WWE Fastlane: WWE Universal Championship - Kevin Owens (c) VS Goldberg

[Jack-Hammer]

Welp, it's all but written in the stars that Kevin Owens is going to be a sweet, gentle little lamb sacrificed upon the altar of Goldberg at Fastlane.

The writing on the wall seems to suggest that Goldberg decimates both Owens and Jericho at Fastlane, maybe via a double spear to take out Jericho, upon which he then hits the Jackhammer slam on Owens to become WWE Universal Champion. Jericho's presence at ringside and Goldberg taking him out is probably the only reason why this match might last longer than 30 seconds; I say "might" because I've little doubt WWE wants Goldberg to look as dominant as possible, so I don't see Owens lasting half as long as Lesnar did at Survivor Series.

All the complaining in the world won't make a bit of difference here, it's just a shame because I feel Owens deserves better than to be squashed by Goldberg and that this is yet another example of a modern star being fed to an Attitude Era guy.

There's a slim, a very, very slim chance that Owens keeps the title due to some interference from Brock Lesnar at Fastlane, though I'm not gonna hold my breath.

 

[Asmo]

Could have had Goldberg dodge Lesnar's challenge, but challenge Owens. Lesnar taunts Goldberg in the weeks up to Fastlane. Fastlane: Goldberg has Owens beat, Heyman distracts the ref (or the ref is down), Lesnar takes out Goldberg and puts Owens on top.

The next night on Raw, Goldberg accepts. It feels a little more personal because Lesnar cost Goldberg his chance at the title.

Simple, and a little predictable but it'd add that much more fuel to their feud IMO.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

Maybe Owens's reign as champion parallels Rollins's reign too much for my liking, but I have not enjoyed his character one bit (Jericho is really pulling it all in for me) and am sort of relieved if anybody is taking the strap from him, it could be the guy that won't be around long enough for it to matter. So Kevin can grab the title again and do better with it. I prefer Goldberg doing it because A. losing to Goldberg means nothing since everybody loses to Goldberg and B. It's an easy enough way to get the strap off of him and his weak run as champion.

Though I'm more in agreement that it seems more like fuel for Lesnar vs. Goldberg III, a match that doesn't benefit anyone at all.

 

[JoeMallard]

As long as it means we get the Owens that came in and beat John Cena and the one that was dominating Zayn for months facing Jericho at Wrestlemania, I can't complain about the loss to Goldberg.

 

[closet_fan]

It will be easy protecting Owens by having Jericho cause KO to lost his title with the ref's back turned.

This writes itself to protect Owens, despite losing the title.

 

[Aberle4Life]

Logically, Jericho making this match didn't make any sense. He was just talking KO into main-eventing WrestleMania with him, but then he decides it's a good idea to have Owens face Goldberg at Fastlane. Spur of the moment kayfabe, I know, but still...Jericho's character is supposed to be smarter than that.

I don't like the idea of Brock Lesnar costing Goldberg the match at Fastlane, also logically-speaking. Why wouldn't Brock want his match at 'Mania to be for the Universal Title? If anything, he'd help Goldberg win by evening up the odds with JeriKO, and then take Goldberg out after the match.

I'm hoping KO makes it to WrestleMania as champion, and that he and Jericho have that match title-for-title. They've earned it by mostly carrying Raw for the past several months. I know that isn't how WWE necessarily works, but it would be good to see happen nonetheless, particularly for Jericho, one of my all-time favorites. Unfortunately, I don't see anything short of Brock Lesnar costing Goldberg the title at Fastlane, which I don't think is smart booking at all. That would ensure Owens and Jericho becomes a grudge match at 'Mania, but that could have happened naturally with each simply wanting to be Universal Champion.

 

[OYDK]

I haven't watched Raw yet, but even so, I could see this coming from a mile away. I just don't understand the logic in having the Brock/Goldberg match be for the title. The match sells all on its own and whoever wins the thing (presumably Brock) probably won't be around for at least a couple of months. That's two of the reasons why I'm not sold on the fact that Goldberg walks out of Fastlane with the strap. Still, I don't really see a situation in which he can lose. Brock could of course cost him the match but why? He'd be costing himself a chance at the Universal title. I guess they could always spin it as Brock would rather hurt Goldberg than become Universal champion but I doubt it.

