RV F'N D
Main Eventer
Joined on: Mar 13, 2012 21:34:37 GMT -5
Posts: 4,046
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Post by RV F'N D on Mar 12, 2018 8:40:54 GMT -5
I was at the show, ended up grabbing sone pretty decent seats right in front of the pre-show desk at the last minute. It was great to see Styles stand tall at the end, him and Nakamura should be fantastic. I popped huge for Asuka,I really think her and Charlotte is the best possible womens match WWE has right now. Rusev Day chants were huge, and he had a lot of support even against Shinsuke, and Tye Dillinger was super over, too. The Natty/Carmella vs. Becky/Naomi tag match was surprisingly good. I hated seeing Roode drop the belt, but other than that and the lack of a clean finish to Usos/New Day I was happy with the results.
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@brit_figs
Main Eventer
WF 10 Year Member
Joined on: Sept 25, 2009 13:02:15 GMT -5
Posts: 3,729
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Post by @brit_figs on Mar 12, 2018 8:44:59 GMT -5
Roode held the title for like a month?!
Just bring James Storm in already.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Mar 12, 2018 8:58:19 GMT -5
KILL ASUKA KILL She should absolutely wreck Charlotte at Mania. Asuka is one of the smallest women on the entire roster - Charlotte should absolutely wipe the floor with her. That's why it's not believable for her to have gone undefeated for this long. But, Asuka's not undefeated because she's a monster. She's undefeated because she's booked as a killer. Remember Taz in ECW? He was a beast despite being small. She is booked like someone who is incredibly skilled. Also, Asuka as champion makes the Smackdown women's division somewhat interesting for the first time since like, 2016.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Mar 12, 2018 8:58:29 GMT -5
WWE Fastlane March 11th, 2018 | Nationwide Arena in Columbus Ohio | Attendance: 15,119
It’s no secret that Smackdown has been the weak point of WWE for a long time. After killing it in the back half of 2016, they died around WrestleMania last year. Randy Orton won the WWE Title and everything went downhill. The WWE Title picture was a drag, the US Title saw a string of disappointment matches and overbooking, while the Women’s Title was littered with dull ladies. At least the Tag Team division was fun. Anyway, it’s Smackdown’s final stop before WrestleMania. Can they end a drag of a year (Mania to Mania) on a high note?
Kickoff: Breezango and Tye Dillinger vs. Chad Gable, Mojo Rawley, and Shelton Benjamin I love the new Team Angle. This was a thrown together match that wasn’t announced until the Kickoff Show started. Tye, Mojo, and Breezango haven’t had much TV time lately. Luckily, they all brought energy here. When I watch a Kickoff match, all I expect is something fun, which is what we got here. Mojo was great at the character stuff. He played to the crowd and drew a lot of heat. There were some moments that didn’t fully click, but this ultimately worked. Tye got the win with the Tye Breaker on Mojo at 7:27. To me, this kind of felt like an NJPW undercard. It was a meaningless, but fun multi-man match. [**¾]
Rusev w/ Aiden English vs. Shinsuke Nakamura On this Rusev Day, the crowd was MOLTEN for both men. Aiden English basically rapped Rusev to the ring, which is worth about three stars on its own. I’ve harped on about the lack of effort Nakamura has put in since coming to the WWE (other than the Zayn match). He’s had some good ones against Cena, Balor, and Orton, but that’s about it. I guess with Mania around the corner, he’s bringing the effort. He and Rusev killed it here. It wasn’t just Nakamura working from behind, which isn’t his strong suit. It was evenly matched, with both guys having counters for almost everything the other threw at them. When Rusev stopped the Kinshasa with a Machka Kick, I nearly jumped out of my seat. Nakamura countering the Accolade and hitting a Kinshasa to the back of the head was excellent. He added another to win in 14:29. Easily the best Nakamura match in almost two years. Tons of great counters, Rusev being awesome, and the best Nakamura we’ve seen in a long time. [***¾]
WWE United States Championship: Bobby Roode [c] vs. Randy Orton I fully came into this match expecting to be put to sleep. That didn’t happen, but boy did they come close. Look, these are two wrestlers who are technically fine. They do their moves and do them well. But that’s not enough to put on a compelling contest. The pace was incredibly slow. I don’t mind that kind of pace at all, but these guys do everything in such a hollow manner, there was nothing behind it to get me interested in any way. Things got good near the end, but it was too little, too late. I’ll compare to NJPW again. I hate when their matches have a dreadfully slow start and only seem to matter late. That was this, only with a less interesting closing stretch. Orton won his first US Title with the RKO after 19:30 that felt like it went 35:30. Like I said, it was technically fine, but with no real heart. [**]
Post-match, Jinder Mahal came out for a brawl. He has been the saving grace of this feud. But man, this Triple Threat sounds nowhere near as interesting as Raw’s IC Title one for Mania.
