Here are the results from last night’s Fastlane pay-per-view which took place from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Tye Dillinger, Tyler Breeze, and Fandango defeated Mojo Rawley, Chad Gable, and Shelton Benjamin in the Kickoff match; Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Rusev; Randy Orton defeated Bobby Roode to become the new United States champion; Natalya and Carmella defeated Becky Lynch and Naomi; The Usos vs The New Day for the Smackdown Tag Team titles ended in a no contest after The Bludgeon Brothers interfered and destroyed both teams; Charlotte Flair defeated Ruby Riott to retain the Smackdown Women’s title; AJ Styles defeated John Cena, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, and Baron Corbin in a six-pack challenge to retain the WWE title.
The current WWE champion AJ Styles is still the heavy favorite to walk out of Fastlane still the champion, with odds at a whooping 1/40 in his favor. John Cena and Kevin Owens are the next favorites at 6/1, while Zayn is at 12/1, and Corbin and Ziggler at 20/1 for the upset.
Charlotte Flair is also at 1/40 to retain the Smackdown Women’s title against Ruby Riott whose odds are 8/1. The United States champion Bobby Roode is at 1/4 to retain versus Randy Orton who is at 5/2 in the odds. In the other title match of the night, The Usos are favorites to retain the Smackdown Tag Team titles with odds in their favor at 1/3 against The New Day who are at 2/1.
If you thought Styles and Flair have the biggest odds in their favor, well, Shinsuke Nakamura beat both of them as he is at 1/100 to defeat Rusev who is at 10/1 for the upset. In the last remaining match, Becky Lynch and Naomi are 13/20 to win against Natalya and Carmella who are 11/10.
Odds are most likely to change as the event gets closer to bell time. For our fans down under, you can also check out online casino Australia for some great deals and offers.
Hey everybody! It’s @TheMagnumDA with another PPV Pick’em installment! This time, the “Road to WrestleMania” takes one last final swerve down the Fastlane. To catch everyone up to speed on the current scores for the 2018 Season, here’s a recap:
Colin Vassallo – 9 Pick’em Points
MagnumDA – 8 Pick’em Points
Tricky Don – 8 Pick’em Points
Heel Turn Tom – 7 Pick’em Points
Let’s not waste another second, here we go!
WWE Championship 6-Pack Challenge
AJ Styles (c) vs. John Cena vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn vs. Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler Bonus Point: Who takes the losing pinfall/submission?
Tricky Don: Cena’s last chance for his road to WrestleMania is at Fast Lane. Let’s hope WWE doesn’t screw up both heavyweight title matches at WrestleMania, and AJ Styles goes over clean. AJ Styles wins. Zayn will take the pin, but it will be Owens’ fault, setting up a match at Mania between KO and Zayn at Mania.
Heel Turn Tom: This will be a cluster of a match. Owens and Sami will work well together but start fighting towards the end of the match. After all the high spots, AJ Styles will pin John Cena to keep the WrestleMania match of “Styles vs. Nakamura” alive. Will this loss BURY John Cena’s chances of a WrestleMania match or is this not a DEAD end and there will be one more LAST RIDE? (I am making hints to The Undertaker if you haven’t figured it out yet.)
Magnum: With the exception of Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler, I think everyone has found their path towards WrestleMania. KO and Zayn seem destined to face each other, although they could be the ones who answer The Bar’s “Open Challenge” at WrestleMania. Cena seems to be locked in with The Deadman, while Styles vs. Nakamura is all but set in stone. Give me Styles pinning Corbin to retain in (what could be) his last successful defense as WWE Champion.
Colin: It would be very stupid to have AJ Styles lose the title now after teasing us the match against Nakamura. I believe it’s the match fans want to see. It’s the match I want to see too! So AJ retains and I think it will be John Cena who does the job, adding to his storyline of not finding a way (again) to WrestleMania.
United States Championship Match
Bobby Roode (c) vs. Randy Orton
Tricky Don: Since we are less than a month away from WrestleMania and WWE has not announced many of the matches on the card, I will be the booker for them. Bobby Roode has to win, and go on to defend the title against Dolph Ziggler at WrestleMania. Plus, WWE needs to have Randy Orton on stand-by for the WWE Championship in case SmackDown does not receive high ratings after WrestleMania as they approach a new TV deal.
