WWE Fastlane 2019: Star Ratings For All 10 Matches

10. KICKOFF: The New Day Vs. Rusev & Shinsuke Nakamura

Now fully reconciled with the idea that Shinsuke Nakamura does no give a toss, it’s perversely fun to watch him in his new, louche, lazy mode. He used to throw apathetic, aimless kicks as part of his King of Strong Style act. He used to disrespect his opponents, but now he is effectively disrespecting the company that pays him millions to surf in Floridian waters.

But, astonishingly, this burst into life after the customary slow start. Big E, simply too enthusiastic to prick about, announced himself in the match by going thudding suplex apesh*t and taking, with no compunction, Nakamura’s kicks right to the back of his head. Xavier Woods was on great form, too, galvanised perhaps by Kofi Kingston’s rise to the top of the card. He bumped big for Rusev’s power game, and made every flailing nanosecond count to extract the maximum drama.

Woods is also an underrated and overlooked psycho bumper; he took a wicked tandem chokeslam of sorts to the floor, adding an anxious dimension to the usual back-and-forth Kickoff dynamic.

Near-falls; creative spots; last-gasp saves: the New Day never phone it in.

Star Rating: ***