not to mention that if Charlotte can keep the belt here they can lead into a triple threat for the title at Mania between her, Sasha and Becky, which will be the divas equivalent to the Shield triple threat that many have been clamoring for. Again while I am worried about what the WWE Corporate machines are thinking, I’m hoping they will stick with Charlotte, at least for now.

Winner: Charlotte

Michael McMonigle: Charlotte wins this match because there is no real reason for Brie to win the match, or hold the belt, or be on my TV. Maybe we will finally find out what Brie Mode actually is? Nah, of course not. Charlotte wins in pretty dominating fashion, showcasing her as a strong champion going into WrestleMania. And let’s have Charlotte win via a gimmicked concussion injury angle on Brie, because WWE.

Winner: Charlotte

Kate Hartford: It was already leaked that Charlotte would be retaining the title at least until WrestleMania.  However, with all of the hype surrounding Daniel Bryan’s retirement and Brie Bella’s eventual leave from the company, I’m wondering if WWE will allow her one last title reign before she leaves – which really isn’t fair, and hopefully they acknowledge that.  But Brie was pushed as a face this past Monday night during the preview for the match, so I’m sure there are plenty of fans who’d like to see Brie earn the title one last time.  She also isn’t in the shadow if her twin sister like usual, so maybe it could be interesting for those who actually like the Bellas – but with Brie leaving soon and the overall poor booking across the board lately, is there really any point?  I suppose what could happen is that Brie wins the title but Charlotte earns a rematch, which wouldn’t terribly affect her title reign, but the margin of that happening seems small to me.

Winner: Charlotte

Brittney Soban: The fans are tired of Charlotte’s father Ric Flair being involved. He takes the spotlight away from his daughter and onto him which not only is pointless as he’s getting too old to be doing all of this but also a huge blemish on Charlotte’s reign as a valid champion. She went from being victorious and a fan favorite after winning the title from Nikki Bella to someone that some fans don’t really enjoy seeing as she is not allowed to be her own champion. I think, given the current situation with fans disappointment with how Charlotte’s heel turn is unfolding, and fan support for Brie Bella with  her husband retired and sister recovering from surgery that WWE will allow Brie to pick up the win for the “fell good moment” of the night.

Winner: Brie Bella

Sam Pacelli: How has this snuck on to the card? Brie wins a single match since the turn of the decade and is somehow in the title picture. With the increasingly impressive talent on the female roster, a match for Daniel Bryan’s wife to surf the wave of his retirement is predictably WWE. This could be a swan song for the younger Bella, allowing her to make the little hairy goat babies she so desperately craves.

Winner: Charlotte

Intercontinental Championship Match:

Kevin Owens (c) vs Dolph Ziggler

Pat Metalhead: This could have been interesting if WWE creative had given the IC title, or their mid-card scene in general , some more attention lately. Credit were credit is due, they did do a good job of getting the belt off Ambrose on RAW, without diminishing him, but I fail to see how this helps Owens. Mid-card feuds and belts for one who is arguably the best heel they’ve got? Sorry, don’t get it.

Winner: Kevin Owens

Joseph O’Brien: Listen, I like Dolph Ziggler, I really truly do. But he debuted 11 years ago now and has never truly been considered anything bigger than an upper mid-card/IC Champion wrestler. With his veteran status, explosive ability and charisma, I’d love to see him transition into a permanent tag team at this stage of his career. It’s time for him to try something new and let’s be honest, Kevin Owens’ star is on the rise right now and it’s not going to be Ziggler who halts that.

Winner: Kevin Owens

James Wright: This feud is sorely missing Dean Ambrose. Its not that Owens and Dolph can’t put together a decent program, its just that they aren’t being given the chance to imply any stakes beyond both men having big egos and being able to put on good matches, and that only goes so far. Before this triple threat match I though it was going to be a three-way rivalry with Ziggler, Owens and Dean, and while there is a great opportunity for Ambrose, if nothing comes of it then I kind of wish he was present here instead. No doubt we’ll get a great match from the two and I doubt Owens will lose since why put the title on him again in the first place, I just want more.

Winner: Kevin Owens

Michael McMonigle: Most likely the match of the night from a wrestling standpoint. But the number of people who still care about Ziggler at this point is dwindling. I am not sure Ziggler even cares if he wins or not anymore. On the plus side, Owens is still a breath of fresh air and forces every crowd to wake up when he shows up. Owens wins after reversing a Fameasser attempt into a pop-up powerbomb. I’d like to say he then storms into Triple H’s office and demands to be named the number one contender (setting up a match with Lesnar at WrestleMania), but I doubt that would happen.

Winner: Kevin Owens

Kate Hartford: An upset by Ziggler would be pretty cool, but even though I like both of these guys, we’ve seen this match quite a few times already, and I can’t say I expect it to be any different despite that the title is on the line.  I’d rather see Owens keep the title, anyway.