Heel Turn Tom: Randy Orton has never been US Champion in his storied career. Randy doesn’t need this for his legacy, but would WWE want to add this to his career highlights? I am still saying that Roode will win gloriously and go onto WrestleMania, hopefully in a Ladder Match: the US Champ (Roode) vs. the man who never lost the United States Championship, Dolph Ziggler.
Magnum: I’m not sure why Randy’s in the US title picture, but I don’t see him winning this match. So I’ll go ahead and pick Roode. Now, that said…I am almost certain that Roode’s going to lose his WrestleMania debut. Vince has a way of jobbing out TNA guys at their first WrestleMania (eg, Sting, Austin Aries, and AJ Styles). I wouldn’t be surprised if that happens in a Fatal 4 Way Ladder Match at WrestleMania featuring Roode, Orton, Mahal, and Ziggler. Who would I pick in that match? Tune in next month to find out!
Colin: If there will be a title switch, I think it will happen at WrestleMania and that would have the addition of Jinder Mahal. It’s funny to see that Orton is fighting for the United States title. When was the last time he fought for a lesser championship? I’m picking Bobby Roode for the win.
WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship Match
The Usos (Jey & Jimmy Uso) (c) vs. The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods) Bonus Point: Can you name which members of New Day will be participating in the match?
Don: Well, The New Day are not the host of WrestleMania this year. They have never defended the tag titles at Mania, nor have they won the tag titles at Mania. This is their year. New Day wins the belts at Fast Lane and now The Bar can no longer say they have no challengers, because we will see the Raw tag team champs vs. the SmackDown tag team champs at WrestleMania. New Day Rocks! Woods and Big E will claim the victory for The New Day.
Heel Turn Tom: What can I say about this match that hasn’t been said 100 times over the previous year? Jimmy and Jey will put on a great tag match with Big E and Kofi. Dave Meltzer will give this the highest rating of the night. The Usos will successfully defend and go to WrestleMania as champs.
Magnum: I swear…it feels like only yesterday that these guys had their final chapter at Hell in the Cell. It’s also wild to consider that WWE crammed in six PPV’s between October 8th and March 11th, but I digress. I would have bet the farm on Benjamin & Gable last month, especially because of Jey’s DWI charge. I’d like to believe that a DWI would result in a superstar losing his title almost immediately, but that hasn’t been the case. That change is going to come Sunday. Big E, Xavier, and Kofi for the win.
Colin: These guys never disappoint. They have great chemistry together, but this match came too soon following their long, long feud last year. I’m picking The Usos to retain. For the bonus point, gimme Big E and Kofi.
WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship Match
Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Ruby Riott (with Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan)
Tricky Don: For this one, I am counting on my advocate Big Patt, so here we go! Ruby Riott hasn’t been in WWE long enough for a Women’s Title run, and she is not on Charlotte’s level. She wasn’t doing too well in NXT and now that she’s in the Riott Squad, I don’t feel she’s ready for a title run. If the rumors are true, we will get Charlotte vs Asuka at WrestleMania. Charlotte Flair wins.
Heel Turn Tom: Any other month/PPV, I would consider Ruby winning and stirring stuff up…but not Fast Lane in March. Charlotte will win. But WAIT, I’m calling Carmella cashing in and winning the title tonight! (Editor’s note: Tom, I’ll give you an extra point if this happens. :-D)
Magnum: Wow. THAT would be something. I actually don’t see Carmella cashing in just yet, but it’s entirely possible. As for this match, I think Ruby Riott will have a great showing. With the additions of Asuka & Rousey, as well as the rise of Absolution, Ruby has taken somewhat of a back seat. She deserves better. Unfortunately, that won’t come until after WrestleMania. Charlotte retains.
Colin: I have a feeling Asuka will challenge for this title which means Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair would make the most sense. The Queen will retain the title here, no doubt about that one.
Becky Lynch and Naomi vs. Natalya and Carmella
Tricky Don: Carmella should call her shot and cash in her “Money in the Bank” contract at WrestleMania. Since she is not, Natalya and Carmella will win tonight. All four ladies will go on to Mania to compete in the 1st ever Fabulous Moolah Memorial Battle Royal.
Heel Turn Tom: The Cruiserweights are getting their own tag championships in the future. With the number of female stables on Raw/SmackDown, maybe the women will get their own tag titles too? Becky and Naomi will win with Carmella taking the pin.
