10 Things WWE Regrets About Fastlane

5. A Hot Mess Of A Last-Minute Undercard

Goldberg Kevin Owens
WWE.com

In which WWE literally doubled down on one of its weirdest tropes.

Whether through poor pacing, the last-minute realisation that a crowd needs cooling down, or pure ineptitude, WWE has in its recent past presented an unadvertised five-minute nothing match on PPV. Unadvertised with good reason; few prior to Royal Rumble 2019 wanted to see Chad Gable and Bobby Roode Vs. Scott Dawson and...Rezar on what was already scheduled to be a marathon of a show.

WWE ran two unadvertised nothing matches at Fastlane '17 in what was a very unhelpful reminder that the midcard had nothing to do, weeks ahead of WWE's so-called "season finale" - nor anything to offer, in the case of Jinder Mahal. We'd be kind to WWE - its ridiculous schedule is closer to soap opera than prestige television - but since Stephanie McMahon compares the product to something loftier than that, f*cking Shakespeare, we won't.

"Earlier that night", Jinder Mahal told Rusev that he fancied his chances in singles competition. Then General Manager Mick Foley granted both Mahal and Rusev the opportunity - and just imagine being at that arena, and expecting to watch a pay-per-view - which manifested as a boring Cesaro match, Jesus Christ, and Big Show's glorified burial of the Bulgarian Brute.

WWE is d*mn lucky Pitbull leant the absolute banger that is 'Green Light' to promote WrestleMania 33, because without it, we would have remained decidedly un-pumped for the occasion.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!