Winner: Kevin Owens

Brittney Soban: Both Ziggler and Owens know what this title means and know what it is to be a good IC champion. While Owens is a powerhouse and a great heel we have seen Ziggler alternate between a mid-card jobber status and a star of relevance over the last year. What this means is this match truly could go either way as each competitor has plenty of fan support and we know that this pair can put on a great match. It is hard to say who will come out on top but I have a feeling that WWE wants this feud to last until WrestleMania. To do that I think this could go two way 1. Owens wins after a tough battle. 2. Ziggler wins and is subsequently beat down by Owens post match, thus adding fuel to the fire. I’m more inclined to think that my second guess is the way WWE will go since they can’t make their mind up about anything lately, let alone who has a long title reign.

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

Sam Pacelli: We’ve seen this match about 2000 times on free TV. Both Owens and Ziggler are great workers and it’ll surely be enjoyable but they need something special to keep it interesting. They were right to move the title off Ambrose as he moves on up, but Owens’ win less than a week ago surely means he’ll retain. Unless there’s a Zayn run in that allows Ziggler to win. That. I want that. Which means it won’t happen.

Winner: Kevin Owens

Chris Jericho vs AJ Styles

Winner: AJ Styles

Joseph O’Brien: Please, PLEASE let this be better than their other matches. AJ Styles is making Jericho look straight up old in the ring & that is not the AJ/Y2J rivalry I wanted to see. That said, this feud has done a good job of getting Styles consistent, upper-card TV time and it should allow him to transition into something a little more entertaining leading up to WrestleMania. Wait… AJ Styles at WrestleMania? Damn…

Winner: AJ Styles

James Wright: This one Is hard to call because it really depends on where they are going afterwards. If the two are going into WrestleMania against each other you’d have to think that AJ will win so that Jericho can turn full heel and build towards a stipulation in a grudge match. However if they are parting ways at this point it might work ala Cena where AJ won the first and then loses the feud overall. While I don’t agree with this booking the WWE sure seems to like it. Again my hope is that the two will continue and the WWE actually sees something in Styles, so he is my pick here.

Winner: AJ Styles

Michael McMonigle: Jericho wins after the best match so far between the two competitors. After the match, Jericho finally decides to congratulate Styles and give him his blessing, but Styles plays the “poor loser” card and refuses to acknowledge Jericho is the better man. The feud continues until WrestleMania where Jericho is out with an “injury”, so he brings in someone else to teach Styles a lesson – Samoa Joe. And we get Samoa Joe versus AJ Styles at WrestleMania and everyone dies happy.

Winner: AJ Styles

Kate Hartford: I like seeing these two.  AJ definitely deserves to feud with someone like Jericho, and it’s going to establish even more for him.

Winner: AJ Styles

Brittney Soban: At this point in his career Jericho has become the great veteran who puts over younger stars. While he has pinned Styles after Styles’ debut match that left Jericho down for the three count it seems there is a decent rivalry forming here. My question isn’t so much who the winner be but will The Miz stick is nose in it as he’s been satellite involved in this angle lately. Whether or not the Miz gets involved I think the winner will be AJ Styles. Jericho puts over younger talent and, if he loses, they could continue the feud a bit longer (until WrestleMania perhaps). If Jericho wins it is much easier for Creative to put him back on the shelf. Styles will pick up the win, thus enraging Jericho and allowing this feud to continue a little bit longer.

Winner: AJ Styles

Sam Pacelli: We may have seen this a few times already this month, but they’ve clearly been holding back. This match will serve as a platform to finally unleash the Phenomenal One, as Jericho will put him over in what should be a quality bout. Can’t wait.

Winner: AJ Styles

#1 Contender’s Triple Threat Match for a WWE Championship Match at WrestleMania 32:

Dean Ambrose vs Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar

Pat Metalhead: I actually wonder why WWE creative hates Reigns this much. I mean why would they put him in such an impossible situation? You KNOW the crowd is gonna hate him here. Unless plans have changed, I still think they wanna go for HHH/Reigns and Wyatt/Lesnar at WM. Which means The Wyatts take out Lesnar while Reigns makes the BIG baby-face comeback, only to be boo-ed out of the building. Even more depressing is that, if they indeed go for this, it will leave the guy with the most momentum lately (Ambrose) dead in the water storyline-wise. I really hope I’m wrong here, but…

Winner: Roman Reigns

Joseph O’Brien: The GREAT thing about this match? People have stopped bitching about Triple H being WWE Champion! Now the only way we’re not getting Roman Reigns versus Triple H for the championship at WrestleMania is if the two of them pull some sort of Steve Austin/Vince McMahon WrestleMania 17 bull crap, which I can’t see happening. What I CAN see happening is Reigns FINALLY teasing his gray/heelish tendencies. Don’t misunderstand me, I don’t expect a Reigns heel turn but when Reigns shows flashes of being a heel (mouth bloody & laughing at Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31/destroying Triple H at TLC), that is when the crowd begins to respond fondly to him. I believe the WWE learned their lesson of the last year and aren’t afraid of turning Roman heel (especially with a red hot babyface Dean Ambrose) but I see them doing so either to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship or while he is already has the belt. Either way, the Wyatts destroy Lesnar & Reigns gets the win over Ambrose.

