We are fast approaching WrestleMania, but there is one more PPV stop before we get there. Fastlane is on Sunday and there are some solid matches on the card. A lot of people are calling this the most pointless PPV of the year, but I think it will be an interesting event.. A great deal of these matches seem very predictable, but there should be enough intrigue to maintain our viewing pleasure throughout the night. At first glance, there are a lot of tag team matches. Over half of the card is compiled of tag team contests and the tag team competition hasn’t been great in a while, so it will be interesting to see what they do to keep these matches exciting. Storylines are starting to heat up and some things will become clearer throughout the night. Here are my predictions for the night.

*Predicted winners are bolded

*The matches are likely not in exact order

- Men’s Tag Team Match

The New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods) vs. Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura

This match was just placed on the card a today and it was announced that it would be on the pre-show. There isn’t a story between these two teams at the moment, but it should be a fun match to watch. I don’t really have a reason as to why I think Big E and Xavier Woods will win, but I think it will just be a classic face over heel victory in this contest. Kofi Kingston isn’t in the match, but I expect him to be ringside. This may allude to something later in the card that hasn’t been announced yet, but I might be overthinking it.

- Men’s Singles Match

Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade

The last match of the pre-show will be another rematch between Andrade and Rey Mysterio. These two superstars have put on two wonderful matches since they started their rivalry on SmackDown, but there seems to still be heat between the two. They should put on a great show, but I personally don’t think that it will be as good as the matches that they’ve had on SmackDown. I chose Andrade in this one, but under one condition. If this is the end of their rivalry I think that he wins, but if they happen to have another match at WrestleMania, then I think Mysterio takes the win. I think this will be the end of the feud and I could honestly see the two of them teaming up in the near future. It obviously will not hurt Mysterio’s credibility if he loses, but the outcome will affect Andrade, which is ultimately the reason I think he wins, but only if it is the last match of their feud.

- Six-Man Tag Team Match

The Shield vs. Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre, and Bobby Lashley

I don’t have a clue how they will start this PPV, because there are a lot of possibilities. The reason I chose this match to kick off the show is because I think there are a lot of fans that want to see Roman Reigns back in action and having him start the PPV off will set the pace for the rest of the show. There is plenty of intrigue in this one and I think there is a good story that can come out of the contest. With that being said, I don’t think that The Shield will lose this one. Although they’re pushing the team of McIntyre, Lashley, and Corbin, I don’t really think they have a chance in this one, but if they happen to pull out the win, I think it will be to set up something between them and the team of Roman and Ambrose. I can’t imagine Corbin, Lashley, and McIntyre missing out on WrestleMania this year, so I think The Shield wins and somehow all of the competitors, excluding Rollins, will be grouped together in a super-match at the next PPV.

- Women’s Singles Match – SmackDown Women’s Championship

Asuka (C) vs. Mandy Rose

This matchup is an interesting one. I don’t expect Asuka to lose the title, but this seems like it could be a shakeup opportunity. I hope that isn’t the case, but it seems like Mandy Rose is getting a big push and what better time than the PPV before WrestleMania to execute it? Hopefully this is just a time-filler that can be salvaged into a good match, because Asuka is not getting fair treatment as a champion. It seems like the WWE really doesn’t want her to be champion for some reason. She is too talented to be made into a performer that doesn’t show up in big matches. If you think about, she didn’t win the title because of what she did in the ring at TLC back in December, she won because Ronda Rousey pushed Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch off of a ladder. It appears that her title reign could be just a time-filler just until the Rousey/Flair/Lynch feud is settled. I hope that isn’t the case, but it sure seems like it is. I think she will defend her title in a multi-person contest at WrestleMania, because I can’t really see them starting a new rivalry with only four weeks until the big show.

