WWE Fastlane Reax

Read on for my thoughts on last night's WWE special event.

Kickoff:
I hope Brie doesn't just try to glom off her husband for the remainder of her WWE career.

Always fun to have Heyman on the Kickoff panel. He was a lot of fun playing off the other panelists.

Why does WWE not sell Edge and Christian kazoos?

I enjoy Dolph Ziggler, but he's really been stuck in the same position on the card for some time now.

- Kalisto vs. Del Rio:
Del Rio messing up Kalisto's mask was pretty funny.

Kalisto's already done better than either Sin Cara as a singles competitor in WWE, as far as titles go.

I love that Del Rio can pull from different styles. He's good as a striker and as a technician.

Del Rio should have taken full advantage of the DQ.

Clever second fall. I like Alberto being smart enough to strategize like that instead of just "wanting to be the better wrestler for two out of three falls!" A wrestler should generally want to win, then get out of there. Why do 20 minutes of work when you can beat your opponent quicker? You don't get paid for how long your match is. You get paid to win and hold titles.

Kalisto's got some pretty good fire as a babyface. It's good to see some smaller wrestlers get some good headway in WWE.

Kalisto rolling out of the ring was smart.

Del Rio not using the chair was smarter.

That double stomp on the outside was SICK. That could have ended really badly for Kalisto.

Good surprise win! Maybe Kalisto will get a good little push despite still being something of a tag team guy. I can see him losing on TV later to set something else up for the U.S. Title at WM32, but it was good for him to get a good, clean win here.

It's still crazy to see AJ Styles on a WWE PPV after so many years in TNA.

Styles basically saying TNA and ROH are the minor leagues was great, although it kind of diminishes his accomplishments.

Fastlane:
Not a bad promo from Naomi. Tamina doesn't really have good skills in that area. I really wonder how successful she'll be once Nia Jax is closer to being main roster ready. Nia and Tamina have pretty much the same gimmick, but Nia's younger, with hunger and potential.

- Sasha/Becky vs. Naomina:
Well, it didn't take long for Sasha and Becky to have issues.

Naomi's kicks were impressive there, although they clearly weren't effective considering how many she hit that Becky more or less shrugged off.

Nice spot with Naomi pulling Sasha down before a tag. I like Naomina working as a group to isolate Becky.

Sasha's a lot of fun to watch. She's really been a good addition to NXT and WWE.

I kind of expected the Rear View to be the ending, which would have been weird since I assume Becky and Sasha are going to be in the Divas' title picture.

Good double-submission spot. That's exactly how I wanted it to end.

- Owens vs. Ziggler:
Pretty impressive mat wrestling here. I like seeing that mixed with Owens' rough brawling style.

This match features two accomplished veteran performers. They know what they're doing out there. It's heel vs. face instead of who can do the most spots.

Good job suckering Owens into the superkick.

Nice job suckering Ziggler into the superkick...

And the superkicks keep on coming. The ROH PPV is NEXT week, guys.

Nice ending. Owens vs. Styles at WM32??

Owens taking that guy's sign was great. Hopefully Dolph gave it back before the next match.

I liked the group promo from Team Big Guy.

How weird is it they're using a song AJ Styles used in TNA for a Wyatts promo!? Obviously TNA doesn't have the rights to it.

- Harper/Rowan/Strowman vs. Ryback/Kane/Show:
Ryback's the most mobile man on his team. He's got his work cut out for him.

I like a good hossfest here and there.

Ryback's really improved from when he was in squash match city. He's got some impressive speed and agility for his size.

Glad they didn't have it end with Bray's interference.

WHAT. I don't see what the Wyatts losing here really did for the WM32 picture. I was hoping the Family would look strong going into Dallas. This hurts that. It's possible this was a red herring for them coming out to destroy Brock later, but I'm still now a big fan of it.

That was an OK promo between Reigns and Ambrose. The "wacky Ambrose" thing feels forced. Not because he's not convincingly crazy, but the lines and situations he's in are cartoony at times.

- Brie vs. Charlotte:
I'm not crazy about the idea of Brie glomming off the sympy for Nikki and Bryan, but at least this is her last run.

Brie's got some good experience, and Charlotte's showing herself to be a good worker.

This isn't bad, I guess. It's just pretty slow in places and taunt-heavy.

Honestly, this is getting kind of clunky. It feels like they're out of their comfort zone as performers.

I like Brie going for multiple submissions here. Nice way to counter Ric.

Phew. Now on to WM32. I think Brie winning a "Vickie Guerrero Invitational Battle Royal" at that show will be a nice final feather in her cap. Charlotte vs. Becky vs. Sasha is my pick for the title match.

OK Jericho promo. He can still talk pretty well. His whole act just seems kind of uninspired at this point.

- Styles vs. Y2J:
I like Jericho's smart technique here. He's a solid veteran presence to work with the WWE newcomer.

I definitely thought I'd see this on a TNA PPV before a WWE PPV.

Good dropkick spot on the outside.

Styles has some impressive, hard-hitting offense. That's for sure.

Some really good counter-wrestling going on in this one.

I like Jericho getting frustrated at AJ's perseverance.

That got really good at the end. Glad AJ got a big win.

That was a good post-match to cement Styles' win.

- Cutting Edge Peep Show:
I can't wait to see E&C's Network show.

As funny as New Day are, they shouldn't be implying no one cares about E&C's show.

OMG A SUPA HOT REFERENCE.

Nice knock on Kofi's old accent.

I definitely see the comparisons between New Day and Edge/Christian.

I kind of want to see New Day vs. LoN now.

New Day vs. LoN was kind of an odd direction for this to take.

WHOA. Stiff shot on Del Rio by Edge.

That segment fell a little flat overall.

Why didn't we get the Outcasts in the Peep Show? That would have been more fun than LoN, I think.

Funny pre-match to this out-of-nowhere bonus match. Where's Goldust?

- Truth vs. Axel:
Not really sure why we needed this match to kill more time.

That was OK, I guess.

Mehhh.... I don't think this segment really added to the show other than "resetting" the crowd after Styles vs. Jericho.

- Reigns vs. Ambrose vs. Lesnar:
No one does ring introductions like Heyman.

Brock's not wasting any time!!

The final boss of WWE is active. It's going to take all four Wyatts to post a threat, I think. Gauntlet match at WM32, please!

Brock's reaction to Ambrose trying a German was priceless.

Ambrose has a death-wish for slapping Brock.

I like Roman digging down deep to try to beat Brock.

They're going to need the Spanish announce table AND the German announce table to keep Brock down.

Ambrose is a chaotic house of fire. I love it.

Great stuff leading to Ambrose hitting the Dirty Deeds.

GOOD GAWD WHAT A SUPLEX!!!!! Brock is incredible.

Good spot leading to the Kimura/Brock Lock.

I like Ambrose snapping and using the chair.

Enjoyable match overall. I expected the Wyatts to get involved, but that was a pretty good ending. All three men worked hard and did good work.

I definitely think Reigns is WWE Champion at Wrestlemania worthy. Certainly a lot more than he was last year.

More wrestling coming up.