Becky Lynch and Naomi vs. Carmella and Natalya Becky and Carmella looked incredible here. With that out of the way, we can focus on the match. It was your standard tag team match. The heels cut off a babyface (Naomi) from making the tag. Carmella and Natalya work as a team, because Nattie handles the technical side, while Carmella does the top notch character work. Becky’s hot tag run was good stuff. However, a Nattie distraction set her up to eat a superkick, giving Carmella a rare win in 8:53 It was a fine match, though something that didn’t really feel like it belonged on PPV. I could’ve seen this on any episode of Smackdown for the most part. [**¼]
WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship: The Usos [c] vs. The New Day w/ Big E These teams engaged in an incredible series of matches last year. Their high profile matches ranged from ***½ to ****¾. With Woods in over Big E, it reminded me of their great Battleground match. So, I came in saying it might be weird for them to have a normal tag after the war they had back in October. But, never count these guys out. They found a new way to put a spin on these matches. New Day did the Usos’ offense and the Usos busted out classic New Day stuff. What a brilliant way to keep things fresh. Just as the match was nearing a great level, the Bludgeon Brothers came out and attacked both teams for a double DQ after 8:57. That was really fun, though the finish kept it from being great. I get that it sets up another potential Triple Threat for Mania (one that should be all kinds of awesome) and it made sense, it just cut the match short. They hyped this up so well with the Smackdown promo and video package, only to have it set up something different. [***½]
WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship: Charlotte [c] vs. Ruby Riott Ruby Riott is the first interesting person involved in the Smackdown Women’s Title scene since WrestleMania 33. On my first watch, this match lacked a lot. A second viewing helped as I paid more attention. Ruby delivered here. She sold well, had some good looking offense, and did all the little things right. Her submission on Charlotte right in front of Becky and Naomi (who ran out after Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan appeared) was great, as was her use of the signature Flair chops. I appreciated the Riott Squad outsmarting Becky and Naomi by tricking them into getting ejected, only to get ejected themselves after. With it back to being one on one, Charlotte pulled off a SUPERMAN style power up and won with the Figure Eight in 13:44. The outcome was never in doubt, which hurt the drama. I also wasn’t a fan of the finishing stretch. However, Ruby was great and with a better opponent and a better laid out match, I think she can put on a banger. [**¾]
After the match, Asuka came out and officially declared she was coming for Charlotte and Smackdown Women’s Title at WrestleMania. It’s a big time match and one that really feels much more important than whatever the Raw Women’s Title match ends up being. I think it can be a great match, though I’m interested in how it gets laid out. Charlotte is at her best when she plays a dominant role, not someone fighting from behind, which is what she’ll probably be in this match. Either way, I’m cool with this.
WWE Championship Six Pack Challenge: AJ Styles [c] vs. Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. John Cena vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn Shane McMahon came to ringside for this. I honestly don’t know how anyone can cheer for him anymore. He’s been a horribly written character for a long time. Anyway, like most matches on the card, this had a predictable outcome, but they worked at such a torrid pace, it didn’t matter. You were engaged. Cena opened with four AAs on everyone but AJ, giving us a great start. From there, the match never slowed down. There were great elements of storytelling for the most part. Even the guys who weren’t directly involved in that (Baron and Dolph) still had good action moments. Owens and Zayn had a great moment where Sami went to lay down for him, only to roll him up. That set up one of their classic hockey style fights. I love it. Shane got superkicked by Owens after arguing with Sami. So, when Owens had the match won, Shane pulled the referee out. Then, Sami had it won, and Shane pulled him out. See? He’s awful. The closing stretch was wild and, after a barrage of stuff, Styles returned from taking an AA through a table to win with the Phenomenal Forearm on Ziggler at 21:52. Great main event. They managed to feature a ton of action without going too long and telling several stories. They established the Nakamura/Styles match, while also adding layers to other potential Mania matches. [****¼]
Overall: 7/10. Historically, Fastlane has been a drag of a PPV. 2015 had a great Reigns/Bryan match, but it mostly feels like filler. While most of this show had expected results, it was mostly fun. The Roode/Orton match was boring, while the women’s tag was okay, but everything else seemed to click. The Women’s Title was solid, the Tag Title was good, the Kickoff show was enjoyable, Rusev/Nakamura ruled, and the main event was great. Thumbs up.
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havoc7179
Main Eventer
What is this?
