WWE Fastlane 2016 Review

By Kevin Schroeder
- Tweet
- Pin It
Updated: February 22, 2016

Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks defeated Naomi and Tamina

Becky and Sasha got the upper hand early. The match ended up outside the ring. Becky went to the top rope to do something and Naomi hit a stunner and Becky landed on the top rope. Becky beat the ten count and then the heels got the heat on Becky. The crowd chanted “We want Sasha” not very loudly. Becky got to the corner for the hot tag, but Naomi pulled Sasha off the apron before Becky could tag her. Tamina threw Becky out of the ring and Becky missed the rope on the way out, so that fall looked like it hurt. Becky eventually made the hot tag.. Sasha ran wild on Naomi. Sasha went for the Banks Statement, but Tamina pulled her out of the ring. Sasha went to get back in the ring, but Naomi hit her with her butt, because nothing says “take us seriously” like that move. Tamina hit a superkick on Sasha, but Becky broke up the fall.

Finish: Sasha locked Tamina in the Banks Statement. Naomi tried to break it up, but Becky caught her in the Disarmher. Tamina tapped out.

Solid opener. Becky and Sasha were both great. Naomi was fine. Tamina brought nothing to this.

★★★

Kevin Owens defeated Dolph Ziggler to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship

Owens got the heat on Ziggler for a long time. Ziggler made a brief comeback, but was cut off by Owens. Owens then got the heat on him some more. Ziggler tried to make another comeback, but it had pretty much the same result. Owens tried to splash Ziggler in the corner, but Ziggler moved and Owens flew out of the ring. Once he made it back in, Dolph got the upper hand. Dolph hit four elbow drops for a near fall. Dolph went for a DDT, but Owens caught him and dropped him on the ropes, then hit a cannonball in the corner. He went for the pin, but Ziggler kicked out. Owens went for the Pop-up Powerbomb, but Dolph countered into a DDT. Dolph went for a superplex, but Owens hit a fisherman buster suplex. The two men rolled outside, where Ziggler hit a superkick. Ziggler and Owens made it back into the ring, where Dolph went for the Zig-zag. Owens countered and hit a superkick of his own. Dolph got up and hit another superkick for a near-fall. JBL called it a superkick party, He should be hearing from the Young Bucks’ lawyer pretty soon. That’s gimmick infringement, Bradshaw. Owens attempted a powerbomb on the outside, but Ziggler countered into a huricanrana into the steps. Ziggler hit a Famouser (I’m guessing that’s the PG way to spell that move) for a near-fall.

Finish: Dolph went for a superkick, but Owens moved, kicked him in the midsection and hit the Pop-up Powerbomb for the win.

After the match, Owens taunted Michael Cole, because Kevin Owens is the man. This was a great match. Owens and Ziggler both brought it.

★★★★½

Big Show, Ryback, and Kane defeated The Wyatt Family (Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, and Braun Strowman w/ Bray Wyatt)

The faces got the upper hand on Rowan for a bit, then Rowan came back and tagged in Harper, who appeared to have washed his tank top. He beat up Ryback for a bit and then tagged in Strowman who did likewise. Rowan came back in and Ryback made a comeback, hit a suplex on Rowan, and then tagged in Kane, who ran wild on Rowan. Kane went for a chokeslam, but Harper distracted him. Rowan rolled out of the ring. Kane attacked both other members of the Wyatt Family upon exiting the ring to retrieve Rowan, but in the time he spent doing that, Rowan recovered and turned the tables on Kane. The other two members of the Wyatt Family would get the heat on him. Strrowman went for a big boot in the corner on Kane, but Kane moved and Strowman flew out of the ring. Rowan threw Strowman back in the ring and Strowman tagged in Harper. Kane tagged in Ryback. Ryback ran wild on Harper. Ryback hit a bunch of bodyslams on Harper. Ryback went for the pin, but Rowan broke it up. Rowan and Strowman got dumped out of the ring. Big Show threw Harper onto them,

Finish: Harper made it back into the ring. Ryback hit a clothesline and was going to go for the pin, but Bray distracted him. Harper rolled Ryback up for a near-fall, then hit a superkick. Harper was setting up for a powerbomb, but Kane took out Bray, which distracted Harper. It would have been nice if the cameras had shown Kane taking out Bray, because watching the show live, it looked like Harper was just standing there like an idiot. In any case, Ryback countered and hit one of the worst-looking Shell Shocked I’ve ever seen for the win.

This sucked. Everything about it sucked. The three goofballs they teamed up to fight the Wyatts sucked. The Wyatts jobbing to said goofballs sucked. Braun Strowman still kinda sucks. Whoever booked this match sucks.

-★¼

Charlotte defeated Brie Bella to retain the WWE Divas Championship

The match went back-and-forth early. Brie did Bryan and Nikki’s moves. The three numbskulls at ringside talked about everything but the match in front of them. Charlotte got the heat on Brie. Brie made a comeback, but Charlotte cut her off. Charlotte got the heat on Brie some more, then taunted her with the Yes chant. Brie made a comeback, then went into Brie mode, whatever that is, hit two running knees and then a clothesline for a near-fall. Charlotte hit a few chops. Brie Rolled Charlotte up for a near-fall. Charlotte hit a kick to Brie’s face. Charlotte went for the Figure Eight, but Brie countered and then hit a dropkick that knocked Charlotte out of the ring. The match made it back into the ring, where Brie hit a dropkick off the top rope, but hurt her left leg in the process. Brie hit a few “Yes kicks,” then faceplanted Charlotte for a near-fall.

