10 Winners And Losers From WWE Fastlane 2018

Fastlane hit the WWE Network airwaves Sunday night and gave fans a look at the superstars and stories that will be integral on the Road to WrestleMania 34. For some men and women of WWE's SmackDown brand, the event was a rewarding one that set them up to achieve great things come the Granddaddy of Them All.

They are the night's biggest winners, the superstars who will roll into WrestleMania with the intent on winning championships and adding to their legacies.

For others, it was a show that did them a great disservice, primarily because of questionable booking decisions that could leave them on the outside looking in come The Showcase of the Immortals.

They are the losers, their nights undone by major losses, storyline inconsistencies and character discrepancies.

Regardless of which side of the argument they fall on, these 10 had fans buzzing during WWE's most recent pay-per-view extravaganza.

The Rusev Day chants should have been all of the proof WWE Creative needed that now was the time to push The Bulgarian Brute. Instead, they are uttered almost in defiance of the manner in which the former United States champion is utilized, a hearty middle finger to management that inexplicably denies its audience more of the superstar they crave.

On Sunday, he kicked off Fastlane with another strong performance, this time against Royal Rumble winner Shinsuke Nakamura. Like so many other matches he has competed in over the last two years, he was unceremoniously dispatched, beaten down by a star perceived much bigger than him.

Rusev lost at Fastlane because that is what he does in the current landscape of WWE. No matter how popular he is, how much merchandise he sells or how much fans chant his gimmick every time he shows up, Rusev is not in the current plans so he will continue to be booked in the manner he has been until his heat dies or WWE Creative comes up with something of substance for him to do.