WrestleMania season should be the best time of year to be a WWE fan. I haven’t found myself to be this underwhelmed by the road to WrestleMania in years. Due to a roster that has been decimated by injuries, an ill-advised monster push of a mediocre talent in Roman Reigns, and the inability of the WWE to build any new main-event-level stars in years, there hasn’t been much to look forward to lately.
The biggest problem I have is that I can see the ending coming from a mile away. Roman Reigns is going to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 32. Not only does it suck knowing the ending of a story before it has been told, but it is an ending I don’t want to see. We are going to have to suffer through weeks of promos on Raw between FastLane and WrestleMania that are going to highlight Reigns’ inability to put two sentences together or wrestle a coherent match. Every single flaw of his is going to be highlighted on his way to headlining his second WrestleMania in a row. As a lifetime fan, I just don’t get it.
The rest of the card doesn’t excite me very much. We have not one, but two Divas matches to sit through. The rest of the matches were hastily thrown together and it is not clear if any of them are going to set up something for WrestleMania. There is a chance we get a surprise visit from a returning star that we know will be at WrestleMania (Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Undertaker) or a surprise return of a former big star such as Goldberg or Shawn Michaels. Maybe even a NXT rookie gets the call and jumps into the mix. Failing that, there is not much to look forward to on this card.
With any luck, we will get a few surprises and get something exciting to look forward to at WrestleMania 32. If not, I might be asleep by the time the main event comes along. Let’s take a look at the card.
AJ Styles vs. Chris Jericho
The WWE decided to bring Chris Jericho out of mothballs and throw him into the WrestleMania mix. This is about his 10th surprise return and it is just about as unimportant as the last nine. His timing is a step behind both in the ring and on the mic. He looks old and in poor shape and he can’t seem to decide if he is a babyface or a heel. If they had to find a legend to bring back to generate some excitement, it’s hard to understand why it was Jericho, unless he really needed the cash and Vince McMahon felt bad for him.
AJ Styles is an interesting watch. As a WWE-only fan, I have never seen him wrestle in the past but the fans seemed to be excited to see him, as he was a well-known name in the lesser professional wrestling promotions in the past. The WWE clearly thinks very highly of him as they sent him to the main roster right away without having him spend some time learning the ropes in NXT. This is a good opportunity for him to show the WWE audience what he is capable of, and if he is lucky, he will get a prominent spot on the WrestleMania card.
If this match is going to be any good, AJ Styles is going to have to carry it. Jericho clearly is having a hard time moving around and doesn’t look like he is capable of carrying a match on his own. I wouldn’t expect too many high spots or extreme moments, and would instead think that we are going to get a technical showcase.
Prediction: Winner, AJ Styles
Kevin Owens (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler in a singles match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
Kevin Owens had one of the hottest rookie starts we have seen in a while since he hit the main roster in 2015 with a big feud against John Cena. Since that time, he has been a victim of 50/50 booking in the WWE that so many talents have had to endure. The win one week, lose the next. There is never any consistency and it is hard to expect anything from them headed into big matches. This is a big mistake; Owens has the potential to be the biggest heel in the promotions. He is a natural jerk and an innovative wrestler. The fans (especially in the adult demographic) have already connected with him and he can go places if he is used properly.
It is good to see that he is the IC champ once more, but I don’t like that the title was switched on a Raw episode. The IC title should mean something and it seems like he won it in a throwaway match. Hopefully he can hang on to the title for quite some time and emerge as a main-event level talent through the course of his run.
Dolph Ziggler is in the “what you see is what you get” phase of his career. He isn’t getting any better, he isn’t getting any younger. He is a natural heel working a babyface gimmick. He over-sells for his opponents and hasn’t had a memorable match in almost a year. He is a decent hand to have around if the WWE needs to make someone else look good. Hopefully he does that for Kevin Owens.
This match has potential to be one of the better ones of the evening as I would expect the unexpected from Kevin Owens. His matches are fast-paced and have a lot of false finishes and tense moments. Ziggler is one of the best on the card right now that can match that style.
