WWE Fastlane aired live from the ThunderDome inside Tropicana Field. Roman Reigns put the Universal Championship on the line against Daniel Bryan tonight. Edge was the special guest ring enforcer for the match. During the Kickoff Show, Mustafa Ali lost to Riddle and failed to capture the United States Championship. After the match, the rest of the members of RETRIBUTION turned on him and left him behind.
Fastlane 2021 Results
- Riddle def. Mustafa Ali to retain the US Title (Kickoff Show)
- Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler def. Sasha Banks & Bianca Belair to retain the Women’s Tag Team Championships
- Big E def. Apollo Crews to retain the Intercontinental Championship
- Braun Strowman def. Elias
- Seth Rollins def. Shinsuke Nakamura
- Drew McIntyre def. Sheamus
- Alexa Bliss def. Randy Orton
- Roman Reigns def. Daniel Bryan to retain the Universal Championship
Here are the takeaways from the PPV:
Nia & Shayna Retained
Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler defended the Women’s Tag Team Championships against Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair in the first match of the night. Baszler controlled the action early and applied a submission hold to Belair in the middle of the ring.
Belair escaped to the corner and Sasha tagged in. Nia lifted her up for a Powerbomb but Belair broke it up with a Dropkick. Nia brought Belair to the corner and Shayna tagged in. Baszler stomped Belair down int he corner of the ring as Reginald watched on from ringside.
Sasha tagged in and planted Baszler with a Tornado DDT and booted Nia out of the ring. Belair tagged in and connected with an epic 450 Splash and went for the cover but Reginald hopped on the ring apron for the distraction. Sasha applied the Bank Statement but it was broken up after Nia shoved Bianca on top of Sasha. Sasha and Belair started arguing and Shayna capitalized with a roll-up for the pinfall victory. Banks and Belair argued after the match as well and Sasha slapped Belair in the face. Belair then pointed at the WRestleMania sign to end the segment.
Opinion: Wow, I cannot believe that Belair and Banks aren’t getting along weeks before their WrestleMania match. This was far too predictable and impossible to care about. I think the build has been a failure so far for the SmackDown Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania.
Banks and Belair should not be losing anything on the Road to WrestleMania. I don’t understand the thought process because this match should main event one of the nights of WrestleMania in my opinion. It still may but it has been booked like a match that would be on the Kickoff Show of Battlegrounds.
Big E Retained The IC Title
Big E defended the Intercontinental Championship against Apollo crews tonight at Fastlane. Big E dominated the action early and Speared Crews out of the ring. Back in the ring, Big E hit Crews with an overhead throw that sent the challenger flying across the ring.
Apollo battled back and connected with a Spinebuster followed up by a Frog Splash for a near fall. Crews rolled up Big E but the champ reversed and apparently won the match. It was unclear if Crews got his shoulders up. After the match, Crews beat Big E down and it appears that this feud will continue.
Braun Strowman def. Elais
Shane McMahon cowered out of his match against Braun Strowman and had Elias replace him. Strowman dominated the action early but got distracted by Jaxson Ryker. Elias capitalized with a DDT and then an Elbow Drop for a two count. Strowman quickly battled back and hit the Running Powerslam for the pinfall victory.
Seth Rollins def. Shinsuke Nakamura
Seth Rollins squared off against Shinsuke Nakamura tonight on the PPV. Shinsuke controlled the action early and Rollins rolled out of the ring to regroup. Rollins got back into the ring and Nakamura caught him with a kick to the midsection and sent him to the corner.
Rollins threw Nakamura out of the ring and connected with a knee to the face off the apron. The action returned to the ring and Rollins drove his knees into Nakamura’s ribs for a one count.
Rollins sent Nakamura to the turnbuckle and then connected with a Backbreaker for a two count. Rollins shouted that he was swung around 22 times by Cesaro and took his attention off Nakamura. Shinsuke locked in an Armbar and followed it up with a Baseball Slide Dropkick.
Nakamura kneed Rollins in the face and followed it up with a knee to the back of the neck. The action spilled out of the ring once again and Rollins drove Nakamura into the barricade. Back in the ring, Seth planted Nakamura with the Slingblade and went for the cover but Nakamura kicked out at two.
Shinsuke escaped the Buckle Bomb and caught Seth with a kick to the face. Nakamura followed it up with the sliding German Suplex and went for the Kinshasa but Seth caught him. Rollins hit the Buckle Bomb and followed it up with the Falcon Arrow for a two count.
Rollins went for the Stomp but Nakamura countered with the Landslide for a near fall. Nakamura connected with a reverse Exploder Suplex and went for the Kinshasa but Rollins blocked it. Seth hit Nakamura with a forearm to the back of the neck and then the Stomp for the pinfall victory.
