5 Most Insane Things Happening In Wrestling Right Now (March 16)
2. A SmackDown Brand Pay-Per-View Knocks It Out Of The Park (!)
The least anticipated and most predictable pay-per-view in recent memory was actually pretty bloody good, defying all logic. Fastlane 2018 was something of a quiet triumph, which, given the bedrock-low expectations, was quite shocking.
Shinsuke Nakamura felt like the Shinsuke Nakamura of old in an awesome opening match with Rusev. It was booked as filler, but absolutely delivered in its remit of ungluing the crowd, setting a tone of high qualiy, and portraying its victor as a genuine force ahead of WrestleMania 34. Randy Orton told a good story in his match with Bobby Roode, for those who enjoy a slow-burning affair. The women's tag match didn't offer much, but then, it wasn't really meant to. The Bludgeon Brothers finally shed their cartoonish stigma in an awesome post-Tag Team Title match beatdown that was probably too brutal for its own good. Ruby Riott acquitted herself well in a choice bout that for once didn't portray the babyfaces and referees of the blue brand as dunces.
The main event, meanwhile, was so stupidly berserk that the last-gasp pin break-ups genuinely set pulses racing and rendered an obvious outcome doubtful. That outcome was the correct way to go, and WWE went about it perfectly, under the circumstances. Overall, it was proof that SmackDown isn't an irredeemable sh*tshow - until we remember that in all likelihood, post-'Mania, Road Dogg will have to book two World Champions who don't speak English fluently.
That will be interesting.