Joined on: Oct 16, 2012 9:11:18 GMT -5
Posts: 4,189
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Post by havoc7179 on Mar 12, 2018 9:40:00 GMT -5
WWE Fastlane March 11th, 2018 | Nationwide Arena in Columbus Ohio | Attendance: 15,119
It’s no secret that Smackdown has been the weak point of WWE for a long time. After killing it in the back half of 2016, they died around WrestleMania last year. Randy Orton won the WWE Title and everything went downhill. The WWE Title picture was a drag, the US Title saw a string of disappointment matches and overbooking, while the Women’s Title was littered with dull ladies. At least the Tag Team division was fun. Anyway, it’s Smackdown’s final stop before WrestleMania. Can they end a drag of a year (Mania to Mania) on a high note?
Kickoff: Breezango and Tye Dillinger vs. Chad Gable, Mojo Rawley, and Shelton Benjamin I love the new Team Angle. This was a thrown together match that wasn’t announced until the Kickoff Show started. Tye, Mojo, and Breezango haven’t had much TV time lately. Luckily, they all brought energy here. When I watch a Kickoff match, all I expect is something fun, which is what we got here. Mojo was great at the character stuff. He played to the crowd and drew a lot of heat. There were some moments that didn’t fully click, but this ultimately worked. Tye got the win with the Tye Breaker on Mojo at 7:27. To me, this kind of felt like an NJPW undercard. It was a meaningless, but fun multi-man match. [**¾]
Rusev w/ Aiden English vs. Shinsuke Nakamura On this Rusev Day, the crowd was MOLTEN for both men. Aiden English basically rapped Rusev to the ring, which is worth about three stars on its own. I’ve harped on about the lack of effort Nakamura has put in since coming to the WWE (other than the Zayn match). He’s had some good ones against Cena, Balor, and Orton, but that’s about it. I guess with Mania around the corner, he’s bringing the effort. He and Rusev killed it here. It wasn’t just Nakamura working from behind, which isn’t his strong suit. It was evenly matched, with both guys having counters for almost everything the other threw at them. When Rusev stopped the Kinshasa with a Machka Kick, I nearly jumped out of my seat. Nakamura countering the Accolade and hitting a Kinshasa to the back of the head was excellent. He added another to win in 14:29. Easily the best Nakamura match in almost two years. Tons of great counters, Rusev being awesome, and the best Nakamura we’ve seen in a long time. [***¾]
WWE United States Championship: Bobby Roode [c] vs. Randy Orton I fully came into this match expecting to be put to sleep. That didn’t happen, but boy did they come close. Look, these are two wrestlers who are technically fine. They do their moves and do them well. But that’s not enough to put on a compelling contest. The pace was incredibly slow. I don’t mind that kind of pace at all, but these guys do everything in such a hollow manner, there was nothing behind it to get me interested in any way. Things got good near the end, but it was too little, too late. I’ll compare to NJPW again. I hate when their matches have a dreadfully slow start and only seem to matter late. That was this, only with a less interesting closing stretch. Orton won his first US Title with the RKO after 19:30 that felt like it went 35:30. Like I said, it was technically fine, but with no real heart. [**]
Post-match, Jinder Mahal came out for a brawl. He has been the saving grace of this feud. But man, this Triple Threat sounds nowhere near as interesting as Raw’s IC Title one for Mania.
