I went into this show with pretty low expectations. The Fastlane brand is completely useless and this show really didn't do anything to change that. It was better than the Rumble last month at least.
Pre-Show: Alberto Del Rio VS Kalisto (US Championship)
Why was this on the pre-show? I hate it when title matches are on the pre-show. The 2/3 falls gimmick helped, but if this had been on the main card then I bet more effort would have gone into it. Kalisto retaining was the right call, sticking it on the pre-show wasn't.
Becky Lynch & Sasha Banks VS Naomi & Tamina
This was an interesting choice for an opener. Solid match with Becky and Sasha working well together. Reminded me of the days of their alliance on NXT. Sasha and Becky getting the win was definitely the right call.
Dolph Ziggler VS Kevin Owens (Intercontinental Championship)
Wasn't awful, but nothing you wouldn't have expected either. Owens got the retention he needed, which was the important part. Felt like something that could have just been on Raw or Smackdown rather than a PPV match. The bigger question is who does Owens get next, Styles maybe? Also, anyone else sick of Dolph Ziggler? It's getting to the point where I want to fast forward past him.
Wyatt Family VS Kane, Big Show, and Ryback
This was stupid. We never needed to have this match to begin with and the result made no sense which proved what a massive waste of time this was. This was the match where the pizza delivery person showed up and my order got messed up, I got spinach on the pizza when I hadn't asked for it. There was a really bad rainstorm tonight though so I wasn't about to make the pizza delivery person head back to the store then back out here in the storm for one little slip-up like that. I ended up spending a good portion of this match peeling spinach off of my pizza slices. At least I was done with that by the time something better was going on. Worst match of the night, and you know you're a terrible match when you're the worst despite a Brie Bella match also being on the card....
Brie Bella VS Charlotte (Divas Championship)
Better than I expected and that's all thanks to Charlotte.... Still bad though. Brie still can't wrestle after all this time and no amount of sympathy for her husband (who I am a fan of) will ever make me cheer for her considering she is atrocious in the ring and even worse on the mic. I hope the retirement rumors are true and this was the last we'll see of Brie. Now we can move on to Charlotte VS Sasha.
AJ Styles VS Chris Jericho
This was great. My favorite match of the night. If you missed this show, check out this match. Glad AJ got the win on PPV too.
New Day, Edge/Christian, and League Of Nations Segment
Hilarious. Even Sheamus with his "Yes they DO look stupid" remark was extremely funny. Granted this was more for hyping up Edge and Christian's show than anything, but it entertained in the process, so it served its purpose.
Curtis Axel VS R-Truth
Ugh, stupid. This is what should have been on the pre-show instead of Kalisto VS Alberto. Gave me a chance to go get some easter bunny gummies from the pantry.
Roman Reigns VS Dean Ambrose VS Brock Lesnar
Good stuff here from all three competitors. It was the 2nd best match of the night for me behind Styles VS Jericho. I was worried the whole time that Lesnar might win.... so I marked out for each of the spots where Lesnar got thrown into the announcer tables. Sure, Roman VS Triple H might not be the main event of the century, but it's better than having Brock get the title shot against Trips. Dean might have been a better option to many, so hopefully he gets a good spot on the Wrestlemania card. Maybe against Lesnar? It's been teased quite a bit recently.
Overall Thoughts
So, yeah this show did nothing to help make Fastlane be a PPV brand to keep around. It was something to watch with friends while eating pizza on a sunday during a rainstorm. It was better than the Rumble last month although I really don't know what the WWE is going to do at this point if Trips VS Roman Reigns is the best match they can come up with. It almost makes me consider not attending Wrestlemania. Almost. NXT Dallas I'm still going to no matter what, that's a whole other story. This show was a step up from the Rumble overall, although other than Styles VS Jericho and the main event you don't need to see much else if you missed it.
Dagger's 2016 PPV Rankings
1. Fastlane 2016
2. Royal Rumble 2016