WWE Fast Lane Reax

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

-- Kickoff:
- Social Media Lounge:
I have a feeling Tom Phillips might have been benched due to an issue on social media involving seeking a relationship outside of his engagement. Unfortunate for all involved. I wish that could have remained among Tom, his fiancee, and the woman in question, but because it went public, he could be facing backlash.

- Noam/Alicia/Kendrick:
I like these three having an ongoing story beyond "wanting to win matches and titles to be the best cruiserweight."

- Sheamus/Cesaro on the panel:
This is a pretty fun association of talented Europeans.

Funny spot with both men trying to get crowd reaction.

I'm VERY curious what the tag team title pictures will look like at WM33.

Wow. Everyone picking Gallows and Anderson makes me think we're in for a "Surprise" title change.

- Foley/Stephanie/Jinder/Rusev:
I could never see an authority figure segment again and be OK.

I really wonder what Jinder does without Rusev. One way ticket to Main Event is my guess.

Yeah, I definitely don't want to see Jinder vs. Rusev go seven matches.

- Joe interview:
Glad to see him potentially having a big role at Mania.

- Tozawa/Swann vs. Kendrick/Dar:
I like them selling Akira as someone who can kick some ass.

Good work from the heels.

I liked Alicia saving her man from the double flip of death.

Kendrick is very methodical. I like it.

Noam's always impressive. An expert at such a young age!

Really solid work.

Nice match all around! Good way to start the night.

-- Fast Lane:
- Joe vs. Zayn:
I'm a little surprised they're starting with this, but it should be great.

Sami trying to beat Joe with power is an awful idea.

How cool is it to see these two top indie names at this big of a stage?

Good to see lots of submissions from the machine.

These two know how to tell a story in the ring, for sure.

Joe is an efficient destroyer.

I like both men doing everything they can to avoid being hit by explosive moves - the muscle buster and superplex need to be sold like they're really devastating maneuvers.

That was good!!

- Bayley/Nia:
I like the story of Charlotte having such an advantage at PPV matches.

Poor Dana. And Emma. Totally left out of all this.

I can't wait to see more from Nia.

- Enzo/Cass:
I really wanted to hear what Enzo would say about the BROKEN Hardys.

More funny stuff.

- Club vs. Enzo/Cass:
I like Cass as the cleanup hitter.

Cass is on a roll!

The Club are effective at what they do.

More fine action here.

NICE prevention of Enzo getting the tag by Anderson.

That was good leading to Cass finally tagging in.

Cass definitely has "five moves of doom," but they're effective!

The Club are using their wits here.

Hahahahahaha nice ending. I always love that spot. Such a dick move.

- Foley/Stephanie:
Hopefully that means no Stephanie tonight. Heck, have her skip Raw, too.

- Nia vs. Sasha:
Sasha has to be smart in her strategy here.

I hope they build Asuka up on Smackdown to set up Nia vs. Asuka at WM34. Irresistible force vs. immovable object is always a hit for me.

Nia's a beast!!

I like this. Sasha makes a pretty good tackling dummy.

MAN. Nia's strength and domination are impressive.

Sasha can really feed and move.

NICE Banks Statement spot.

That was great!! Nia got cocky when she should have gone for the cover, and Sasha surprised her.

- Rusev/Jinder:
I have a feeling this isn't going to end well for Jinder.

- Jinder vs. Cesaro:
Fine action to start.

Cesaro's got some real skills.

Man, that would have been a big superplex.

Mahal does pretty basic offense, but he gets by.

I like Jinder's tenacity here.

Mahal's doing better than I expected!

And plenty of European uppercuts. I just don't see Cesaro as higher than U.S./IC Title level. He reminds me of pre-Yes movement Daniel Bryan in that he's technically talented but lacking something that makes him a contender to be a top guy.

Nice of Mahal to save himself from the Swing.

Fine enough ending, I guess. Kind of a filler match.

- More Rusev/Jinder:
Yeah, take THAT!

- Show vs. Rusev:
Show pulling out all his main spots.

Big Show has definitely put in some impressive work in the gym. It's good to see. I hope Kane and Mark Henry do something similar if they want to go back to working as regularly as they have in the past.

I like a big guy clash every so often, especially when at least one is pretty mobile.

The thumb to the eye is just VILE.

Rusev's got his work cut out for him in beating Show at this rate.

If you can't win with two straight chokeslams, much less three and a KO punch, something is wrong.

I would have popped if Shaq showed up on the TitanTron before Show could connect with the WMD.

- Owens interview:
Kevin's got some good points there. I REALLY hope he walks out with the gold.

I would SO watch Owens vs. Lesnar or Owens vs. Rock.

Good promo.

- Neville vs. Gallagher:
Jack's going to need to get in Neville's head if he's going to beat the very determined king.

Neville's just a mean guy. Jack's not letting it affect him, though.

Gallagher is something else!

I'm liking what both men are bringing here.

Standing on someone's head is just evil.

I loved the big superplex.

Owwwww that hot shot looked rough.

The INSANE Phoenix Splash should have ended it. It felt odd coming from the really serious Neville, but it was definitely impressive.

Gallagher winning after that headbutt would have been hilarious, but I really want to see Neville vs. Aries at WM33.

This is impressive!

Good ending!

- Heyman interview:
I like Paul not spoiling if Brock will give Goldberg a receipt from No Way Out 2004.

Hahaha I love Paul's way of thinking.

- New Day:
NEW. DAY POPS! NEW. DAY POPS! NEW. DAY POPS! I hope they're coming after Wrestlemania.

- Braun vs. Roman:
I have been looking forward to this for a LONG time.

I'm very excited to see Strowman replace Show, Henry, and Kane as they reach their final matches.

This is the kind of wrestling I like. Just two tough people slugging it out.

Roman's really moving. He's got a lot of potential. I kind of do hope we see him face Taker now.

Strowman is the mastadon WWE needed.

Did Roman bite off more than he can chew?

Strowman is just pure force and will. Dude's killing Roman right now.

OH MY GOD what a counter to the Drive By.

GOOD GAWD what a counter to the Superman punch, too.

OH MY GOOOOOODDDDDDDDD WHAT A POWERSLAM!!!!!

I suddenly want to see Braun vs. Lesnar at Summerslam.

WHOA WHAT????? I did NOT see him pulling out a frog splash. That was insane.

Surprise ending! I hope Braun rebounds and kills about about 5,000 people in the Andre battle royal.

- Foley/Joe:
Interesting.... could they be setting up an out for KO to keep the title?

- Charlotte vs. Bayley:
As incredibly talented as Charlotte is, I hope we see some new faces in the title picture after WM33.

I like Heel Charlotte most of the time.

Good scientific start.

These two know each other well.

Charlotte has a mean streak. I like it.

I'm loving the chops.

Charlotte is really in her element here.

Bayley's no slouch herself.

I'm really liking the action here. They're bringing out the best in each other.

I'm liking the counter-wrestling involved.

You can't win out there!

WHAAAAATTTTT I didn't expect the streak to end! I fully thought Charlotte would win and defend in a four-way at Mania.

- Owens vs. Goldberg:
Talk about a big fight feel.

KO wants to drag this out as long as possible. Speed kills.

I'd pop if Owens won via Taser in an homage to how the 173-0 streak ended.

Well that was unexpected! I kind of figured Jericho would want to fight for the Universal Title at WM33, and he's been at odds with Goldberg for 20 years, but he obviously REALLY wanted to screw over Owens.

More wrestling coming up.