Fastlane (2015): Difference between revisions
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===Main event=== |
===Main event=== |
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In the main event, [[Roman Reigns]] defended his [[WWE World Heavyweight Championship]] match at WrestleMania against [[Daniel Bryan]], who qualified for the match on ''Raw'' earlier in the month. Reigns and Bryan each performed some of their signature moves, including Reigns' apron dropkick and Bryan's surfboard submission. Bryan applied the Yes Lock on Reigns, who was able to reach the ropes for a break. When Reigns subsequently rolled out of the ring, Bryan performed two suicide dives, but an attempt at a third dive resulted in Reigns catching Bryan for a suplex outside the ring. Both competitors barely beat the referee's count of ten. Reigns performed the Superman Punch, but Bryan kicked out. After that, Bryan performed the Running Knee, with Reigns kicking out. (Prior to this match, no one had ever kicked out of the Running Knee.) After a series of roundhouse kicks, Bryan attempted a second Running |
In the main event, [[Roman Reigns]] defended his [[WWE World Heavyweight Championship]] match at WrestleMania against [[Daniel Bryan]], who qualified for the match on ''Raw'' earlier in the month. Reigns and Bryan each performed some of their signature moves, including Reigns' apron dropkick and Bryan's surfboard submission. Bryan applied the Yes Lock on Reigns, who was able to reach the ropes for a break. When Reigns subsequently rolled out of the ring, Bryan performed two suicide dives, but an attempt at a third dive resulted in Reigns catching Bryan for a suplex outside the ring. Both competitors barely beat the referee's count of ten. Reigns performed the Superman Punch, but Bryan kicked out. After that, Bryan performed the Running Knee, with Reigns kicking out. (Prior to this match, no one had ever kicked out of the Running Knee.) After a series of roundhouse kicks, Bryan attempted a second Running Knee, but Reigns countered with a spear, pinning Bryan. Visibly upset, Bryan shook Reigns' hand but added that "you better kick his ([[Brock Lesnar|Lesnar's]]) ass" as the show ended with the two leaving the ring. |
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==Aftermath== |
==Aftermath== |
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Revision as of 03:58, 7 March 2015
| Fastlane | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuring Roman Reigns | |||
| Promotion | WWE | ||
| Date | February 22, 2015 | ||
| City | Memphis, Tennessee | ||
| Venue | FedExForum | ||
| Attendance | 13,263[1] | ||
| Tagline(s) | Get in the Fastlane on the Road to WrestleMania | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
| |||
WWE Fastlane was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE. It took place on February 22, 2015, at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee.[2] It was the first WWE Fastlane event and replaced Elimination Chamber.
Seven matches were contested on the main card with no match on the pre-show. In the main event, Roman Reigns defeated Daniel Bryan to retain his WWE World Heavyweight Championship shot against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31.
Background
Fastlane featured professional wrestling matches involving wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines that played out on WWE's primary television programs, Raw and SmackDown. Wrestlers portrayed faces (heroes) or heels (villains) as they followed a series of events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.[3][4]
On November 23, during the main event of Survivor Series, Sting made his first-ever appearance in a WWE ring by attacking Triple H with a Scorpion Death Drop and dragging Dolph Ziggler on top of Rollins, giving Team Cena the win and causing the Authority to be removed from power, which had been a secondary stipulation of the match.[5] On January 19 edition of Raw, Sting made his Raw debut by appearing backstage during the main event, a 3-on-1 handicap match between John Cena and the team of Big Show, Kane, and Rollins. The lights in the arena darkened as Sting walked to the stage and gestured to the Authority at ringside. The distraction allowed John Cena to pin Rollins for the win, which reinstated the jobs of the recently (kayfabe) fired Ziggler, Ryback, and Erick Rowan.[6] On January 26, it was officially announced via WWE.com that Triple H challenged Sting to a "face-to-face" confrontation at Fastlane.[7] On the February 9th edition of Raw, Triple H again called Sting out to accept his challenge. The lights went out, and a group of Sting impersonators appeared around the arena and inside the ring, illuminated by spotlights, while a video message stating that Sting had accepted Triple H's challenge played on the TitanTron.[8]
