2/21 Fastlane: WWE sticks with Reigns

Adam Martin reviews WWE Fastlane for 2/21/16

WWE Fastlane PPV Review
February 22, 2016
By: Adam Martin of Wrestleview.com

With only six weeks remaining until WrestleMania 32 in Jerry World, WWE has a path set for the main event and it once again involves Roman Reigns fighting his way back to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a move that feels rather mundane.

I get it. Lots of guys are injured and given the past storylines in the last few months, it makes sense that Reigns should probably be the guy to face Triple H. Yet, I’m still left uninterested and genuinely wondering how WWE is going to sell us on this main event.

I’m clearly not the only one.

57% of people polled on our Twitter gave the show a thumbs down and another 36% gave the show a thumbs in the middle with early feedback on Sunday night.

WWE REALLY WANTS ROMAN REIGNS TO BE “THE GUY”

It’s literally getting to the point where we’ve had the experiment of a championship run with Roman Reigns and it was what it was: not interesting. Should he be given the benefit of the doubt with a spectacular title win at the biggest show of the year? Maybe. From this end, it just seems like a recipe for disaster inside the very large AT&T Stadium in Dallas.

The last thing I want to be is your typical internet wrestling critic with this situation. I just don’t see what another Roman Reigns title run does for this company in the current presentation of his character. Maybe WWE pulls a fast one and has Triple H retain, which would probably equal the same negative reaction to Reigns pinning Triple H.

Either way, WWE is incredibly stubborn with the Reigns character and they have a plan they intend to stick to heading into WrestleMania. Despite that, the triple threat main event on Sunday night in Cleveland still found a way to be entertaining – largely in part with the involvement of Brock Lesnar. It was astounding to me how much more interesting Lesnar was walking out to the ring compared to Reigns and Ambrose. It’s just a night and day presentation. I enjoyed Lesnar keeping a tally of his german suplexes on both guys and ultimately getting cooled off with double team work by Reigns and Ambrose. Paul Heyman is always a good hand at ringside reacting and putting over spots. The problem was the inevitable finishing sequence where Reigns was getting the win. You knew it was coming and they stopped you from getting involved even more. It is what it is, folks.

OWENS AND ZIGGLER STEAL THE SHOW

Kevin Owens has found a way to make just about everything he does seem important or interesting, which is a rare quality to have on the WWE roster at the moment. Kudos to Dolph Ziggler for being a great dance partner with Owens on Sunday. Some of the bumps Owens took were just flat out scary to watch including bouncing his head off the steel ring steps and a real nasty corner spot. Ziggler works a great pace that always gets a crowd involved. I thought these guys stole the show with a really physical match.

JERICHO VS. STYLES III

The television interaction between Chris Jericho and AJ Styles since the Royal Rumble has been pretty good and was a good first step for Styles into the WWE Universe. Where Jericho loses me at times is when he tries to fit so much into a match to make it a “classic” that they often forget that keeping it simple can be just as good. We saw some pretty messy spots between these guys on Sunday night. Despite some issues, Jericho’s facial expressions during the tap out sequence to the Calf Crusher was really well done.

QUICK THOUGHTS

* Sasha Banks seems really primed to be one of the standouts on the roster.

* The Wyatt Family definitely needs a focus. I like the act, but it needs some direction.

* Brie Bella did a very good job tonight working the babyface in peril with Charlotte.

* Edge and Christian jokes were falling pretty flat in 2016 in front of a live audience.

* Great job by WWE to insert Tony Chimel’s for Edge’s introduction.

* Goldust and R-Truth has some potential.

OVERALL IMPRESSION

Get ready for a long six weeks if you aren’t interested in the Roman Reigns character. I really want to be optimistic here heading into WrestleMania. Forgive me if I’m in second guessing mode with WWE’s decision to book Triple H vs. Roman Reigns. Maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised when the lights focus on these two inside AT&T Stadium.

One match can’t make or break show…can it?

Agree? Disagree? Let me know your thoughts about Fastlane in the comments below.

Follow me on Twitter: @adamwrestleview

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