Opinion: My goodness did this PPV need this match. There was nothing really special about it, Rollins and Nakamura just put on a solid wrestling match that they could do in their sleep. It was just a beautiful thing to behold after watching the first hour of Fastlane. Rollins will likely face Cesaro at WrestleMania and they are perfectly capable of stealing the show in a few weeks.
Drew McIntyre def. Sheamus
Drew McIntyre battled Sheamus in a No Holds Barred match tonight at WWE Fastlane. McIntyre dominated early and sent Sheamus out of the ring with a Clothesline. Sheamus grabbed a kendo stick from under the ring and tried to hit McIntyre but he ducked. McIntyre connected with a Suplex and then sent Sheamus into the steel steps.
Back in the ring, Sheamus hit McIntyre with the kendo stick a few times but Drew responded with a boot to the face. McIntyre then grabbed the kendo stick and looked at Sheamus as he stumbled to his feet. The Celtic Warrior charged at McIntyre but he hit him with a shot to the ribs and then a Russian Leg Sweep using the kendo stick.
McIntyre brutally shoved the kendo stick into Sheamus’ face and hit him across the back. Sheamus fell out of the ring and Drew followed him. Sheamus tripped up McIntyre and he fell onto the steel steps. Sheamus cleared off the announce table but McIntyre hopped up and sent Sheamus into the barricade.
Drew lit up Sheamus’ chest with come chops and went for a Suplex but Sheamus reversed it onto the concrete floor by the entrance ramp. McIntyre threw Sheamus through the barricade and onto some electrical equipment. McIntyre bought Sheamus ringside and hit him with a Suplex on the floor.
Sheamus hit McIntyre with a Brogue Kick that knocked him over the barricade. Sheamus followed it up with White Noise off the top of the barricade and through the table. McIntyre somehow was able to battle back and hit Sheamus with the Future Shock DDT and then the Claymore for the pinfall victory.
The Fiend Returned
Randy Orton was set to face Alexa Bliss tonight. Before the match, Orton spit up a bunch of black ooze. Alexa Bliss came to the ring with a slowed down and remixed version of the Firefly Fun House theme. Orton charged at Bliss but fire shot up from the turnbuckle. Orton charged again but Bliss got out of the way. Randy crashed into the ring post and fell to the floor outside the ring.
Orton followed Bliss but some lighting equipment crashed at his feet. Alexa laughed and made her way to the ring apron. Orton followed her and fire shot up. A hand then came up from under the ring and grabbed Orton’s leg. A badly burned version of The Fiend appeared and hit Orton with the Sister Abigail. Alexa then pinned Orton for the victory.
Edge Interfered In The Main Event
Roman Reigns put the Universal Championship on the line against Daniel Bryan in the main event of WWE Fastlane. Edge was ringside for the match as the special enforcer.
Reigns and Bryan went back and forth for several minutes to start off the match. Reigns dominated for a bit before Bryan sent Reigns to the outside. Bryan went for a Crossbody but the Universal Champion caught him with a Powerslam.
Back in the ring, Bryan connected with a knee to the face and made his way to the ro rope. Bryan connected with a knee strike to Reigns’ face and went for the cover but the Universal Championw as able to kick out at two.
Roman hit Bryan with a massive right hand and beat him down in the corner of the ring. Bryan was able to battle back and applied the Yes Lock in the middle of the ring. Roman fought through the pain and broke the hold with several punches to the face.
Daniel went for the Running Knee but Bryan accidentally hit the referee. Reigns hit Bryan with a Spear and Edge got into the ring to make the cover. Bryan kicked out at two and Reigns started trash talking with Edge.
Bryan capitalized and applied the Triangle in the middle of the ring. Roman tried to break free but Bryan quickly got Reins in the Yes Lock. Jey Uso rushed the ring and hit Edge and Daniel with a Superkick. Jey brought a steel chair into the ring and threw Edge into the ring post. Bryan leveled Jey with a Running Knee and grabbed the steel chair.
Daniel hit Jey several times with the steel chair and Uso rolled out of the ring. Bryan tried to hit Reigns with the chair but he ducked and accidentally hit Edge. Reigns went for the Spear but Bryan countered into the Yes Lock in the middle of the ring. Reigns tapped out but Edge didn’t see it. Edge then beat Roman and Bryan down with the steel chair. Edge left the ring after shouting “this is mine!”. Another referee rolled in the ring and Reigns covered Bryan to retain the Universal Championship.
Opinion: It sure looks like it will Bryan vs. Edge vs. Reigns at WrestleMania. I thought this match was excellent but the ending fell flat to me. That was the case with a lot of the matches tonight. Overall, Fastlane was a pretty forgettable PPV. A lot of this could have been accomplished on RAW or SmackDown. Bryan versus Reigns definitely lived up the hype though and is worth a watch if you missed it.
