2023-10-09 07:01:52
Fastlane 2023 was an opportunity to pick up the pace of WWE’s stories for the fall, and it certainly gave some top stars a spotlight.
However, it was not nearly the showcase that it could have been with the talent involved. Some benefited while others fell short.
The Judgment Day walked in on top of the world but then lost the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships to Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso.
Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits hoped to build momentum in their first trios action together, but Carlito return to help Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar beat them.
However, Iyo Sky did manage to retain her SmackDown Women’s Championship in a tough fight. She seems ready for a long reign with the gold.
LA Knight looked like an unstoppable star with John Cena in his corner. The two beat down Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso and defeated them both soundly.
Shinsuke Nakamura used every trick in his arsenal to dethrone Seth Rollins, but nothing worked. The Visionary survived and likely put an end to The Artist’s world title aspirations in WWE.
These are the real winners and losers from Fastlane 2023.
WWE made a big commitment to The Judgment Day at Payback when Finn Bálor and Damian Priest won the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships in a memorable battle with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.
It took just one premium live event for that to change, though. Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso overwhelmed their opponents despite the whole stable coming out to help.
This is coming just one day after The Judgment Day stood up to The Bloodline on SmackDown, hurting any chance the group had to gain Roman Reigns’ respect.
It also looks like the hints of the group falling apart before Payback are about to come to pass. In particular, Bálor took the pin and has no title to his name while JD McDonagh accidentally took Priest out during the match.
Both will likely be pushed out of the group and forced to build their own alliance. This can allow The Judgment Day to regroup, but that should not have been necessary this early.
Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits have built some hype recently. These three are amongst the top names in WWE and should be nearly unstoppable in trios action.
Instead, they lost their first match together.
Carlito’s return to WWE was seen as a higher priority than this new trio’s credibility. Caribbean Cool is a fun performer who may have a few years of serious competition left, but he is 44 years old. He should not be a true focus point of the product.
Lashley has waited so long to get back into the spotlight in 2023, but the new push is off to a rocky start. Hopefully, the plan is to keep him undefeated at least in singles action for a while.
Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins can take some losses, but they would be best served gaining momentum for an eventual challenge for the undisputed WWE tag team titles.
WWE has slowly stepped up its sponsorship focus, and Fastlane was pronounced with its focus. Cyberpunk 2077 was shown on every promo.
Pizza Hut got its most pronounced sponsorship since Survivor Series 2021’s dual-brand Battle Royal. Before LWO vs. Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits, the company got a focused WWE commercial that led into the post-match antics of that contest.
Later, LA Knight sped into the arena in a Slim Jim-branded sports car, continuing his on-going relationship with the snack-food company.
The wrestling of the night was under the usual standard for WWE, but that only meant fans had more time to focus on the advertisements.
While this is smart strategy for revenue by WWE, it’s a shame that this show may be remembered more for its overdone adverts than the in-ring action.
Iyo Sky is one of the most talented women in wrestling today, and WWE is finally giving her a chance to truly prove it. She stole the show with Charlotte Flair and Asuka in a Triple Threat.
Most importantly, The Genius of the Sky retained the WWE Women’s Championship. Many have fallen when challenged by The Queen, but Sky was still seen as a priority over Flair.
This was the most dangerous challenge of Sky’s title reign so far. She should now have a good chance to get to 2024 as women’s champion with few fresh challengers available to dethrone her.
The women’s division needs big stars, and The Genius of the Sky is earning that label. Hopefully, she will solidify her status by the end of her championship reign.
It took longer than fans wanted, but LA Knight is officially in main event booking mode. He was established as a bigger deal than John Cena throughout his tag match with The Champ.
After a successful PLE victory over The Bloodline, The Megastar is ready to challenge Roman Reigns sooner than later. He may face him as soon as Crown Jewel on November 4.
WWE may choose to hold off until Survivor Series, especially since Cena himself could also be an option for The Tribal Chief soon. Either way, it’s coming. That match will be the biggest test of Knight’s career.
It’s unlikely The Megastar will dethrone Reigns, but it’s not inconceivable. Knight is arguably as over as Cody Rhodes and Sami Zayn were earlier in the year when facing The Tribal Chief.
The future is certainly bright for him, no matter what gold he wins in the future.
For the second month in a row, Shinsuke Nakamura fell short. WWE had done enough to sell his aspirations for a world championship, but he was not able to do enough to defeat Seth Rollins.
Nakamura is at the tail end of his wrestling career. This was only his second WWE PLE main event, and it is likely his last.
The company will move onto the next challenge for Rollins, and there are plenty of young names ready to next step up, such as Ricochet or Drew McIntyre.
This is all solid for WWE but leaves The Artist in the position of a forgotten man. Much like before this year, he could easily fall into the background again.
This felt like the last shot to give Nakamura a deserved world title run. It is now gone, and the future of The Artist is entirely uncertain as a result.
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