Another way to go is DQ. Jericho could hit Goldberg with a chair, the belt, whatever, Goldberg could destroy both guys and Brock could come out afterwards to attack him. Owens could then blame Jericho for stealing the biggest win of his career from him to set up their match. Hm, I guess I could see situations in which he loses... Either way, if Goldberg doesn't walk out with the title, there needs to be some sort of interaction between him and Lesnar.

I don't see this match going very long. I highly doubt Goldberg could put on anything resembling a decent wrestling match at this point. We'll see I guess, but I think we could be in for a swerve here.

 

[The Life Of Pablo Ren]

There's no "protecting" Owens here, he unfortunately has to get squashed. They can't do an interference or a DQ it has to be a clean as a whistle squash by Goldberg. Then the next night on RAW you have KO flip a switch and destroy Jericho for putting him in that spot. Goldberg has to look as strong as possible heading into the match with Lesnar at WrestleMania.

With that said, I'm setting the over/under at 45 seconds... he can't last as long as Lesnar.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

With Goldberg accepting that challenge yesterday it would be mighty stupid for Lesnar to interfere. He is already getting Goldberg for Mania, why not with title?

No, if anyone interferes it would be Jericho. Only question is: Is he gona help Owens or he is gona cost him that title?

 

[L@RISANO]

I hope that KO loses the title, hopefully in a huge squash so he can finally hit the reset button and get away from this awful JeriKO team that has made him into a huge joke during the past few months.

Yes, Y2J in a comedy role suits him fine at this point but KO lost everything that made him legit in an effort to make look like a chump and he needs to lose the title asap.



As for Brock vs Bill, unlike others I think putting the title in this match makes perfect sense given that Goldberg isnt exactly a stalemate and also the Universal title would gain some much needed prestige being held by someone that actually matters and is portrayed as being something other than a chickenshit heel.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Pretty sure Lesnar gets some measure of revenge for Northern Way Out 2004, Mania XXX, Survivor Series and the Rumble by cost Goldberg this one.

If they want to add a hook for their Mania match then Angle as a ref or enforcer would work.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

I would have preferred this to be at WM. We all knew Goldberg would end up destroying Kevin Owens but at least if it was at WM it would mean Kevin Owens would still be coming into WM as Champion.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

Weeeell so Goldberg's accepted Lesnar's challenge at Wrestlemania, so why in the world would Lesnar want to interfere here? It's a straight ticket to the main event. It would make much more sense actually if Lesnar showed up to take out Jericho.

So I see no way that Owens can walk out of this as a champion.

The scenario in my head was that Goldberg would decline Lesnar's challenge, then Lesnar would appear at Fastlane, take out Goldberg and Owens would win via a frog splash. You know, a small deja vu.
That seems off now though.

So yeah, Goldberg wins. Lol. At least don't make Owens look weak. Make him stand his ground against Goldberg and have the match end because of something Jericho does. A mistake. So that Owens can go down with his head high and the Owens vs Y2J feud can finally begin.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

There's no "protecting" Owens here, he unfortunately has to get squashed. They can't do an interference or a DQ it has to be a clean as a whistle squash by Goldberg. Then the next night on RAW you have KO flip a switch and destroy Jericho for putting him in that spot. Goldberg has to look as strong as possible heading into the match with Lesnar at WrestleMania.

With that said, I'm setting the over/under at 45 seconds... he can't last as long as Lesnar.

Owens leaves the ring, does some theatricals, lasts 61 seconds.

He uses that to advertise his match with Lesnar that's coming, plus we get the 61 minutes man vs the 61 seconds man at Wrestlemania. Perfection.

 

[kadroan]

There's no "protecting" Owens here, he unfortunately has to get squashed. They can't do an interference or a DQ it has to be a clean as a whistle squash by Goldberg. Then the next night on RAW you have KO flip a switch and destroy Jericho for putting him in that spot. Goldberg has to look as strong as possible heading into the match with Lesnar at WrestleMania.

