5 Ups And 9 Downs From WWE Fastlane 2017
2. Reigns Slays Strowman
No one stays undefeated forever. But when and how a monster is finally defeated is extremely important. Throw away that first defeat and you wasted a chance at making a new star in the process.
So of course, after WWE spent months building up Braun Strowman as a dominant monster who improved in the ring each week and actually was getting a good reaction from fans (witness his Raw main event against Big Show), the company sacrificed him in a throwaway match to the never-ending project of getting Roman Reigns over as a top guy. (Maybe now fans will buy Roman as a hero who slays beasts!)
Reigns is a guy who didn’t need this win. He’s also a guy who doesn’t really benefit from this win. Was his status as a top guy ever in doubt? Is he suddenly more legit with this win? No and no, but WWE had booked itself into the proverbial corner with this match.
It probably would’ve been better to go with a screwjob finish, but instead we got Reigns spearing Strowman for the 1-2-3. It was a good match, but if WWE was hellbent on Roman beating Braun, it should have happened in a more consequential way, not just a grudge match that gives Reigns nothing other than a notch in his ornate belt.