8 Match Star Ratings For WWE Fastlane 2021
3. Drew McIntyre Vs. Sheamus
A pointless match that was at least recognised as such, it was as if McIntyre and Sheamus arrived at the same conclusion as everybody else, thought "F*ck it," and beat the ever-living sh*t out of one another to create a different strain of drama.
Not quite as good as their first encounter - it felt like at times like an obligation to get the accepted Big Match Tropes in, where the March 1 match was laced with an awesomely feisty personality unique to this dynamic - it was nonetheless a fun arena-wide brawl sobering in its violence. The brutality was wince-inducing at times, but the back bumps to unprotected concrete felt like a transgression of their friendship and not of the worked form. This was a pay-per-view, and they brought the prestige to it.
Sheamus took a revolting-looking beating, but this was smart in its craft. His body type wears the strain of a plunder brawl better than most, and the breadth of his upper back absorbed it.
The bump down the ThunderDome screens looked naff, mind. It was very obviously a stunt welded onto a dynamic that very much didn't need one, and if it was a sly attempt to do something cool involving sparks in the wake of AEW Revolution, it was a self-own.
Beyond the genre trappings, this was a pounding physical ripper, and if there was no doubting who was actually the hardest lad in the year, the trouble at the back gates was worth it.
Star Rating: ★★★¾