Recap and Review of WWE Fastlane 2021

Tonight, was the final major stop on the Road to WrestleMania. It was the annual WWE Fastlane pay-per-view. Championships were decided, rivalries intensified, and lifelong friends collide. This show would shape what the biggest show would look like. Here is what went down at Fastlane.

-Riddle defeated Mustafa Ali to retain the United States Championship.
-Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler defeated Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair to retain the Women’s Tag Team Championships
-Big E defeated Apollo Crews to retain the Intercontinental Championship
-Braun Strowman defeated Elias
-Seth Rollins defeated Shinsuke Nakamura
-Drew McIntyre defeated Sheamus in a No Holds Barred
-Alexa Bliss defeated Randy Orton
-Roman Reigns defeated Daniel Bryan to retain the WWE Universal Championship

The Kickoff show feature Riddle defending the United States Championship against Mustafa Ali. What a great match between these two. This may have been Ali’s best match since he’s been on the main roster. I was extremely impressed that Riddle hit his finisher from the top rope for the win. The real story took place after the match when RETRIBUTION turned on Mustafa Ali. I’ve been waiting for this ever since the faction first started. I thought it was bad idea to strip Mia Yim and Dominik Dijakovic of their identities and have them be something completely different. Hopefully, they can get on the right path again.

Two WrestleMania opponents teamed up to challenge for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. I personally have not been a fan of the buildup between Sasha and Bianca, but now that they lost, we saw Sasha’s true colors tonight. I want to see the old Sasha Banks heading in WrestleMania and hopefully we get her. There seems to be a lot of tension between the Tag Team Champions headed into WrestleMania, so hopefully whoever challenges them can take advantage of that. I would love to see The Riott Squad, or Tamina and Natalya challenge for the championships. As for Banks and Belair, I think they have the capabilities of having the best match at WrestleMania.

One of the best stories that’s happened in recent months is the story between Big E and Apollo Crews. Apollo has done a 180 with his career and his personalities. They have been feuding for a while now and it started off friendly and respectful. It is anything but that now. The finish of the match was a little wonky, but they were able to save it with Apollo beating down Big E after the match. It seems clear that this is far from over and they will be facing each other again at WrestleMania. The grandest stage deserves of them all deserves a high profiled Intercontinental Championship match, and it looks we will get it.

Braun Strowman was originally supposed to faced Shane McMahon, but Shane had an “injury” earlier in the night. Instead, we got Strowman versus Elias. This was nothing special as it was just adding to the story of Strowman and McMahon. It’s safe to say that they will be facing each at WrestleMania. The match I was most excited for going into this show was Seth Rollins and Shinsuke Nakamura. Both are amazing performers, and this was a great way to showcase both men at their best. I am glad that they got the time they did to show their arsenal and their creativity. With Seth Rollins defeated Nakamura, you know that his sights are set on Cesaro. A Seth Rollins and Cesaro match at WrestleMania is something that the WWE Universe will get behind and it could be a show stealer. As for Nakamura, he had an interesting interaction with Riddle before his match. I would love to see Riddle vs. Nakamura for the United States Championship at WrestleMania.

Drew McIntyre has a date with Bobby Lashley for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania, but tonight he had to take on his friend Sheamus in a No Holds Barred Match. These two really love brutalizing each other every time they face each other. All good friends outside of the ring seem to have the best chemistry inside the ring. It’s been that way for as long as I can remember.  This match really could have gone either way, but in the end, McIntyre survived against his friend of twenty years and looks forward to his WWE Championship match against Bobby Lashley. I’m not sure what the future holds for Sheamus, but from where I sit, he earned a major spot on the WrestleMania card.

I wasn’t sure what they’re going to do with Alexa Bliss and Randy Orton, but it was sure intriguing. Orton didn’t get one bit of offense in, because Bliss had magic up her sleeve. She also had the advantage of The Fiend returning to throw Orton off his game. The Fiend returned with a new look, four months after he was set on fire at TLC. This is second is the second time that Orton and Wyatt are headed onto a collision course at WrestleMania. This time, the story is better and has built up for quite some time. It also is a continuation of their past story, which makes it even better. I’ll be curious to see Orton responds to Bliss and The Fiend’s mind games and torture.

The Main Event of the evening was between Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan for the WWE Universal Championship. Whoever wins the match would go onto to face Edge at WrestleMania.  Bryan acted noticeably confident during this match. Bryan used his submission skills while Reigns used his power in this match. The storytelling and chemistry in this match were exceptional. Bryan picked a part Roman for most of this match. I knew with Edge being at ringside there were going to be a lot of shenanigans and sure enough there were. Reigns retained the championship after Edge attacked both he and Bryan. We know for sure that it will be Edge versus Roman Reigns, but where does that leave Bryan? He did make Reigns tap out and had the match won until Edge’s temper got the better of him. We will have to wait and see what happens with Bryan until Friday Night on Smackdown.

Fastlane was what it was. I personally feel that there should only be one pay-per-view or none between Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. With the biggest show of the year only three weeks away, having a pay-per-view was overkill. I would love to see more buildup and epic moments happen on TV. I also wouldn’t mind seeing the return of Saturday Night’s Main Event now that WWE’s content will be featured on the Peacock streaming service. I have to give Fastlane a 6.5 out of 10. Even though the show helped build towards WrestleMania, I felt it was too predictable. Hopefully the next three weeks of television are epic going into the biggest weekend of the year.