During the Royal Rumble post-show, Rusev interrupted John Cena's interview and the two shoved each other. On January 26, it was announced on WWE.com that Rusev would defend his United States Championship against Cena at the event.[7]
On the January 29 episode of SmackDown, it was announced that Nikki Bella would defend her Divas Championship against Paige at the event.[9]
On the February 2nd episode of Raw, Roman Reigns was manipulated by The Authority into agreeing to defend his title opportunity for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 31, which he had earned by winning the Royal Rumble match, in a match at Fastlane. Later that night, Daniel Bryan defeated Seth Rollins to earn the right to face Reigns at the event.[10]
On January 19 edition of Raw, Dean Ambrose defeated Bad News Barrett.[6] The following weeks, Ambrose demanded a match for the Intercontinental Championship, but Barrett declined. On the February 16th edition of Raw, after Barrett defeated Damien Mizdow, Ambrose attacked Barrett by tying his hands around the ring post, forced him to sign the contract and had Barrett defend his title against him at the event.[11]
On the January 29 episode of SmackDown, Tyson Kidd defeated Jey Uso.[9] On the February 2nd episode of Raw, Cesaro defeated Jimmy Uso.[10] On the February 9 episode of Raw, Cesaro and Kidd defeated The Usos.[8] On the February 16th edition of Raw, it was announced that the Usos would defend their Tag Team Championship against Cesaro and Kidd.[11]
Early in the year, Gold and Stardust started having problems communicating in their matches, with Stardust becoming further entrenched in his gimmick, leaving Goldust to have to try to communicate with his brother, Cody. This caused Stardust to get angry and walk out on a match against The Ascension on the February 2 edition of Raw.[10] On the February 16 edition of Raw, despite an impassioned plea from their father Dusty Rhodes, after losing to The New Day, Stardust hit Goldust with Cody's old finisher, thus dissolving the team.[11] On the February 19 edition of SmackDown, it was announced that Goldust would face Stardust at the event.[12]
On the February 9 edition of Raw, Dolph Ziggler, Ryback and Erick Rowan came out and helped Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns to defeat Seth Rollins, Big Show, Kane and J&J Security.[8] On the February 16th edition of Raw, after Ziggler defeated Rollins via disqualification, he was attacked by Rollins and J&J Security, but Ryback, and Rowan came out and saved Ziggler.[11] On February 19 edition of SmackDown, after Rollins defeated Ziggler, the Authority attacked Ziggler, Ryback, and Rowan.[12] On February 19, it was announced on WWE.com that Ziggler, Ryback, and Rowan would face Rollins, Big Show, and Kane in a Six man tag team match at the event.
The pre-show featured a special broadcast of "Miz TV" with Paul Heyman as the special guest.
Event
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Commentators | John "Bradshaw" Layfield |
| Michael Cole | |
| Jerry Lawler | |
| Carlos Cabrera (Spanish) | |
| Marcelo Rodríguez (Spanish) | |
| Interviewers | Eden (Pre-show) |
| Tom Phillips (Pre-show) | |
| Ring announcers | Lilian Garcia |
| Eden | |
| Pre Show Panel | Booker T |
| Byron Saxton | |
| Corey Graves | |
| Renee Young | |
| Referees | Darrick Moore |
| Charles Robinson | |
| Mike Chioda |
Pre-show
The Miz hosted a Miz TV segment, during which he scolded his personal assistant Damien Mizdow, telling him to sit in the corner, continuing the hostility between the two. Miz interviewed Paul Heyman, who informed the crowd that Brock Lesnar would not be in attendance, but that Lesnar would defeat whoever won the night's main event at WrestleMania to defend his WWE World Heavyweight Championship. No matches were held during the pre-show.[13]
Main card
The first match on the main card was a six-man tag match with Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan, and Ryback facing Authority members Seth Rollins, Big Show, and Kane. Kane scored the winning pinfall for his team on Ziggler via chokeslam, with Big Show hitting Ziggler with a KO Punch while Rollins distracted the referee. After the match, Rollins curb stomped Ziggler and Rowan. While lining up for a curb stomp on Ryback, Randy Orton returned and performed his RKO on various Authority members, while Rollins ran out of the arena.
The second match of the night was a singles match between Goldust and Stardust. Goldust defeated his brother Stardust via a roll-up pin. Stardust shook Goldust's hand after the match, but in a backstage segment later in the show, Stardust attacked his brother and confronted his father, informing them that the feud was not over.
The third match of the night was for the WWE Tag Team Championship between the team of Cesaro and Tyson Kidd and The Usos (Jey and Jimmy Uso). Cesaro and Kidd won the titles after Kidd performed a fisherman's neckbreaker on Jimmy. The championship was Kidd and Cesaro's first as a team as well as Kidd's first title in nearly five years.
