WWE Fastlane 2023 review: a bit of an afterthought

We are now in October and do you remember Fastlane? I only asked because I am not sure WWE had, because for long enough we only had two matches announced for this show and even when all was said and done, their ever decreasing cards saw five announced bouts. That said, less can so often be more with wrestling, see events like In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede.

However was it quality over quantity this time? Let’s put our foot down in this PLE race for the finish catch up and see what happened in Indianapolis at Fastlane …

1. Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Match

The Judgment Day (Damian Priest and Finn Balor) (c) vs. Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso

Despite starting his singles push, Jey Uso found himself back in a team with American Nightmare Cody Rhodes (one of the few on the Raw roster receptive to the former Bloodline member who has left a lot of bad blood with a lot of people). Jey is off to a good start and Cody again is beloved, so their victory and title win in this overlong but entertaining opener was not an issue with me. Even if it was so obviously one of those momentary reigns. It was fun thanks to the players involved and Jey & Cody’s now iconic boozy press conference talk after the show made this match worth it alone.

2. LWO (Rey Mysterio, Santos Escobar & Carlito) vs. Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford)

Promoted as Rey Mysterio, Santos Escobar and a mystery partner, this match for most of the duration was a three-on-one handicap match, until the closing stretch where a returning Carlito arrived and made up the numbers, picking up the LWO win by pinning Angelo Dawkins after a backstabber. The match was not up to much at all really, and was really only here to give Carlito a PLE comeback match. Though it could have been constructed a lot better.

3. Triple Threat WWE Women’s Championship Match 

Iyo Sky (c) vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Asuke

Despite all the undeniable talent involved here and the strength of the professionals, this triple threat match suffered greatly from Smackdown’s lacking focus on their women’s division. This match had some good moves, and Iyo Sky retaining with a moonsault on Charlotte Flair (who had Asuke beat in the Figure Eight were it not for Bayley’s interference) was a nice end bit. But this match had virtually no story, no cohesion, it was just a match for a title. It was hard to get invested, as it has been with many things week on week because the characters and stories are just lacking, not there at all or just a bit beige. This division needs more focus!

4. LA Knight and John Cena vs. The Bloodline (Jimmy Uso & Solo Sikoa) w/ Paul Heyman

As great as it is to have John Cena back there really is an awful realisation that he has been wasted on this run. The Bloodline story grows staler by the day, and while Jey Uso is thriving as a charismatic singles star Jimmy Uso seems to be struggling to make that jump, and this reunion with Roman Reigns and co. has not really done anything but make the story even more messy than it has become in these later stages. That said, many likely were here for this match to see LA Knight team up with Cena and take The Bloodline down. And in that respect, this delivered, it gave audiences what they wanted on that front. Still, I’d have rather seen Cena and Knight have a programme or something than this tag match, which really was only here to add star power to an event that, match by match, was really looking like a one match show.

5. Last Man Standing WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Seth “Freakin’” Rollins (c)

Onto that one match then! Last Man Standing matches are a safe bet for excellent results and this was probably the only match on this show that had such a promise, and while it was not on par with Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles at Money in the Bank back in 2018, it was fun but far too long at nearly 30 minutes. Though, like the aforementioned Styles match, this one arguably had the wrong winner. These two kept the bad back angle going with Shinsuke beating Seth Rollins down and the story being his resilience against all odds (even if one or two spots seemed to suddenly forget Seth’s injury!). There were some impressive moments like a ladder spot outside the ring and the finishing Falcon Arrow through a table among the crowd that kept Shinsuke down for the 10 count! It was not always slick (that railing fall didn’t quite work) but enjoyable stuff nonetheless and by far the best thing on this show. Though Seth’s win was surprising, even more so when it was clear Damian Priest would not be running a cash in, as this was frankly the best time to do it, and would have added something to this show to remember.  

Overall, Fastlane was no affront or anything but was so clearly a filler event. Barring the odd star like Cena and Carlito being here (if both misused) and Jey/Cody having fun, and the good main event, there was little to see that you couldn’t catch on any WWE show anyway. Many missed opportunities to use big stars better (LA Knight, Shinsuke Nakamura) or make a moment (no cash in, no shock, no real story going in or coming out). Very forgettable stuff. Case in point, The post-vent Press Conference has proved more memorable.

Welp, one more to go folks! As we set our clock on the time machine to earlier this month on November 4th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel. And then we can get onto what went down at Survivor Series 2023 this past Saturday and get back on track. Phew!