WWE Fastlane Predictions
February 22, 2015
By: Mike Tedesco of Wrestleview.com
Who thought WWE Fastlane would have so many major implications for the WrestleMania main event? A month ago it seemed like it was Roman Reigns or bust for WWE, but now it’s completely different. The PPV that replaced Elimination Chamber has gone from being just the last show before WrestleMania to having major WrestleMania implications. I’m expecting this to be a decent show with the main event, Cena/Rusev, and the Triple H/Sting face-off. WWE’s track record lately hasn’t been stellar and it really doesn’t feel like WrestleMania is just a little over a month away, but they can really kick the build into high gear tonight and make the show really interesting.
Goldust vs. Stardust
Like I said in my RAW review, this feud isn’t WrestleMania caliber. The team of Gold and Stardust was hot when it was The Brotherhood. They were Tag Team Champions in 2013 and having unbelievable matches against The Shield and The Usos. Then they kind of just tailed off after losing the titles to the New Age Outlaws. They teased a breakup before Cody Rhodes became Stardust out of nowhere. To say that gimmick never took would be an understatement. It wasn’t like the team of Gold and Stardust was bringing down the house every night. If anything, most of the time it felt completely uninspired and desperate. They started off as faces, went heel out of nowhere, had a forgettable run with the Tag Team Titles, randomly went back to face, and then Stardust turned on Goldust. The turn happened six days ago and now they’re going to have a match tonight. I don’t know how much longer Goldust is going to go on with a full-time career. I’m expecting him to transition to a backstage producer role sooner than later. I’m not saying tonight is his last match, but it very well could be his last singles match on a WWE PPV. I see him putting over his younger brother.
Prediction: Stardust
WWE Divas Championship Match
Paige vs. Nikki Bella (c)
I’ll admit that I really have no idea what this feud is about and why they’re fighting. The commentators keep talking about The Bella Twins have been embarrassing Paige, but I just haven’t seen it. They spray tanned her once and stole her gear. Big deal. It’s a divas feud. In the end, does it really matter?
Prediction: Nikki Bella
WWE Tag Team Championships Match
Cesaro and Tyson Kidd vs. The Usos (c’s)
If they give this time, this match could be one of the big highlights of the show. I’ve really enjoyed the matches they’ve had heading into the show. In particular, there was a match between Jimmy Uso and Cesaro a few weeks back on RAW that was just fantastic. The only thing that I didn’t like about this feud was Natalya’s wooden delivery of her lines in that dinner date brawl. Cesaro and Tyson Kidd have taken a bad situation and made something out of it. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – Cesaro should be further ahead than he is right now. At least he’s still fighting by really making this tag team worth something.
Prediction: The Usos
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
Dean Ambrose vs. Bad News Barrett (c)
The reason they’re having this match is because Dean Ambrose was at WWE Headquarters and wanted his picture on the wall of Intercontinental Champions. That’s it. Ambrose wants the title so he can get his picture on the wall. That’s one of the more creative reasons for wanting a title I’ve heard in a while. Ambrose is a top-level guy going after a title that definitely needs some help in credibility. Long gone are the days of the Intercontinental Championship being a stepping-stone up to the main event. I think Ambrose will wind up winning because he hasn’t won a single PPV since The Shield broke up. You can’t just job a guy out with reckless abandon and expect him to stay over. Since becoming champion, Barrett has lost matches to guys like R-Truth and Sin Cara. It’s time to make a change. Hopefully they don’t job Ambrose out throughout his reign.
Prediction: Dean Ambrose
WWE United States Championship Match
John Cena vs. Rusev (c)
Aside from the main event, this is the match I’m most curious about. They mentioned when it was first booked that this was originally pegged for WrestleMania 31, and I still think it will be presented there as well. I think what we’re in for tonight is something that will build to the big show (not Paul Wight). Rusev and Lana have been taunting John Cena for getting older even though he doesn’t look it or act like it. They taunted him until he left Rusev lying unconscious this past Monday on RAW. I think we can expect to see a very aggressive Cena tonight. Maybe to play into the aspect where he’s getting older and maybe losing a step, he’ll be getting beat down for a good portion of the match. Then I think Cena will make a very aggressive comeback, and Rusev will intentionally get himself disqualified to save his streak of not being pinned and the title. I think that’ll get them to WrestleMania. I have to say, it is good for the United States Championship to have a guy like Cena fighting to get it. Even though it hasn’t been really mentioned at all in the buildup, the fact that the match is for the title is good for it.
Prediction: John Cena
Winner Faces Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31
Daniel Bryan vs. Roman Reigns
So far WWE has really bungled Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns heading into WrestleMania 31. It seems like everyone but the powers that be knew that it was a horrible idea to shove Reigns into the main event of WrestleMania by having him win the Royal Rumble. The guy simply isn’t ready for that level yet and no amount of forcing will get him there. Still, they had him win the Royal Rumble. The crowd turned on him, so it seems like they panicked and tried to right the ship by teasing Daniel Bryan being in the main event as well. The only problem is since they eliminated him like a chump in the Rumble, he hasn’t been anywhere near as over as when his music hit in Philadelphia. It’d be one thing if his elimination was in question, but he was cleanly eliminated in a “no muss, no fuss” kind of way. It just seems like they’re shoehorning him in to make nice, but it doesn’t have the same magic as it did last year. Combine diminishing crowd reactions for both guys and some bad storytelling with the two of them having been so easily duped by The Authority, and you’ve got a match that is seriously lacking steam so close to WrestleMania where one (most likely both) of these guys is going to be in the main event.
How do they save it? They have an incredible match tonight and make us forget the previous month of mediocrity. Even though this match is lacking serious heat going into it, I’m still curious about how it will go. I think WrestleMania will still end up being a triple threat match. The only way I could see that not happening is if Sheamus makes his return and attacks Daniel Bryan. I don’t know why I think that will happen. I just have a feeling. That was the match that was supposed to happen last year at WrestleMania. Sheamus needs a heel turn in the worst way. I could see him coming out in the main event and attacking Bryan. Then Reigns takes the cheap win and becomes a heel himself. They’ve been teasing that turn anyway, so this could be the way to do it. If Reigns comes out for the main event at WrestleMania, he’s going to be booed no matter what. Might as well have him as a heel for that. I could be wrong, but I just don’t see any possibility where Reigns isn’t in the main event.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Of course, that’s not all with this PPV. We’ll also see Triple H have a face-to-face confrontation with Sting where they’ll most likely set up their WrestleMania match for next month. It’ll be Sting’s first time talking since debuting in the WWE back in November. Well at least I hope he’ll be talking. If not, prepare yourself for a lot of long stare down sessions with Triple H and Sting.
As for my predictions record, I started off the year on a positive note. I’m not counting the incorrect prediction on The New Day vs. Cesaro, Tyson Kidd, and Adam Rose match since it didn’t technically happen the way they booked it. It went from a six-man elimination match to a standard two-on-two tag team match.
Predictions Record: 4-1
Well, those are my predictions for the show. What are yours? Do you agree? Disagree? Let me know!
E-Mail – MikeyT817@gmail.com
Twitter – @MikeTedescoWV
As always, Wrestleview.com will be providing excellent live coverage of the WWE Fastlane event. Live coverage by the great Adam Martin begins at 8 PM EST (7 PM CST) along with brief updates on Twitter.
Thanks for reading and enjoy the show!