Magnum: One thing I’m taking a keen interest on, regarding this match…I want to know where it is on the card. If it’s placed as the second match on the card (or even the preshow), I will be paying very close attention to the Women’s Title match. If it takes place after Charlotte vs. Ruby, then I won’t be as interested. Give me Becky & Naomi on the odd chance that Carmella comes back later in the night…
Colin: Filler match, unfortunately. Probably placed just before the main event as a breather. Becky and Naomi to pick up the W.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev (with Aiden English)
Tricky Don: WWE books its two hottest stars at Fast Lane. From here on out, Fast Lane will be known as RUSEV DAY. WWE will book Rusev strong going in to WrestleMania. Nakamura will lose by count-out, so he will go into Mania as the underdog in his WWE Championship match. Rusev wins!
Heel Turn Tom: This feels like a time filler to round out the PPV since it was added at the last minute. WWE needs to bring back the war machine Rusev. Since this is still comedy Rusev, Nakamura will hit the Kinshasa for the 1-2-3.
Magnum: As we’ve seen in the past…just because a guy gets himself over with nothing, that doesn’t mean the brass is going to get behind him. Look at the 2012 de-push of Zack Ryder as proof. Sadly, today will not be Rusev Day. Shinsuke wipes the mat with our beloved Bulgarian. Weird trivia: Did you know Rusev was actually born on Christmas Day?
Colin: Poor Rusev, one of the most over guys in the company right now and it seems there’s no creative for him. I don’t see Nakamura losing a month before WrestleMania, so Shinsuke wins.
Alright, that’s going to do it for the Fastlane Pick’em report. The next time you will hear from all four of us? WRESTLEMANIA!! See you in N’awlins! 🙂
Live tonight from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, WWE presents Fastlane on pay-per-view and WWE Network. The full card is as follows:
AJ Styles vs John Cena vs Dolph Ziggler vs Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn vs Baron Corbin in a six-pack challenge for the WWE title; Charlotte Flair vs Ruby Riott for the Smackdown Women’s title; Bobby Roode vs Randy Orton for the WWE United States title; The Usos vs The New Day for the Smackdown Tag Team titles; Shinsuke Nakamura vs Rusev; Becky Lynch and Naomi vs Natalya and Carmella.
Fastlane is free for first-time subscribers to the WWE Network. To start your subscription go to http://w-o.it/wwentwrk.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Jumanji movie has not only ruled the box office chart for several weeks but now it’s ruling the iTunes Movies chart, knocking the latest Thor movie from the #1 spot.
Jumanji was released in digital format this week in 4K HDR for $19.99 and quickly shot up to the top of the chart on iTunes. The iTunes version includes a customized player, which The Rock says viewers would want to pick his not Kevin Hart’s because his “bonus materials are way cooler” and Hart “has halitosis.”
In theaters worldwide, Jumanji has a box office revenue of $934,129,493, with nearly $400 million of that coming from the United States. Johnson’s next movie, Rampage, comes out in theaters on April 13.
The WWENetworkNews.com website is reporting that the two-hour WCW Thunder show will be added to the vault section of the WWE Network starting on Monday, March 19.
Thunder is one of the few big shows that is still not available on the Network, partly because of the previous lawsuit with Buff Bagwell and Scott Levy against WWE regarding Network royalties.
WCW Thunder aired on TBS from January 8, 1998 for a total of 148 episodes, originally airing on Thursdays before switching to Wednesday to avoid a direct head-to-head encounter with WWE’s Smackdown. In late 2000, the show was taped on Monday nights following Monday Nitro and then aired two days later on TBS.
It is not known if the full library of Thunder will be uploaded on March 19 or if they will come in parts. The addition of all the episodes of Thunder will add almost 200 hours to the WWE Network.
For those fans outside North America who will watch the Fastlane pay-per-view live tonight on the WWE Network, the show will start an hour earlier than usual due to North America already changing to daylight savings.
If you’re living in a GMT timezone, the show will start Midnight local time, with the Kickoff show at 11PM. For those using Central European Time, it’s a 1AM local time start for the actual pay-per-view. Those fans far away in Australia, Fastlane will start at 11AM on Monday.
This will stay in effect on all WWE programming until your country springs forward for daylight savings as well.
