This Sunday, WWE will air their last pay-per-view prior to "Wrestlemania" with the "SmackDown"-only "Fastlane." While four titles will be defended, WWE hasn’t done a great job of hyping up some of the matches. A few were thrown together at the last minute (Lynch & Naomi vs. Natalya & Carmella, Rusev vs. Nakamura). Here’s a look at the scheduled card for Sunday.
Becky Lynch & Naomi vs. Natalya & Carmella
This is a match that involves four women that have had little impact on "SmackDown" in recent months. "SmackDown" has done little with the women’s division other than the feud between Charlotte and the Riott Squad, and Becky & Naomi have often just served as cheerleaders for Charlotte.
"RAW" has done a better job of having more women involved in their weekly show. There has been minimal buildup for this match, thus very little anticipation as to what will happen.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev
It really is a shame what little to no push Rusev has received. Now he’s in what is essentially a tune up match for Nakamura as Shinsuke will vie for the WWE Championship at "WrestleMania" after winning the "Royal Rumble." It is hard to fathom Nakamura losing the match heading into his "WrestleMania" match (likely against AJ Styles). While the match may have its moments, there is little doubt what the result will be.
United States Championship - Bobby Roode (champ) vs. Randy Orton
Again, a match that doesn’t have much buildup heading into it.
The storyline has mostly been about "SmackDown’s" “Top 10 List” which had Roode ranked higher than “The Viper.” There is a chance that Jinder Mahal will get involved in the match after he beat Orton last Tuesday on "SmackDown" (partially due to interference by Roode). Orton has seemingly been stuck in no-man’s land for months now as WWE has failed to come up with a plan for the 13-time World Champion.
SmackDown Women’s Championship - Charlotte (champ) vs. Ruby Riott
Very few, if any, believe that Riott will take home the SmackDown Women’s Championship on Sunday. She hasn’t made enough of a name for herself yet to head to "WrestleMania" with the belt. There is a decent chance that Carmella will finally cash in her Money in the Bank briefcase after holding it for so long.
She has been stuck in wrestling purgatory herself, though, so it’s not really clear if WWE would want her holding the belt come "WrestleMania" either.
Asuka has been rumored to possibly decide to challenge Charlotte at "WrestleMania" after winning the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble, so if Carmella were to cash in, they still could get Charlotte involved in a Triple Threat match by having her invoke her rematch clause.
SmackDown Tag Team Championship - The Usos (champs) vs. The New Day
Is anyone else bored of The New Day? Although they cut a pretty good promo on last Tuesday’s "SmackDown," their characters have seemed dry after months of not changing. This could be the most unpredictable match of the evening (although the Usos are clearly the favorite to retain).
The Usos, despite their success, have never had a main card match at "WrestleMania," only competing on previous pre-shows. That could finally change with a win on Sunday which could lead to a "WrestleMania" match against The Bludgeon Brothers.
WWE Championship - AJ Styles vs. Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens vs. Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. John Cena
The WWE Championship will be defended by AJ Styles in a Six-Pack Challenge. Styles seems destined to face Nakamura at "WrestleMania" so they could have put the whole "SmackDown" roster in the match, and there would still be little doubt as to who would win.
(Sidenote: Six wrestlers in the title match, and they couldn’t make one of them their most-over superstar, Rusev?)
(Another sidenote: What Dolph Ziggler has said is true, it is absolutely criminal that he’s never had a singles match at "WrestleMania.")
This whole story of John Cena trying to find a way into "WrestleMania" is absolutely ridiculous.
Does anyone actually believe he won’t compete at “The Grandest Stage of Them All"?
This match may provide entertainment at certain points, but it also made little sense that they previewed the match with a Fatal Fiveway with the competitors to end last Tuesday’s "SmackDown" (minus Cena).