Becky Lynch and Naomi vs. Carmella and Natalya Becky and Carmella looked incredible here. With that out of the way, we can focus on the match. It was your standard tag team match. The heels cut off a babyface (Naomi) from making the tag. Carmella and Natalya work as a team, because Nattie handles the technical side, while Carmella does the top notch character work. Becky’s hot tag run was good stuff. However, a Nattie distraction set her up to eat a superkick, giving Carmella a rare win in 8:53 It was a fine match, though something that didn’t really feel like it belonged on PPV. I could’ve seen this on any episode of Smackdown for the most part. [**¼]
WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship: The Usos [c] vs. The New Day w/ Big E These teams engaged in an incredible series of matches last year. Their high profile matches ranged from ***½ to ****¾. With Woods in over Big E, it reminded me of their great Battleground match. So, I came in saying it might be weird for them to have a normal tag after the war they had back in October. But, never count these guys out. They found a new way to put a spin on these matches. New Day did the Usos’ offense and the Usos busted out classic New Day stuff. What a brilliant way to keep things fresh. Just as the match was nearing a great level, the Bludgeon Brothers came out and attacked both teams for a double DQ after 8:57. That was really fun, though the finish kept it from being great. I get that it sets up another potential Triple Threat for Mania (one that should be all kinds of awesome) and it made sense, it just cut the match short. They hyped this up so well with the Smackdown promo and video package, only to have it set up something different. [***½]
WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship: Charlotte [c] vs. Ruby Riott Ruby Riott is the first interesting person involved in the Smackdown Women’s Title scene since WrestleMania 33. On my first watch, this match lacked a lot. A second viewing helped as I paid more attention. Ruby delivered here. She sold well, had some good looking offense, and did all the little things right. Her submission on Charlotte right in front of Becky and Naomi (who ran out after Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan appeared) was great, as was her use of the signature Flair chops. I appreciated the Riott Squad outsmarting Becky and Naomi by tricking them into getting ejected, only to get ejected themselves after. With it back to being one on one, Charlotte pulled off a SUPERMAN style power up and won with the Figure Eight in 13:44. The outcome was never in doubt, which hurt the drama. I also wasn’t a fan of the finishing stretch. However, Ruby was great and with a better opponent and a better laid out match, I think she can put on a banger. [**¾]
After the match, Asuka came out and officially declared she was coming for Charlotte and Smackdown Women’s Title at WrestleMania. It’s a big time match and one that really feels much more important than whatever the Raw Women’s Title match ends up being. I think it can be a great match, though I’m interested in how it gets laid out. Charlotte is at her best when she plays a dominant role, not someone fighting from behind, which is what she’ll probably be in this match. Either way, I’m cool with this.
WWE Championship Six Pack Challenge: AJ Styles [c] vs. Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. John Cena vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn Shane McMahon came to ringside for this. I honestly don’t know how anyone can cheer for him anymore. He’s been a horribly written character for a long time. Anyway, like most matches on the card, this had a predictable outcome, but they worked at such a torrid pace, it didn’t matter. You were engaged. Cena opened with four AAs on everyone but AJ, giving us a great start. From there, the match never slowed down. There were great elements of storytelling for the most part. Even the guys who weren’t directly involved in that (Baron and Dolph) still had good action moments. Owens and Zayn had a great moment where Sami went to lay down for him, only to roll him up. That set up one of their classic hockey style fights. I love it. Shane got superkicked by Owens after arguing with Sami. So, when Owens had the match won, Shane pulled the referee out. Then, Sami had it won, and Shane pulled him out. See? He’s awful. The closing stretch was wild and, after a barrage of stuff, Styles returned from taking an AA through a table to win with the Phenomenal Forearm on Ziggler at 21:52. Great main event. They managed to feature a ton of action without going too long and telling several stories. They established the Nakamura/Styles match, while also adding layers to other potential Mania matches. [****¼]
Overall: 7/10. Historically, Fastlane has been a drag of a PPV. 2015 had a great Reigns/Bryan match, but it mostly feels like filler. While most of this show had expected results, it was mostly fun. The Roode/Orton match was boring, while the women’s tag was okay, but everything else seemed to click. The Women’s Title was solid, the Tag Title was good, the Kickoff show was enjoyable, Rusev/Nakamura ruled, and the main event was great. Thumbs up.Always enjoy your recap...but it was KO who took the pin. Why they didn't have Cena come up short was beyond me. AJ needed to pin Cena so he could kill the "dream" and get some retribution. Oh and the move isn't the Tye Breaker but the Perfect 10. The originalTye Breaker is the fireman carry into the neckbreacker. Because it looks like AJ Styles' Ushigoroshi it was changed to a fireman's carry swung into a standing facebreaker. Anyone else think its weird how the two Royal Rumble winners are going after SDL gold and how, with the exception of booking, they are the same eccentric charismatic kicking characters? You can literally say the same about the two "Wrestler comes out with some amazing entrance. Making weird gestures and dance moves during the entrance. Does some unorthodox moves and proceeds to kick the heck out of the opponent. Striking mixed with submission. Oh and the wrestler was born and previously wrestled in Japan."
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Post by J-MANN: Tag Team Champion on Mar 12, 2018 10:11:51 GMT -5
Bobby Roode as a baby face has been bad from the start. They should have just brought him in as the rich cocky guy he was in NXT. That guy with that gimmick could easily be the WWE Champion.
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Post by punksnotdead on Mar 12, 2018 10:40:49 GMT -5
Bobby Roode as a baby face has been bad from the start. They should have just brought him in as the rich cocky guy he was in NXT. That guy with that gimmick could easily be the WWE Champion. Seems like that's the turn we'll see over the next several weeks. Still though, other than a slow start, I thought the match was good with Orton. I thought Jinder would interfere before it was over but if it means Roode turning heel then so be it.
