Even before WWE gets to Tuesday night, the road to WrestleMania 34 has become more clear. The path for many wrestlers has been laid out following WWE Fastlane, with a few surprises still to be unveiled.
Fastlane had no business being a solid as it was, proving once again that when fans and the media believe the company is going to fall flat, the McMahon family knows when to deliver.
WWE Fastlane was chaotic, semi-predictable and at times, fun. It also served as a lasting reminder that WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans has a chance to be very, very good.
AJ Styles will face Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE title. The Usos, New Day and the Bludgeon Brothers will compete in some gimmick match, with the SmackDown tag team titles on the line. Asuka’s path to New Orleans has now been determined, with a match against Charlotte Flair. This opens the door for Nia Jax to do her best Batista impersonation and face Alexa Bliss.
Of course, Roman Reigns faces Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins, Finn Balor and The Miz will dance in a triple-threat match for the Intercontinental Title.
Damn, for a moment there I sounded like Gordon Solie, giving you a rundown of a local card in Jacksonville.
There are still a few loose ends to tie up, which should become apparent this week. By losing the “six pack” challenge, John Cena still does not have a dance partner. After watching Sunday night, and witnessing the interference by Shane McMahon, something tells me that the two of them will form a team to face Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Call it a hunch as I have also seen many pundits believe Chris Jericho will make his return to the “Show of Shows.” Cena makes a little bit more sense if the company is not going to push for The Undertaker to come out of retirement.
Stay tuned.
The Ronda Rousey-Kurt Angle match with Stephanie McMahon and Triple H has the makings of a total flop, which means it will probably be better than we all expect. WWE must teach Rousey how to deliver more during a promo. Her ability in the ring isn’t the question. Whether she can become a more vocal hero with the fans is a concern. For now, all of us see this athlete who could very well be the baddest female on WWE roster as a soft-spoken neophyte. Hopefully her persona will develop more as she gets more comfortable in her new surroundings.
WWE has set the boundaries for a solid four hours of entertainment. I’m sure there will be more surprises along the way, with decisions being made about the Raw tag team title and a match between Bobby Roode, Randy Orton and Jinder Mahal for the United States Title.
If this is the card set for April 8, then WWE has already done a good job of giving the fans a show they won’t soon forget.