Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships: The Judgment Day VS Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso
After an opening video package narrated by Pat McAfee, the 2023 edition of WWE Fastlane kicked off with The Judgment Day putting their Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships on the line against the team of Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso. I was impressed by Damian Priest’s selling of his knee throughout this match, but other than that, it was just a standard Tag Team match that I’m pretty used to seeing nowadays. However, all the main action came towards the end of the contest as the rest of The Judgment Day arrived before JD McDonagh accidentally hit Priest’s knee with the Money in the Bank Briefcase when he was aiming to hit The American Nightmare. A Cross Rhodes from Cody onto the announce table whipped Priest out of the match before Rhodes and “Main Event” Jey Uso worked together to pin Finn Balor to become the brand-new Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions. I wasn’t actually surprised about this result, but that doesn’t mean that the result is the right decision. Also, why on earth did Dominik Mysterio win back the NXT North American Championship when Finn Balor and Damian Priest just lost their titles less than a week later?
Grade: C+
The LWO VS Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits
The next match of the night saw Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits take on The LWO as the United States Champion Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar were forced to start the match in a handicap position due to them not having a third partner. Honestly, this match was okay, but it didn’t really feel like a Premium Live Event match which is never a good thing when it’s happening on a Premium Live Event. Also, Santos Escobar barely did anything in this match (I think Zelina Vega did more) before Carlito made his return to WWE to join The LWO. Carlito came into the ring and about a minute later, he delivered a backstabber to Montez Ford which was enough to get the victory. Having Montez Ford lose was a bit odd, especially as we’re meant to see “The Suit Profits” as a big deal. Also, I feel like WWE cared more about Pizza Hut in this match than the contest itself.
Grade: C
WWE Women’s Championship: Iyo Sky VS Asuka VS Charlotte Flair
The WWE Women’s Championship was the next Title on the line as Iyo Sky looked to retain her Gold against both Asuka and Charlotte Flair. This match started with Asuka straight away spitting blue mist into the eyes (and more the hair) of Charlotte Flair before Flair eventually came back in to clean house. This was a better women’s Triple Threat match than the one that took place at Summerslam, but the match still felt a bit off in places. However, the ending was decently done as whilst the referee was distracted by Bayley, Asuka tapped out to the Figure 8 before Iyo Sky nailed Charlotte with (the) Over the Moonsault to get the W. I’m happy Iyo retained and it was also nice to see Charlotte get pinned for once (even if she’ll make the argument that she actually won the match).
Grade: C+
John Cena and LA Knight VS The Bloodline
Pat McAfee arrived and cut a promo about how and why Indianapolis should host a WrestleMania before it was time for John Cena and LA Knight to team up to take on Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa of The Bloodline. John Cena got beat up for nearly the entirety of this match by Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa before LA Knight made the hot tag and ran absolutely wild. The crowd were fully behind Knight as the top Babyface in the company before John Cena was finally able to hit some of his trademark moves to take Solo Sikoa out of the equation. The Megastar then delivered the B.F.T. to Jimmy Uso to get the victory and whilst this was simple, it was a good version of simple as it made LA Knight look like an absolute star.
Grade: B-
World Heavyweight Championship Last Man Standing Match: Seth “Freakin” Rollins VS Shinsuke Nakamura
The Main Event of this year’s WWE Fastlane saw Seth “Freakin” Rollins put his World Heavyweight Championship on the line against Shinsuke Nakamura in a Last Man Standing Match. This was quite the hard-hitting affair as bins, steel chairs, and even Nunchucks were all used to great effect. We also saw Seth Rollins deliver a Stomp to Shinsuke Nakamura whilst Nakamura dived onto Rollins and both guys went crashing through a table. Later in the match, Shinsuke spat red mist into the face of Seth before Rollins went crashing off the ladder and through the announce table. However, The Visionary was able to get up and he was also able to get up when Shin Kinshasa’d him through a table in the ring. In the end, the two men brawled into the crowd and after Rollins delivered both a Pedigree and a Stomp to The King of Strong Style, he sent Nakamura crashing into a pile of tables which was enough to keep Shinsuke down for the count of 10 meaning Seth “Freakin” Rollins retained his World Heavyweight Championship. This was a good match and was easily the best match of the night in terms of the action. However, Shinsuke Nakamura could’ve and probably should’ve won this match so that’s slightly disappointing. Still, Seth Rollins looked like a resilient, top-tier Babyface which is fantastic.
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