The Positives
Timeout. WWE Fastlane did have some positives in my grading scale. One of them were a battle of the under 205 pound guys. This was the best Cruiserweight Championship match on WWE Pay-Per-View since it’s return to the RAW brand. Neville is a stud, complete with an aggressive personality and ring style to match. I was very impressed with Jack Gallagher, who made us feel that he was just as tough and aggressive as the “King of the Cruiserweights.” Their match, clocked in around 12 minutes, was full of action, spots and the crowd FINALLY caring about. I do think that WWE did a great job at slowly adding Austin Aries into the mix. I am all for an Aries vs. Neville match at WrestleMania. They can really work and the fans would love to see it. As far as Gallagher, he is a keeper. Unique in style and presentation, Vince will love a guy like this to build around. With him, Aries and Neville, WWE can begin to focus on building a few stars instead of throwing everyone else against the wall and seeing what sticks.
Samoa Joe also displayed everything you want him to. A physical beating of Sami Zayn kicked off the night and I really enjoyed it. He was slow and full of shots to the body, while Zayn sells it like a champion. He could sell a bible to the devil. This was the first of many fights from Joe we will see on Pay-Per-View and I wonder what plans they have in store for him at WrestleMania. I would love something with Finn Balor, but that might be a pipe dream. Whatever happens, the overall production of Joe has been spot on since coming to RAW.
The only change of this match would be to make it 15-20 minutes instead of under 9. Give half of the time used for Mahal and Rusev’s matches to these guys. At least there was a build and promotion for it.
As well as this match, Anderson and Gallows defeating Enzo and Big Cass was done perfectly. Have Enzo put his foot on the rope, only for Gallows to take if off at the last possible second. Enzo and Big Cass gave us their best, to date, performance in the ring. They added some moves and kept pace with two strong professionals who know when to strike.