Winner: Roman Reigns

James Wright: This main event was so weirdly put together and yet it has the potential to be great and launch a new star in the WWE, or it could take things back to the way they were at the Royal Rumble two years ago. The ‘Reigns Problem’ is ever-present these days: as soon as the audience feel like they are being force-fed something they reject it. So while there have been some steps in redeeming the figure of Roman over the past few months, it could all be destroyed if he manages to win here in convincing baby-face fashion. He’ll head to WrestleMania masquerading as the people’s  choice but really be a corporate boy and ironically HHH will end up being the one cheered, despite being the biggest corporate boy  of them all. On the other hand if Reigns cheats to win you have the even more unlikely scenario of HHH being the baby-face in the match and frankly no-one wants to see that, as well as no-one really looking to see another match up between HHH and Brock Lesnar. Basically what I am saying is that WWE have booked themselves into a corner with HHH as champion where if Dean Ambrose doesn’t win it will be a lackluster main event at Mania, and the sad thing is that the WWE almost certainly see Ambrose as the only guy in the match not actually able to make the event anything but lackluster as he is ‘not the guy’, again pessimism. My optimistic booking is for Lesnar to F-5 both Ambrose and Reigns after the two have been attempting to take him out together all match, he stands tall, the lights go out. The Wyatts ambush Brock and take him away as the recovering Ambrose and Reigns look on, then out of nowhere Reigns low blows Ambrose, ala Ambrose did to Brock on Raw and tries to roll him up, only for Ambrose to kick out and hit Dirty Deeds for the win. That way you have Ambrose in the main event, pissed at the Authority who cost him the IC title but laughing in their face because now he is going to take the biggest prize they hold. What’s more you get a heel Reigns who has nothing to do with the Authority, who can then turn on the fans and vow to take out a fan favourite, giving him time to develop as a character and leave him open as a bad-ass renegade heel to face basically anyone on the roster. And Lesnar gets Wyatt, which is better than most of the alternatives at this point barring any surprise returns like Cesaro or Rollins.

Winner: Dean Ambrose

Michael McMonigle: Honestly, I have no idea. I still think we will get Reigns versus Triple H at WrestleMania, but not for the belt. Maybe that’s it then… Maybe Ambrose gets a fluke victory with a roll-up of Reigns after a Triple H distraction. But instead of waiting until WrestleMania, Ambrose challenges Triple H immediately. Triple H accepts. Reigns pretends to be mad at Ambrose, but lays out Triple H and Ambrose steals the victory and walks out with the WWE championship. That sets up Triple H and Reigns for WrestleMania in a grudge match, and Stephanie can book Lesnar versus Ambrose for the belt at WrestleMania as punishment for the swerve by the Ambrose and Reigns.

Winner: Dean Ambrose

Kate Hartford: This one is pretty tough for me.  If Ambrose wins, that would be pretty interesting, and he’s certainly deserving of it.  It would also make up for his loss of the IC Title.  However, I can’t picture Brock Lesnar absent from this sort of match at WrestleMania.  If he doesn’t win this one, then WWE either has something else planned for him or he’ll be in a match involving the Wyatts.  I can also see Roman Reigns getting the match, but that would be… Ugh, just no.  Unless something happens down the line in which he’s pushed as a top heel.  But if Brock Lesnar gets a match with Bray or whoever, then it would fall onto Roman – unfortunately.

Winner: Roman Reigns

Brittney Soban: This one I have debated on the most simply because there are so many variables to continue. Reigns is the “Chosen One”, Brock is the “Prize Fighter” and Ambrose is the “Wild Card”. At this point this match could go to anyone. Reigns could win because they have been shoving him down fans throats for so long and he was finally on the upswing with the fan base. Brock could win because, let’s face it, you don’t pay a man that much money and book him to lose all the time. Ambrose, recently without a title, could replace his lost IC title belt with the Championship and this win could get the most fan praise. In the end I’m sticking with my guy on this one because stranger things have happened. Maybe a foolish pick but the one I want to see.

Winner: Dean Ambrose

Sam Pacelli: So. Many. Possibilities. Will The Beast destroy his foes? Will they pull a curve ball and spring an Ambrose victory? Will there be a heel turn? Will Bray Wyatt drag Lesnar from the match? Will the brothers implode? Will Triple H get involved? This is what wrestling is all about. A ton of potential outcomes with a bunch of guys who can produce the goods. The only worry is that the fans will turn on Reigns…

Winner: Roman Reigns