Prediction: Winner and still WWE Intercontinental Champion, Kevin Owens.
Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks vs. Team B.A.D. (Naomi and Tamina) in a tag team match
The first of two awful Divas matches on the card.
Prediction: This match is going to suck.
Charlotte (c) (with Ric Flair) vs. Brie Bella in a singles match for the WWE Divas Championship
Not even ‘Naich himself can save this match. Charlotte is the best female competitor on the roster these days but that’s not saying very much. Brie Bella can’t retire fast enough for me. Watching her attempt to emote during her promos makes me uncomfortable.
Prediction: This match is going to suck, probably just slightly less than the Team B.A.D match. Either way, don’t watch it.
Ryback, Big Show, and Kane vs. The Wyatt Family (Luke Harper, Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman) (with Bray Wyatt) in a six-man tag team match
The odd pairing of Ryback, Big Show, and Kane was hastily thrown together to give the Wyatts a chance to compete on the card. It is unfortunate that Kane has slid back into a minimized role after a great run as the evil COO of The Authority. Kane is one of the most underrated talents of the past 20 years in the WWE and he is capable of playing much more than this bit part. Same goes for The Big Show, the way he is booked doesn’t give much integrity to his character. Ryback can hold his own in a big match, but he is mainly a one-trick-pony with his “feed me more” chant that really has to change.
The Wyatt Family continues to be an enigma in the WWE. They have one of the most unique gimmicks we have seen in quite some time but there never seems to be any payoff to any of their storylines. They never win championships (save for a brief IC title run for Luke Harper when the family had temporarily broken up), and never have big WrestleMania moments. We never really know why they pick fights with others, and every feud they have just seems to die out with them losing. It is a shame that they can’t get some sort of momentum behind this group, they can all wrestle and cut good promos.
There is probably something more at play with the Wyatts at FastLane than just this match. Expect some sort of interaction or run-in that sets up one or more matches for them at WrestleMania 32, particularly with Wyatt and Strowman.
This match can be either really good, or bowling-shoe-ugly. Everyone competitor in this match is among the most talented in-ring performers the WWE has to offer right now (yes, that includes the Big Show), but individual contributions may be lost in the shuffle in a six-man tag match. If the Wyatts are going to have any momentum headed into WrestleMania, they are going to have to look strong in this match.
Prediction: Winners, The Wyatt Family
Dean Ambrose vs. Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) in a Triple threat match to determine the #1 contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 32
As I eluded to in the opening of this blog post, the outcome of this match seems obvious to any fan of the WWE right now. Roman Reigns is going to wrestle a poor match, yet come away with a win and head to WrestleMania to challenge Triple H for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Dean Ambrose has proved time and time again that he can be counted on to handle himself in a main event at a pay-per-view. Brock Lesnar is the best in-ring performer on the WWE main roster right now. Roman Reigns is in way over his head in this match and has little chance of looking like he deserves the push to the top that he is currently riding. I would expect him to be booed very loudly as during his entrance, and even louder when he wins the match.
Hard to say exactly what might happen in this match but I have a few theories:
- Dean Ambrose does a heel turn and turns on Reigns during this match. This would be especially satisfying if he somehow won while he was at it.
- Brock Lesnar is about to win the match, the Wyatts interrupt just as Lesnar goes for the pin and cost him the match. This sets up a clash between one of the Wyatts (Bray Wyatt or Braun Strowman) to wrestle Lesnar at WrestleMania.
- Reigns wins the match cleanly (boring!).
- Triple H somehow interferes and attempts to screw Reigns, but his plans backfire and Reigns wins the match anyway.
Prediction: Winner and new #1 contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Roman Reigns
I sure hope I am wrong with that last prediction, and I also hope that that FastLane exceeds my low expectations. I think the biggest thing that could save the show is a surprise return, one that we didn’t see coming.
The North Jersey Nonconformist 
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