7 Reasons WWE Fastlane 2017 Absolutely Sucked
It hurts to think about what could have been...
While on the Road to WrestleMania, WWE somehow managed to swerve into the Fastlane and completely come screeching to a grinding halt. The final stop before this year's marquee wrestling event, which will take place April 2nd in Orlando, Fastlane was a failure of a show that featured no standout matches, disheartening results and some head-scratching booking that dragged it down from an average show to arguably the worst to air since the brand split.
The card was anchored by a compelling main event between Universal champion Kevin Owens and Bill Goldberg that was almost guaranteed to feature some sort of shenanigans being that both men currently have bitter rivals hellbent on exacting revenge, and in that sense it didn't "disappoint".
But claiming that it didn't disappoint feels icky because this show did exactly that on so many levels. Even the matches that were well-put together and featured memorable performances (Roman Reigns/Braun Strowman, Charlotte/Bayley and Samoa Joe/Sami Zayn) were mostly anchored with some questionable or outright horrific booking choices.
This was a very bad night for WWE that was all about establishing the short term, no matter how damaging to the long term...
7. Not Turning Rusev Face
This one feels like it's been long overdue for a while now, and the only reason it hasn't happened is because Rusev has been pigeonholed into the "evil foreigner" shtick - albeit a slightly modernized version - that WWE always goes to with guys from outside the United States.
The problem is that Rusev has all the tools to be an outstanding babyface: He's hilarious with great timing, has untapped charisma, his selling is some of the best in the company and he kills it with his facial expressions and doing all the "little things" correctly.
While Jinder "Hardbody" Mahal - who is definitely NOT on ALL the steroids - isn't exactly the level of heel that Rusev's turn should be inspired by, it felt like all the seeds were being planted with the two partners having their dispute and coming to blows earlier in the evening, but instead this just fizzled out into shades of gray nothingness.
Instead of a face turn that the fans - and quite frankly Rusev himself - were more than ready for, we get an impromptu match against Big Show where he cleanly defeats The Bulgarian Brute so that Show can be kept strong for...not-Shaq?
I don't think WWE would know how to book a babyface Rusev properly, but I think most fans would love to see them try.