WWE will present its final pay-per-view before WrestleMania tomorrow, Fastlane, with the winner of the WWE championship match going on to face Shinsuke Nakamura in New Orleans.
The current WWE champion AJ Styles is the odds-on-favorite to win the six-pack challenge, with odds at 1/20. John Cena and Kevin Owens are next in line, both of whom are at 6/1 odds. Sami Zayn is at 10/1, while Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler are way behind at 20/1.
Sytles versus Nakamura is a match that has not happened in WWE yet and WWE fans consider it as one of those dream matches. The two wrestled each other before at NJWP during Wrestle Kingdom.
Impact Wrestling champion Austin Aries made a surprise appearance at Ring of Honor’s 16th anniversary show last night in Las Vegas.
Aries showed up after the ROH TV title match ended and asked for a match for the only ROH title that he has not won. Aries had several of the titles he won over the course of the year with him, including the Impact Wrestling championship. The current ROH TV champion, Kenny King, accepted his challenge but the match obviously didn’t happen.
His current employer was aware of him appearing on the ROH show so he did not go rouge. PWInsider.com adds that Impact Wrestling gave their blessing to Aries being in Vegas for the show.
The former WWE cruiserweight had several stints with ROH during his career and won the Ring of Honor title twice as well as the ROH Tag Team titles with Roderick Strong.
Brock Lesnar appeared in another non-televised live event last night in his home town of Minneapolis, Minnesota and lasted around 30 seconds longer than his Chicago appearance…which was 35 seconds.
Lesnar wrestled The Miz and the match was stopped abruptly by the referee, possibly a disqualification after Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel interfered. Lesnar delivered three German suplexes to The Miz and then suplexed the rest of the Miztourage as well. All of them got an F5 for their trouble. The WWE Universal champion then proceeded to hit the F5 on the referee.
The whole segment with The Miz pre-match promo lasted around 20 minutes. You can see the video below.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross expressed his dissatisfaction with the authorities over their failure to locate his late wife’s belongings, namely her Rolex watch and the wedding ring.
Ross tweeted that it’s been almost a year since Jan was tragically killed and he is disappointed in the EMTs, Norman PD, and the OU Medical Center who failed to return her personal belongings.
The Norman PD said that they did not receive a report with the necessary information until this past Wednesday, a statement which Ross refuted and said that Norman PD “knew for weeks” of his issues regarding her personal belongings.
Responding to another tweet, Norman PD said that following the report on Wednesday, the issue is now being investigated by their Criminal Investigations Division.
HBO released the second trailer for their upcoming Andre The Giant documentary which will premiere on April 10, two days after WrestleMania 34.
The new trailer features comments by Hulk Hogan, WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, Hollywood movie star and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Robin Wright, the actress who plays Claire Underwood in Netflix’s House of Cards and who played the role of Buttercup in The Princess Bride movie along with Andre.
WWE is set to give the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal some extra importance this year at WrestleMania in order to plug the documentary, which they helped produce with HBO and Bill Simmons Media Group.
WWE has moved two of it’s non-televised live events in Canada from the end of April to end of August.
The affected shows are the April 28 live event in Halifax, Nova Scotia and the April 29 event in St. John, New Brunswick. Both these shows were Smackdown events and they have been moved to August 25 and August 26 respectively.
The necessary change was done due to practically the whole roster traveling to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia for the April 27 50-man Rumble show at the 62,000-seater King Abdullah Sports City stadium.
If you purchased a ticket for any of these two shows, the same tickets will be honored for the new dates. If for some reason you cannot make it in August, WWE is offering full refunds at point of purchase.
EC3, the former Impact Wrestling champion, made his NXT in-ring return last night at one of the small non-televised live event shows in Dade City, Florida.
The 34-year-old wrestled Kassius Ohno in his first NXT match in five years, and came out victorious. EC3 last appeared in NXT in May 2013 using the name of Derrick Bateman. The two had a match against each other that year when they were participating in opposing teams in the NXT Tag Team title tournament.
His last match was against the then NXT champion Big E, a match taped for NXT television.
EC3 will be part of the six-man ladder match at NXT Takeover: New Orleans to crown the new NXT North American champion.
DIRECTV, one of the biggest satellite service providers in the United States, has once again opted not to show WrestleMania 34 on traditional pay-per-view this year.