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Post by King Richius on Mar 12, 2018 11:04:46 GMT -5
The six pack challenge could have been much better, but it seemed like most of the participants were missing from it for to much of it at a time. I don't know what it is about the WWE and multi-man matches but I've never been much of a fan. They stick to the formula of two guys fighting while the others lay around the ring pretending to be "dazed and confused" until it is their turn. Are they afraid that if they have two fights going on at once, the fans heads will explode?
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Deleted
Joined on: Apr 23, 2024 14:58:22 GMT -5
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2018 11:29:23 GMT -5
AJ should have pinned Cena. That would’ve wrapped up Cena’s quest on Smackdown and made up for AJ losing three weeks ago. Pinning Owens seemed out of place after the most recent TV interactions, and it didn’t advance or resolve any story.
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Post by cordless2016 on Mar 12, 2018 12:49:26 GMT -5
Anyone else getting tired of seeing Becky eating pins for her teams? Whenever she’s in a tag team that’s booked to loose she almost always take the fall. She’s like the “Cesaro” of her teams. Based on pops and popularity Naomi should have eaten the pin last night.
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Post by TurboEddie on Mar 12, 2018 14:22:18 GMT -5
Decent pay-per-view, but I hate that Bobby Roode lost the U.S. Title so soon.
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Post by ahunter8056 on Mar 12, 2018 17:09:33 GMT -5
Honestly, Fastlane was far better than I expected it to be. My level of anticipation for Fastlane was so non-existent that I forgot it was even on. Because of the surprises, it made it well worth the watch. - Becky Lynch losing yet again is disgusting. She should be on top of the division, but hasn't been in over a year. And now that we know Asuka will be on top of the division for the foreseeable future, it's a guarantee that Becky will not be anywhere near the top, at least until they finally end Asuka's streak (which you'd expect to be at WrestleMania 35, but WWE have ended winning streaks at ridiculous moments in the past, as Charlotte's PPV winning streak ending at Fastlane 2017 perfectly illustrates). - Can't say I was pleased to see Orton take Roode's US title, but I'll wait to set how it all plays out at WrestleMania before passing judgement. I'm hoping Roode will win the title back, whether that's in a rematch on SmackDown Live or at WrestleMania 34. Hopefully this was just a quick title change just so Orton could add it to his list of accomplishments, like Cena tying Flair's World title record last year. - What the actual were those text/emoji graphics for New Day's entrance?! Holy crap! I'd read about them being used on SmackDown Live, but I can't believe they were out of touch enough to think they were acceptable for a PPV! Those graphics would look embarrassing in the 90s, let alone the late 2010s! Hopefully it's not long before they realise how pathetic they look, and discontinue them. - The Bludgeon Brothers' attack on New Day and Usos was awesome! The level of carnage was unexpected to say the least. This is definitely one way to get people interested in the tag team division. I guessed it would be a Triple Threat tag team match for the titles at WrestleMania, and this thankfully confirmed it. I am definitely looking forward to this match. - Charlotte VS Ruby Riott was surprisingly good. Charlotte made Ruby look strong, far stronger than I expected her to look, so I think that says something. It was fun to see Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan show their powers of teleportation. It was awesome to see Asuka make the jump to SmackDown Live (though why she is featured in the new RAW intro to debut tonight, I have no idea). I really think they should have waited for the replay to finish before hitting Asuka's entrance though, that kind of took away from it. And now that Asuka VS Bliss is off the table, we'll probably see Alexa Bliss VS Nia Jax for the RAW Women's Championship, which I for one am very happy and excited for. The only problem I have with this moment is that the WWE App spoiled this for me. Despite having turned off result notifications, they listed "Asuka chooses her WrestleMania opponent" as a Breaking News notification at the time it happened. Just moronic and really infuriating that WWE are happy to spoil their own shows. I keep Breaking News notifications on to learn of non-spoiler related announcements like deaths, HoF inductions, etc. If I wanted to know results, I'd turn the result notifications on. Just crapty behaviour on the part of whoever is responsible for WWE App notifications. - The 6 pack challenge was solid enough. Although they seemingly broke up during the match, it looks like Zayn and Owens are going to stick together against Shane McMahon. I'm very glad of this. Zayn VS Owens has been done to death, and so I find the prospect of them sticking together far more interesting. I'm also so glad that AJ retained. I'm glad they had the common sense to deliver on the dream match, rather than inserting Cena in there as they might have done. Overall, a very solid PPV. 7/10
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Post by Escape The Rules on Mar 13, 2018 12:46:21 GMT -5
Very enjoyable PPV. That opener was fantastic considering the outcome was never in doubt. Was really cool to see Orton win the US title. Didn't care for any of the women's matches. And the main event was thrilling. Excellent showing.
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