WWE Fastlane - The best card in a long time

It is a card I cannot actually see any flaws in other than having no Lesnar. Every match has a reason to be there, and not just based on one last episode of Raw and Smackdown.

BNB v Ambrose for the IC Title

Usos v Kidd and Cesaro

Nikki v Paige

Ziggler, Rowan and Ryback vs Rollins, Kane and Show

Goldust v Stardust

Cena v Rusev

Reigns v Bryan

I feel like we may possibly see Cena/Rusev, Goldust/Stardust and Reigns and Bryan (with Lesnar thrown in) all at WrestleMania, plus the confrontation between Sting and HHH is bound to be done well. There's an outside possibility of Wyatt's promos reaching a crescendo, although Raw could be a possibility.

All in all, we've seen that with motivation (ie the free Network months) that WWE can get their s*** together when they want to

Looks good on paper. The only match I don't have any interest in is the six man tag, due to Show and Kane's involvement.

Seems they are actually upping their game for the free month, unlike Survivor Series. Should be a good PPV.

Anyone got a prediction for as to the match quality between Cena and Rusev? It could range from excellent to abysmal and nothing would shock me, really can't put my finger on it with these two

Match I'm most looking forward to is the Usos vs Catsaro, could be excellent if given time.

Agree the rest of the card looks decent, Bryan should give Reigns his best singles match to date, Rhodes boys are both talented though I doubt we see them at mania, I think this is to make space for Miz/Sandow being the tag break up match they'll run at mania, Ambrose/Barrett should be good and the 6 man is 2 3rds of a good match.

All in all I'm off on Monday so this should be worth a watch.

I am really intrigued by it. The result, the way they get to that finish, if the two put on a good match, if Rusev goes a decent stretch of time

I expect Rusev and Cena to end in a no contest with Rusev just going crazy. 

Can see a Randy Orton return. 

Hopefully reigns beats bryan clean.

The Miz not on the card. Good.

What an embarrassing character he is.
Also the New Day, shocking.

Really? Miz is probably putting in the best work of his career.

I think he's shocking.

Cant take him seriously.

I love Miz, but I even liked his face persona so I shouldn't comment.

I'm hoping Stardust wins, then Goldust puts his career on the line at Mania in his last attempt to get rid of the Stardust character.

Somehow it feels like WWE set the bar quite low for this PPV. Coming out of the Rumble there seemed to be very few plans, particularly with the whole Reigns / Bryan thing up in the air.

But, it feels like WWE have pulled together a good card. And one that does not feel like an episode of Raw on the Network. I'm even intrigued to how the HHH / Sting confrontation pans out.

I think what is going to be important is that WWE don't let WM feel like a reshash of this event. There are 3-4 matches that you could see possibly being nearly repeated and that means that I hope WWE does not spoil this PPV with too many silly finishes, or finds someway to make another repeat of these matches have added interest in a month's time.

Dolphin Ziggler wrote:I love Miz, but I even liked his face persona so I shouldn't comment.

I'm hoping Stardust wins, then Goldust puts his career on the line at Mania in his last attempt to get rid of the Stardust character.

I think this is the logical story for Stardust and Goldust to be fair, Cody wins dirty and gives Goldust the belief that he can beat him which would be the basis for him putting it all on the line at WrestleMania

Completely agree, although I worry we may get a few dirty or interrupted finishes with this, Rusev/Cena and a possibility on the divas and the main event.

Rusev should win clean, but I just cant commit to it. I wouldnt mind Cena winning, but it should be at Mania.

They need to drop the whole Stardust thing ASAP. It has no longevity, and you cant take him seriously as a main event level guy like you could with Cody Rhodes.

I'd agree if he didnt sell the gimmick so fantastically. His acting is so damn good, and there's no place for him to go just yet. I can't decide whether i'd rather he won at Mania and then comes to himself again as he sees his brother defeated, or if just not caring and beating him would be great heel work.

And don't think I don't rate Cody, cos I honestly believe he should be main event level as the clean cut babyface, but in this field of talent with the gimmicks they have I can't see them pushing him. Some will argue that as a Rhodes he wont get a push anyway, but you'd need someone more cynical than me to believe those things

I think they've only just scratched the surface with Cody as Stardust, I like the gimmick and its better simply because they have such a talented guy doing it, the blue print is already in place with how Goldust was used in 95-97 and I think if they go down the road as Stardust as a singles wrestler then they have so much potential to work with - you could get 18 months plus out of Stardust on his own before you start to see him struggling to ignore who he really is, then you have a whole new direction to go in.

Its just one that needs real time and effort. And the other thing is whether someone like that can then breakout to main event. Could Goldust, although nowhere near as talented as Cody, have gone back to being Dustin and gone main event? Or was Goldust too much to come back from?

I'm not sure, Dustin was a helluva in ring talent if possibly slightly bland pre Goldust but coming off the Goldust success I think he could have made the transition, the major problem was in the later part of 96 some of the best talent ever seen in the WWF/E began to hit their top form around and then it became a step to far, I don't necessarily class that as a criticism of Dustin Rhodes, not many guys could have stole the spotlight from Undertaker, Shawn, Austin, Rock, Mankind and even HHH in 1997.

I do think Cody could break that, even if it came through winning a MitB were he is then parachuted into that environment,  an avenue that wasn't as instantly available back in Goldusts heyday

Good point, he could certainly take that route and would undoubtedly be a great winner with his performance in the match. He's a bit unlucky, as is Ziggler, to have not been given any proper push to the main event yet in his career as the new breed, be it the Shield lot and Bray, or the NXT boys, may all get their way now.

Quite handy it is on SKY tbf, means I can easily flick between this and the cricket tonight.