This will be the fourth year in a row that DIRECTV will not carry WrestleMania as they completely cut ties with the company following the introduction of the WWE Network, citing unfair practice. WrestleMania XXX was the last WWE pay-per-view that DIRECTV carried.
Reached out for comment, a DIRECTV representative told us, “WWE events are no longer available for purchase on DIRECTV.” It’s still undeniable that DIRECTV really shines when it comes to channel selection such as NFL and other sports channels but not WWE. If you want to learn more about this, this article will give you more insights regarding the topic.
Meanwhile, DISH Network will be carrying WrestleMania on their pay-per-view platform. The broadcaster resumed carrying WWE pay-per-views last year in time for WrestleMania 33 after also dropping WWE shows following the arrival of the WWE Network. DISH was the first provider to actually drop WWE.
“WrestleMania 34 will be available to DISH subscribers for $59.99. Customers can pre-order the event at mydish.com/wwe or 1-888-DISH PPV (347-4778) as early as March 23,” a DISH Network rep confirmed.
The WWE Network will be carrying WrestleMania 34 for free for first-time subscribers. To start your 30-day free trial, go to http://w-o.it/wwentwrk.
Things are about to get weird on WWE television as PWInsider.com is reporting that the company is filming the Ultimate Deletion match at the Hardy compound today.
The popular – and different – match appeared first on an episode of Impact Wrestling a few years ago. With Hardy now owning the rights to the Broken Universe, WWE can go ahead and present their own version of the Ultimate Deletion match.
This match will be screened on Monday Night Raw and not at WrestleMania as many thought it would be. The match could be a good addition to Raw as more viewers will probably tune in to see what kind of craziness they will bring, bumping up the ratings.
“‘W’ is gonna start sounding like ‘BR’..,” Hardy wrote on Twitter, referring to Woken and Broken. While at Impact, Hardy was referred to as Broken Matt.
It will be interesting to see if Reby Hardy, his son King Maxel, and father-in-law Señor Benjamin will be appearing. Reby ripped on Impact Wrestling in the past for not paying her father to appear in the match. Jeff Hardy, cleared by his surgeon, could also appear in his alter ego of Brother Nero.
One of the creative minds behind the original match at Impact was Jeremy Borash, who now works solely for WWE and the NXT brand.
WWE and Spanish television broadcaster GOL today announced a new agreement to broadcast weekly WWE highlight shows Bottom Line, Afterburn, and Experience on GOL, a free-to-air sports channel available to all TV households in Spain.
Beginning this week, GOL will air Bottom Line on Saturdays at 3PM, Afterburn on Sundays at 3PM, and Experience on Mondays at 1PM, all with Spanish commentary.
“We are very happy to incorporate WWE in GOL, as WWE is a recognized leader in global entertainment,” said Francesc Carbonell, GOL’s Director. “Spectators will have the opportunity to enjoy WWE’s exciting weekly highlight programming.”
“GOL shares our vision and passion for engaging and entertaining our fans,” said Michelle Wilson, WWE Co-President. “This partnership to televise WWE’s highlight shows in Spain allows us to expand our reach and deliver additional WWE programming to our fans throughout the country.”
WWE’s highlight shows will also be available on GOL’s TV Everywhere platform for authenticated subscribers, and on its 7-day VOD catchup window.
Bobby Fish of The Undisputed Era will be undergoing knee surgery this week according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer.
Fish, one-half of the current NXT Tag Team champions, injured his knee at a non-televised live event last weekend. He was helped to the back by his partner Kyle O’Reilly and Adam Cole.
Since the NXT Tag Team titles will be defended at the NXT Takeover: New Orleans event against the winners of the Dusty Rhodes Classic tournament, it will be interesting to see how the situation will be addressed on television or if Cole will step in to replace Fish in the match since they are the same faction.
A new title in NXT was introduced at last night’s television tapings and its inaugural champion will be crowned at NXT Takeover: New Orleans on the eve of WrestleMania 34.
The announcement of the NXT North American title was made by NXT General Manager William Regal, who also made a massive six-man ladder match that will determine the first champion.
The segment of the title announcement also led to the return of EC3, the former Impact Wrestling champion who has rejoined WWE. EC3 thought the title was for him but Regal had other plans, and it was later announced that Ricochet, Killian Dain, Velveteen Dream, Lars Sullivan, and Adam Cole will be his opponents in the ladder match at Takeover.