Later that night in a segment, Triple H cut a promo about his frustrations with Sting. Upon Sting's arrival, Triple H offered to do business with Sting, allowing Sting to be immortalized on the WWE Network and even be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. After failing to come to a resolution, Triple H attacked Sting, leaving the ring to grab his signature sledgehammer, but instead found Sting had returned with his signature baseball bat. With Triple H trapped in the corner, Sting pointed to the WrestleMania sign, silently challenging Triple H to a match. Triple H tried to attack Sting from behind, but Sting swung his bat at Triple H's stomach and performed a Scorpion Deathdrop to end the segment. It was revealed later in the show that a match between the two at WrestleMania had been made official.
The fourth match of the night was for the WWE Divas Championship between Nikki Bella (with Brie Bella) against Paige. Nikki would retain her Divas Championship after rolling up Paige while grabbing Paige's tights, an illegal move unseen by the referee.
The fifth match was between the WWE Intercontinental Championship between Bad News Barrett and Dean Ambrose. Barrett retained his Intercontinental Championship when, after Barrett made several attempts at getting himself intentionally counted out (as titles do not change hands via count-out), the referee disqualified Ambrose for attacking Barrett in the corner and not backing off by the count of five. After the match, Ambrose performed Dirty Deeds on Barrett and left the ring with the title belt.
In another segment (which was unexpected), several hooded torchbearers stood on the entrance ramp while a casket was wheeled down to the ring, leading the audience to believe that The Undertaker was returning. Instead, Bray Wyatt was in the casket, revealing that his cryptic vignettes over the past few weeks were referring to The Undertaker. Wyatt then formally challenged The Undertaker to a match at WrestleMania.
In the sixth match Rusev faced John Cena for the United States Championship. In a back-and-forth match, Rusev countered out of several Attitude Adjustment attempts but failed to pin Cena. Cena eventually performed the Attitude Adjustment, but Rusev kicked out. Rusev countered a top rope leg drop into a power bomb, setting up his signature Accolade submission, but Cena powered out. While Rusev's valet Lana distracted the referee, Rusev hit Cena with a low blow, enabling him to lock in the Accolade a second time. With Cena passed out, the referee was forced to stop the match. It was Cena's first submission loss in 11 years since the No Way Out PPV in 2004.
Main event
In the main event, Roman Reigns defended his WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania against Daniel Bryan, who qualified for the match on Raw earlier in the month. Reigns and Bryan each performed some of their signature moves, including Reigns' apron dropkick and Bryan's surfboard submission. Bryan applied the Yes Lock on Reigns, who was able to reach the ropes for a break. When Reigns subsequently rolled out of the ring, Bryan performed two suicide dives, but an attempt at a third dive resulted in Reigns catching Bryan for a suplex outside the ring. Both competitors barely beat the referee's count of ten. Reigns performed the Superman Punch, but Bryan kicked out. After that, Bryan performed the Running Knee, with Reigns kicking out. (Prior to this match, no one had ever kicked out of the Running Knee.) After a series of roundhouse kicks, Bryan attempted a second Running Knee, but Reigns countered with a spear, pinning Bryan. Visibly upset, Bryan shook Reigns' hand but added that "you better kick his (Lesnar's) ass" as the show ended with the two leaving the ring.
Aftermath
Paul Heyman revealed after the show on his Twitter that his client and WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar would be at Raw the following night to address Reigns' victory. But Lesnar did not appear with Heyman.
On the February 23 edition of Raw, Randy Orton kicked off the show by calling out Seth Rollins to a match, but ended up getting the Authority, and he supposedly rejoined them claiming that it was for the "bigger picture". Meanwhile Dolph Ziggler, Ryback, and Erick Rowan would avenge their loss on the February 26 2015 edition of Smackdown, defeating Rollins, Kane, and Big Show.
Bray Wyatt officially called out the Undertaker after a series of mysterious messages that were played out on February episodes of Raw and SmackDown saying he was no longer afraid of the Undertaker and claiming that he will be the "the new face of fear".