With that said, I'm setting the over/under at 45 seconds... he can't last as long as Lesnar.

Sad but true. The only good thing I can see out of Owens vs. Y2J for the US title is the US title will become the new main title for RAW since Brock doesn't work that many dates.

I'd love if they could add Zayn in the US title match between KO and Y2J, it'd be a great match.

 

[Aeon Mathix]

I cannot believe what I am seeing. Kevin Owens against someone not named Roman Reigns or Seth Rollins? Unbelievable. I only had to sit through about 5 months of that garbage. Which further drives home the point of how dumb the brand split was. That's another story for another time.

I would be perfectly fine with Goldberg destroying Owens in about a minute. They obviously don't trust Goldberg to do a lot nowadays (did they ever?) and WrestleMania with Brock will probably be his longest and last match. Owens destroying Jericho the next night on Raw blaming him for the loss and powerbombing him on the apron sets up their Mania match nicely. Sort of a callback to Batista/Rey Mysterio; "You were supposed to be my friend!"

They really didn't go about this the right way though. So Brock challenges Goldberg, Goldberg accepts then challenges Owens for the title on his way to Brock? It makes it seem like Goldberg is saying "yeah ok Brock I accept, but let me have a little warm up by winning this title off this chump". Would have been much better if Goldberg was just like no I have nothing left to prove against Lesnar so I am going after the title and then Lesnar costs him it at Fastlane to really set up their Mania match. Now Lesnar may just get a title shot because of reasons.

 

[ShinChan]

As much as I like both these wrestlers (Yes, I like Goldberg), I don't want to see Goldberg squashing Kevin Owens. There's no other result we're going to get other than a quick squash by Goldberg which is ummm.. Bad.

I have no interest in Goldberg Vs. Brock Lesnar III and making it a title match will only worsen the situation for me.

I know that it isn't going to happen but I hope that Owens isn't squashed atleast.

 

[Bernkastel]

In all honestly one spear is all that it should take to put Owens away. No Jackhammer needed. Owens isn't in the same league as Goldberg, even in his 50's, and it's obvious. Owens isn't a good fit as champion, but Goldberg realistically speaking wouldn't be either. Well actually I retract that. With the brand split and 2 world titles, a Goldberg title reign would work. As would a future Lesnar title reign. The problem is setting up a Goldberg/Lesnar rematch. A Lesnar interference makes the most sense here, even if it costs Goldie the title. Honestly this match seems like filler until Owens drops the title to someone more interesting.

 

[sMark]

Why exactly Brock need to interfere on KO's behalf there?
Heyman said, Brock wants the title AND Goldberg, so Goldberg as champion will make both Lesnar's wishes possibly come true at WM in 1 match.
Brock should do nothing really, but since fans expect to see him appear in this match, he should...to take out Jericho, watch how Goldberg win the belt, and THEN F5 him, closing the PPV with title in his hands and Goldberg being beaten by him.

 

[ISkye]

He's the 2nd person to hold the Universal Championship, and he's like 160+ days in. He's had a lot of high profile matches, and great moments. I don't mind it if he drops the title here honestly. He's a 2x IC Title holder, Universal Champion, and had a very memorable stunt in NXT. He's only 32, and if anyone takes your title away there's zero shame in Goldberg taking it. Could be fuel for an Owens vs Jericho match rather than a Lesnar vs Goldberg add on.

Jericho could interfere, but not get KO disqualified. Goldberg pins Owens. In this sense Owens can still be angry, but Jericho did "have his back" or whatever they put heavy emphasis on during the last RAW. In turn he could cost him the U.S. Title on Raw the next night or something just to shift the belts and finally get the ball rolling into a Wrestlemania Climax. On this end Goldberg has the title and Lesnar gets what he comes back for every return and the revenge on Goldberg at Mania. Considering Lesnar has done nothing, but lose or flounder it'd be cool to see the "Beast" back.

