This is seemingly a nondescript show on the WWE calendar, but there are at least a few interesting rumors floating around that could make things more appealing.
On paper, the card for Fastlane looks pretty good, albeit a little short at only five matches deep. These are the types of shows that wrestling companies usually end up delivering quality on, though, as there is less proverbial pressure on everyone involved. I guess we’re about to find out if that rings true again.
Finn Balor & Damian Priest vs Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso – Undisputed WWE Tag Team Title Match
With only five matches on the entire card, this is one of those shows where every match would’ve made sense as the show opener. This one features some of the biggest and most over members of the WWE roster, so you’re going to get the crowd excited right off the bat. Good call.
Also, one of those “interesting rumors” I mentioned earlier already came to be, as Jade Cargill was shown arriving at the building during the pre-show, where she met up with none other than Triple H himself, as well as approximately one million photographers with flash bulbs going off like it was the WrestleMania main event.
In case you’re wondering how WWE was going to fill time on a show like this, it was nearly 16 minutes deep into the show before the opening bell for the first match.
This was a really good match. A crowd-pleaser that was given about 20 minutes to work with, allowing all four men to shine, and they did their job well when it comes to getting this crowd in Indianapolis, Indiana invested in what was going on. When the year comes to an end, I think this is going to be looked back at as one of those underrated gems. It probably won’t be on Match Of The Year lists, but when you’re thinking back to 2023, you might look back at this as being one of the most underrated tag team matches that we had the chance to witness. 4.25 Stars
Rey Mysterio, Santos Escobar & A Mystery Partner vs Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits
To start things off, we get… no partner for Rey and Santos. On the pre-show, Rey made a phone call to someone, but that call wasn’t answered. The drama~!
That drama lasted a few minutes, because Carlito arrived to be the LWO’s mystery partner. He was definitely the popular pick when the mystery partner story was first announced, and he got a good pop, albeit nowhere near what we heard when he showed up in Puerto Rico to help Bad Bunny at Backlash.
This was a decent enough match. Nothing earth shattering, with the story mainly being that Lashley and the Profits had the man advantage, while everyone waited around for the inevitable arrival of the mystery partner. Your basic six-man tag match that would’ve fit in on television or at a house show. I was hoping for more, but I don’t always get what I want. 2.75 Stars
Iyo Sky vs Asuka vs Charlotte Flair – Triple Threat Match for the WWE Women’s Title
That… uhh… that was clunky. More than a few spots that saw moves/strikes barely connect, if at all, as well as some awkward overall moments. Throw in a relatively quiet crowd, and you have yourself a match that is forgettable, to say the least. It didn’t exactly do any of these women any favors. If you’re looking for a big positive to take away from this, the right woman won, so I guess that counts for something. 2.25 Stars
John Cena & LA Knight vs Solo Sikoa & Jimmy Uso
To the surprise of nobody, the crowd came alive once again for this one, at least for the introductions.
The first several minutes of the match were spent having John Cena take an ass whipping from Solo and Jim Uso, building to a huge hot tag for LA Knight. That says a lot about how WWE currently views Knight. They had the part-time, 46-year-old Cena handle the action so that the full-time Knight could get the huge pop.
The match itself was decent enough. I’m not sure anyone was expecting it to be a classic or anything, but it did what it was supposed to do. It got the crowd invested again, made LA Knight look like a big star, let Cena perform his greatest hits, and so on. 3 Stars
Seth Rollins vs Shinsuke Nakamura – Last Man Standing Match for the World Heavyweight Title
I’m really upset. Tomorrow night, I have a party to go to, and I was going to wear the exact jacket that Seth had on tonight, but now, I have to change plans. I don’t want it to look like I’m only copying the guy. It could’ve been worse, I guess. I almost decided to wear what Jade Cargill was wearing.
I’m sure there are going to be complaints about the slower pace here, but I disagree with them if that’s the case. There’s a reason you don’t see El Hijo Del Vikingo vs Komander in a Last Man Standing Match. These types of matches are designed to be slower. Wrestler A hits Wrestler B with a heavy shot, and then we get a ten count, before Wrestler B responds with a heavy shot of their own, and another ten count.
We got the expected story here. Nakamura continued to show a great sadistic side, looking as vicious as he ever has in his WWE career. Rollins looks like the fighting champion that he has been, continuing to get back to his feet after taking a hellacious beating to his already battered back. Good stuff here. As I said, it was a slower paced match than you would normally see between these two, but that was expected. Lots of hard hitting action here, and both men came out looking strong. 4 Stars
Really good bookends to the show, and not a whole lot in between that. I had low expectations for the show going in, which, strangely enough, made my expectations get a little higher… and I guess I can’t complain too much. Not an overall strong show, a decent enough way to get WWE to Crown Jewel on November 4th.