6 Biggest Missed Opportunities From WWE Fastlane 2019

4. Too Many Major Stars Missing

Michael Cole may have kept telling us that we're on the 'Road To WrestleMania' but it certainly didn't feel like it at Fastlane. Not only did the event fail when it came to furthering major storylines, there was (once again) a significant drought of some of the company's top stars.

Last-minute appearances from Randy Orton and AJ Styles do not excuse the fact that they were left off the match card in the first place, but at least they were given something to do. The same can't be said for other major stars like Braun Strowman, Jeff Hardy and the recently-returned Matt Hardy who didn't appear at all, while the overdue return of Bray Wyatt still has yet to take place.

But perhaps the most noticeable absence of them all was then-Intercontinental Champion Finn Bálor. Ever since winning the gold in underwhelming fashion, the 'Leader of the Bálor Club's title reign has been nondescript, to say the least. We probably should have known the new champ wouldn't hold the belt for long when he couldn't even find a place on the show directly before WrestleMania.

While the writers did make an effort to address their previous inability to feature all their top stars on one show by adding Samoa Joe and The Bar to matches in the last minute, this couldn't make up for some of the more noticeable absences and, as a result, the event felt more like a road block to WrestleMania than anything else.