Owens kept the belt away from Reigns, Rollins, etc. Samoa Joe recently debuted and that Lesnar vs Joe thing isn't that unrealistic for Summerslam. Keeps Goldberg away from Braun who's still developing and maybe Sami can get rolling on a feud or doing literally anything more important than he is now. Kurt Angle I assume to some extent will be on TV post Mania, so the Angle / Lesnar interaction can be fuel to a bigger match. Thinking about 5/6 different foreseeable outcomes I don't think the aftermath of this match will be that negative. KO's title reign / Jericho Interaction has done a lot of good, and I'm looking forward to the Climax.

 

[XXJJ]

KO title reign has been one of the most boring reigns in a long time. Anyway, that seems to be coming to an end.. Goldberg squashed Lesnar I can only imagine how quickly this match will be.

 

[The Life Of Pablo Ren]

I mentioned in the LD last night that after the Festival of Friendship and KO turning on Jericho, I think it really complicates things for this match. I wasn't expecting that to happen until after Fastlane. Is a clean squash by Goldberg still the way to go? It would definitely halt any and all momentum Owens grabbed last night. It can't be a normal match, although Owens is once again showing his vicious side, he's no Lesnar and a normal match wouldn't make Lesnar look good considering he got beat in under a minute and a half. Owens could take out Goldberg before the match so he works the match "injured" but Goldberg still wins CLEAN, Owens doesn't look good in that situation either though.

Maybe everyone in the world is wrong and Owens somehow retains the title, but for that to happen I think he'd need the help of Triple H and Joe and have it essentially turn into a 3 on 1 handicap match. I guess that's possible, after last night it's pretty clear that the alliance between Triple H and Owens isn't over.

Lesnar interfering and costing Goldberg makes no sense considering he already has him at Mania and if Goldberg wins... it's for the title.

One thing they can't do though is have Jericho cost Owens the title, that makes Goldberg and Lesnar look bad. I pray they don't do that but I fear that's where they might be going.

 

[L@RISANO]

As I mentioned in Festival of Friendship thread, I think the return of Kill Owens Kill puts thoughts of a squash match down for sure.

I think that KO will still lose the belt but WWE are not so short sighted that they won't allow K.O.K to get meaningful offense against Goldberg.

If booked correctly, KO should take it to Goldberg but lose due to a Y2J distraction. Needn't be 'dirty' but should make KO look like a million bucks whilst showing the previously invincible Goldberg as having 'chinks in his armour' heading into the Mania showdown vs Brock Lesnar.

 

[kadroan]

I mentioned in the LD last night that after the Festival of Friendship and KO turning on Jericho, I think it really complicates things for this match. I wasn't expecting that to happen until after Fastlane. Is a clean squash by Goldberg still the way to go? It would definitely halt any and all momentum Owens grabbed last night. It can't be a normal match, although Owens is once again showing his vicious side, he's no Lesnar and a normal match wouldn't make Lesnar look good considering he got beat in under a minute and a half. Owens could take out Goldberg before the match so he works the match "injured" but Goldberg still wins CLEAN, Owens doesn't look good in that situation either though.

Maybe everyone in the world is wrong and Owens somehow retains the title, but for that to happen I think he'd need the help of Triple H and Joe and have it essentially turn into a 3 on 1 handicap match. I guess that's possible, after last night it's pretty clear that the alliance between Triple H and Owens isn't over.

Lesnar interfering and costing Goldberg makes no sense considering he already has him at Mania and if Goldberg wins... it's for the title.

One thing they can't do though is have Jericho cost Owens the title, that makes Goldberg and Lesnar look bad. I pray they don't do that but I fear that's where they might be going.

Maybe Brock doesn't care about winning the title. He could just maybe make Goldberg feel some pain for once after he looked bad against Goldberg at Survivor Series and Royal Rumble. It'll make the match feel more personal, people would care about it more. Brock not caring about the title, showing character development, want to become the most dominant guy in the company again.

 

[Gallops77]

Brock returns the favor to Goldberg for costing him the WWE Championship at No Way Out 2004 to Eddie Guerrero. Ref is down, Brock comes out and F-5's Goldberg into oblivion a couple of times. Goldberg still stumbles up as the ref comes to and stares at Lesnar who is on the ramp. Turns around and eats a popup powerbomb and Owens retains.