Reaction
While the show itself was considered average, widespread criticism befell the Memphis crowd, with Kenny Herzog of Rolling Stone magazine remarking that "it seemed as if the Fastlane ticket holders came in protest, or at the very least begrudged."[14] Cageside Seats' Geno Mrosko criticized the undercard but praised the last two matches, giving the show a B- grade.[15]
The show was also criticized for its lackluster finishes, including two roll-up wins, a disqualification, and two distraction finishes, with only the main event and the tag team championship match ending with a "clean" finish. Jesse Collings of Wrestling Inc. called the show a "glorified episode of Raw", adding that "there were a few highlights, but there was not a single thing that took place on this show that couldn't have been done on an episode of Raw."[16]
Results
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times[24] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Authority (Kane, Big Show and Seth Rollins) (with Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury) defeated Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan and Ryback | Six-man tag team match[17] | 13:01 | ||
| 2 | Goldust defeated Stardust | Singles match[18] | 08:55 | ||
| 3 | Tyson Kidd and Cesaro (with Natalya) defeated The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso) (c) (with Naomi) | Tag team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship[19] | 09:33 | ||
| 4 | Nikki Bella (c) (with Brie Bella) defeated Paige | Singles match for the WWE Divas Championship[20] | 05:34 | ||
| 5 | Bad News Barrett (c) defeated Dean Ambrose by disqualification | Singles match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship[21] | 07:58 | ||
| 6 | Rusev (c) (with Lana) defeated John Cena by submission | Singles match for the WWE United States Championship[22] | 16:45 | ||
| 7 | Roman Reigns defeated Daniel Bryan | Singles match for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania 31[23] | 22:51 | ||
| |||||
See also
References
- ^ Middleton, Marc. (February 26, 2015). "News On Sami Zayn's Return To WWE NXT, Another WWE Diva Calls Out Airline, Fastlane Attendance". WrestlingINC.
- ^ Caldwell, James. "WWE NEWS: February PPV gets a new title (w/Poll)". pwtorch.com. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- ^ Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on 18 November 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on 18 November 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
- ^ Caldwell, James (November 23, 2014). "Caldwell's WWE S. Series PPV Results 11/23: Ongoing "virtual-time" coverage of Team Cena vs. Team Authority, more". Pro Wrestling Torch.
- ^ a b Tedesco, Mike. "WWE RAW Results - 1/19/15 (Sting debuts on RAW)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- ^ a b Martin, Adam. "Fast Lane match, segment announced for 2/22 in Memphis". wrestleview.com. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- ^ a b c Tedesco, Mike. "WWE RAW Results - 2/9/15 (5-on-2 Handicap Match)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- ^ a b Tedesco, Mike. "WWE Smackdown Results - 1/29/15 (Casket Match)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
- ^ a b c Tedesco, Mike. "WWE RAW Results - 2/2/15 (Daniel Bryan vs. Seth Rollins)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
- ^ a b c d Tedesco, Mike. "WWE RAW Results - 2/16/15 (Bryan and Reigns in action)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ^ a b Tedesco, Mike. "WWE Smackdown Results - 2/19/15 (Rollins vs. Ziggler)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- ^ Caldwell, James. "CALDWELL'S WWE FAST LANE PPV REPORT 2/22 (Pre-Show): Complete coverage of Paul Heyman on Miz TV, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ Herzog, Kenny. "WWE 'Fastlane': It's Roman Reigns, Deal With It". RollingStone. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ^ Mrosko, Geno. "WWE Fast Lane 2015 results, recap, reactions (Feb. 22): Believe that". cagesideseats.com. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ^ Collings, Jesse. "Views From The Turnbuckle: Fast Lane Review, Reaction, Star Ratings And More". wrestlinginc.com. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ^ Melok, Bobby. "Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan & Ryback vs. Seth Rollins, Kane & Big Show". WWE. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- ^ Clapp, John. "Goldust vs. Stardust". WWE. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- ^ Clapp, John. "WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos vs. Cesaro & Tyson Kidd". WWE. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ^ Wortman, James. "Divas Champion Nikki Bella vs. Paige". WWE. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
- ^ Clapp, John. "Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett vs. Dean Ambrose". WWE. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ^ Clapp, John. "United States Champion Rusev vs. John Cena". WWE. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
- ^ Clapp, John. "Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan (Winner faces Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania)". WWE. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
- ^ Caldwell, James. "CALDWELL'S WWE FAST LANE PPV RESULTS 2/22: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of Bryan vs. Reigns, Cena vs. Rusev, Sting-Hunter confrontation, final PPV before WM31". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 23 February 2015.