Finish: Charlotte went for the Figure Eight, but Brie countered into the Yes lock. Flair tried to interfere, but the ref stopped him. Brie turned it into a half crab. Charlotte countered, sending Brie into the ropes. Charlotte then locked in the Figure Eight and Brie tapped out.

This sucked, too. Everything but Charlotte winning, at least.

-½

AJ Styles defeated Chris Jericho

The match went back-and-forth early. There were dueling chants of “AJ Styles” and “Y2J”. Eventually. Jericho got the upper hand and got the heat on AJ. Jericho hit a crossbody off the top rope for a near-fall. JBL acted like AJ made his name in Japan. They are now going out of their way to ignore TNA and it’s making them look ridiculous. Cole called AJ “an extremely physical competitor.” Someone should tell him that wrestling, by nature, is physical. AJ made a comeback and went for the Styles Clash, Jericho tried to counter into the Walls of Jericho, but AJ countered that. Jericho hit a Lionsault for a near-fall, then got the heat on AJ some more. I think the Three Stooges were trying to use the word “impact” as much as possible. AJ went for a Frankensteiner, but Jericho countered into the Walls of Jericho. AJ was able to get to the ropes. Jericho threw AJ into the barricade. Jericho put AJ into the Lion Tamer on the outside. AJ made it back into the ring at the count of 9, but Jericho hit the Codebreaker as AJ was coming back into the ring. Jericho went for the pin, but AJ was near the ropes and stuck his arm under the bottom one. AJ hit the Styles Clash, but Jericho kicked out at two. In Japan, that move was devastating. Way to go, WWE. You idiots.

Finish: AJ put Jericho in the Calf Crusher and Jericho tapped out.

After the match, Jericho, who I began to notice, looked a lot like Gordon Ramsay, threatened to attack AJ, but ended up shaking his hand instead. This was great at times and at other times, it should have been better than it was. Jericho kicking out of the Styles Clash and then tapping out literally seconds later was completely idiotic.

★★★¼

Curtis Axel defeated R-Truth

The match started out back-and-forth but eventually Axel took control. The other 3 Social Jobbers helped Axel. Goldust came out to even the odds a bit, but he wasn’t enough.

Finish: Goldust threw Adam Rose into the ring, R-Truth had to jump over him, and Axel rolled Truth up and pinned him after the distraction.

This was a Raw match, and not a very good one at that. They couldn’t have let New Day and Edge and Christian go longer?

★

Roman Reigns defeated Dean Ambrose and Brock Lesnar in a Triple Threat Match to become the #1 contender to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

First of all, I’m extremely disappointed that Brock Lesnar didn’t cut a promo saying Samoan Joe has an 8 1/3% chance of winning at Fastlane. Yes, I know he has Paul Heyman to do his talking for him, but come on, that would have been awesome. On to the actual match now. Add Cleveland to the list of cities that hates Roman Reigns. Lesnar started out by attacking both men. Lesnar dominated. Lesnar hit an F5 on Reigns, but Ambrose broke up the fall. Lesnar responded by beating the crap out of Ambrose. Lesnar went for an F5 on Ambrose, but Reigns speared him. Reigns hit a Superman punch on Lesnar but Lesnar rolled out of the ring. Lesnar went for an F5 on Reigns onto an announce table, but Ambrose hit a low blow on Lesnar. Reigns and Ambrose double powerbombed Lesnar through an announce table. Ambrose threw Reigns into the steps. Ambrose threw Reigns back into the ring and ran wild on him. Ambrose hit a clothesline off the top for a near-fall. Ambrose and Reigns traded shots for a minute as Lesnar began to stir on the outside. Ambrose and Reigns threw Lesnar into the barricade and then double powerbombed him through another announce table. Ambrose and Reigns then buried Lesnar under the wreckage of the tables. Reigns then took the fight to Ambrose. Reigns went for a spear, but Ambrose caught him with a knee. Reigns tried again, but Ambrose threw him into the ringpost, then hit Dirty Deeds. Reigns kicked out at 2. Ambrose went for Dirty Deeds again, but Reigns countered and set up for a Samoan drop. Lesnar made it back into the ring and hit a German suplex on the two men. Reigns caught Lesnar with a spear, but Lesnar caught Reigns in the kimura. Reigns got to his feet with Lesnar still having the hold locked in, but Ambrose entered the ring with a chair and beat both guys up with it.

Finish: Ambrose drove Lesnar out of the ring with the chair and was going to turn his attention back to Reigns when Reigns hit a spear and won. Seriously, that was it. Gotta make Reigns look strong. The crowd booed.

After the match, Triple H came out, stared down Reigns, and raised the belt over his head. The crowd booed some more.

So who didn’t see this coming? This company employs a ton of incredibly talented wrestlers and Triple H and Roman Reigns are main eventing WrestleMania. Awesome. The Wyatts didn’t cost Brock the match, which was kind of surprising, I guess, though I can see them not wanting it to look like Brock would have won were it not for the Wyatts. The match itself was just okay. What they did made sense, it was just kind of underwhelming.

★★★

Overall: Half of the matches were good-to-great, the other half were lousy-to-bad. Most of the show was pretty predictable. This was an okay show, but not a great one. ★★

Twitter: @KSchroeder2325

E-mail: schroeder.giig@gmail.com

wwe