10 Ways WWE Screwed Up At Fastlane 2017

4. Ending Charlotte's Streak

Goldberg Kevin Owens
WWE.com

WWE have spent the best part of a year playing hot potato with the Raw Women’s Championship. Generally, Charlotte Flair either wins or successfully defends the championship on pay-per-view, only to lose it to a challenger on Raw. WWE picked last night to break the formula, and while the booking pattern had to end eventually, Fastlane wasn’t the right time or place to do it.

Bayley pinned Charlotte for the second consecutive match, and the booking poses all kinds of problems. We’ll get to the Sasha Banks interference in a moment, but the most disappointing part is the death of Charlotte’s pay-per-view winning streak. After being built-up for close to two years, Charlotte’s streak came to a quiet end on what will be one of the year’s least important PPVs. It meant absolutely nothing in the end, and all the effort that went into building it has become a giant waste of time.

Bayley should probably have been the one to eventually snap Charlotte’s streak, but this came entirely out of nowhere. The build was completely non-existent, and after promoting this streak as a huge part of Charlotte’s character, WWE tore it down in the least impressive way imaginable. A complete and utter waste from the company, and the match itself was several levels below the contest Charlotte and Bayley had on Raw a few weeks ago.

Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.