- Men’s Triple Threat Tag Team Match – RAW Tag Team Championship

The Revival (C) vs. Aleister Black and Ricochet vs. Chad Gable and Bobby Roode

This is another match that seemed to be thrown together at the last minute. There will be a lot of talent in the ring for this match, but I’m not expecting it steal the show. The Revival are the current champs, but it doesn’t seem like they haven’t been booked that way since winning the titles. Aleister Black and Ricochet have only lost one match since making their main roster debuts and that was this Monday. The only reason they lost the match was because Gable and Roode interfered in the match. The fact that Black and Ricochet are getting a title opportunity this early is interesting and I think they are going to continue their push. If The Revival is leaving after WrestleMania, I think they will drop the titles on Sunday night. I don’t expect Gable and Roode to really have a shot in this one, because they have barely been mentioned on any of the shows since losing their titles, so look for The Revival to retain or Aleister Black and Ricochet to get their first titles on the main roster.

- Men’s Tag Team Match – SmackDown Tag Team Championship

The Usos (C) vs. Shane McMahon and The Miz

This is one of the most predictable matches on the card and it would be best to not overthink this one at all. The Usos won the SmackDown tag titles at Elimination Chamber from Miz and McMahon and look for them to retain on Sunday. The Usos are another team that is rumored to be leaving after WrestleMania, but don’t expect them to drop the titles just yet. It is pretty evident that The Miz and Shane McMahon will be facing each other at WrestleMania, so I think there will be a rift between the two on Sunday. The Miz and McMahon will be an entertaining match, if it happens, but I’m anxious to see which teammate will turn on the other. I personally think Shane will turn on Miz, but I guess we will find out.

- Women’s Tag Team Match – WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship

The Boss ‘N’ Hug Connection (C) vs. Nia Jax and Tamina

This is the first WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship defense in history, so I think they will book it later in the card. I think they made a mistake by introducing the titles before WrestleMania because most of the focus is on the WrestleMania main event. I don’t think the match will be worthy of a later card slot, but I don’t think it will be the worst match on the card either. Sasha Banks is notorious for short title reigns as Nia Jax pointed out a few weeks ago, but I don’t think they will drop the titles. I can see these two carrying the titles for a very long time, but they will have to feature the women’s tag team division more to build interest in the new titles moving forward

- Men’s Singles Match – WWE Championship

Daniel Bryan (C) vs. Kevin Owens

This match could kick off the show or it could end the show, but I think they’ll preserve this one for later in the card. Kevin Owens was inserted into the WWE title match after Mr. McMahon pulled Kofi Kingston out of the contest. The reason was simply a “business decision”, but it seems like we will see Kofi at WrestleMania fighting for the WWE Championship in some capacity. Again, if they want to shake things up, this would be the perfect opportunity, but I don’t see it happening. I’m glad Kevin Owens is back in the ring and I hope this isn’t the last that we will see of him fighting for a major title. Daniel Bryan has been a good champion, but I don’t think the fans are fully buying into his heel gimmick. I don’t know how much longer he will keep the title, but I’m pretty invested in this match.

- Women’s Singles Match

Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch

I can’t imagine that this match doesn’t close out the show. There is just too much invested in these ladies to give them a middle card match. If Becky Lynch wins, she is in the WrestleMania main event, but if she loses, she isn’t. Charlotte is not affected in any way by the outcome of the match, so this seems like a no-brainer that Becky wins. There has been a lot of drama in this feud for quite a while, but the heat was magnified after Ronda Rousey released a video on her YouTube channel yesterday. You can find the video easily, but I’m not going to post it on here because it does have some pretty graphic language. To summarize it, she said that wrestling was not real and that she is going to do her own thing from now on and told the company to screw it self, I’m obviously putting this politely. This is the sort of thing we have been looking forward to since her arrival in WWE, but I didn’t expect it to be that graphic. The WWE is clearly not objecting to it because the video is still up, but I seriously doubt that they’re going to promote it in any way. I think Rousey will be involved in the match somehow, but I don’t know how exactly. She could interfere after the match or maybe just as the finish of the match is approaching, but it will definitely be something to keep an eye on. Like I’ve said many times before, there is no way that Becky Lynch is going to be left out of the main even event, so expect her to go over in this match.

Yacs

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