Roundtable: WWE Fastlane 2018

In this edition of The Wrestling Estate roundtable, the staff give their picks and predictions for WWE Fastlane.

How has Shinsuke Nakamura been booked since winning the Royal Rumble?

Calvin Gibbon: Stronger than before, but still not excellent. I’ve enjoyed his interactions with Rusev and Aiden English over the last few weeks. Not seeing Nakamura every week does cultivate his mystique, so I’d say positive overall.

Evan Cross: Really strangely. I get that they’re focusing on Mania, and we already know what Nakamura is doing there, but since he doesn’t need to wrestle much between now and then, he should be cutting promos or at least developing his character in some way.

Troy Taroff: I mean there isn’t a lot you can totally do with him right now, so kind of just having him hang around is fine with me.

Anthony Mahalis: His booking has been strange if you ask me. Seems like he hasn’t done very much since winning the Rumble. There is still plenty of time to build a good program with the winner of the Six-Pack Challenge (it BETTER be AJ) before WrestleMania, though. So I am going to hold off on my criticism for the time being.

John Corrigan: Terribly. He was MIA until two weeks ago!

David Gibb: I don’t watch every minute of every episode of SmackDown, but I can tell you as someone who keeps their finger on the pulse of the interwebs, people could be way more hyped at this point, given he was the popular choice for the spot.

Jack Goodwillie: I still think it’s too soon to know for sure. I think any real impact segments or angles we see with Shin are going to come after Fastlane’s done and dusted. That’s not to say the last month or so hasn’t mattered, but expectations are going to triple in the coming weeks and that is when the microscope will really be turned up.

Is it too soon for another New Day-Usos match?

Gibbon: Yeah, but what else is there? Smackdown has been booked into a corner with their tag teams. I’m expecting a great match on Sunday that’ll end when the Bludgeon Brothers ruin it and destroy both teams.

Cross: There have been about 400 of these over the past few years. What’s a few more?

Taroff: It’s never too early. Those two teams tear the house down every time they go at it.

Mahalis: I don’t think it is too soon. The Smackdown tag team division has stagnated again after the New Day/Uso battles. Smackdown needs to insert some energy back into the tag title picture. Also, I imagine that The Bludgeon Brothers will be interfering in the match at Fastlane. Just what everyone wants to see…not.

Corrigan: They had one of the hottest feuds last year, and killed it every time they faced off, but after they shook hands and showed each other respect, I’d rather they hold off a little bit longer before going to war again. Why not give Gable and Benjamin another shot, this time in front of a receptive crowd?

Gibb: Yes, but no. We’ve seen a lot of these teams, but nobody else has been pushed to/stepped up to their level (foam hammers be damned).

Goodwillie: I don’t think so. In sports and all walks of life, the best have to eventually play the best, and sometimes it’s just a reality that they will face off multiple times. It happens in the UFC all the time, see Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez, plus the old Cain Velasquez-Junior Dos Santos rivalry. With WrestleMania season approaching, the New Day idle and the Usos needing an opponent, I have no problem seeing them go at it again.

Do you like the new selfie, Word Art-graphic promos on WWE TV?

Gibbon: As a longtime fan, it’s very odd. I can’t say I hate it. I just don’t know how it helps the promo get over. It’s definitely eye grabbing. On occasion, I have noticed it helps the talent loosen up; for example, Baron Corbin has been doing well with those.

Cross: No. They remind me of a low-rent truck commercial. If they were gonna make a production change, why couldn’t they just dump the shaky cam and make everyone happy?

Taroff: Nope. Get Kevin Dunn away from the text machine.

Mahalis: I am totally fine with the selfie promos, it is 2018 after all, so they make some sense. However the colorful Word Art absolutely sucks ass. Why do we need that? Can we not hear what the superstars are saying already? We don’t need those big, idiotic block letters to show that John Cena really wants to find a road to WrestleMania.

Corrigan: They suck. This is one of those times WWE should take a page out of Impact Wrestling’s notebook and do promos in their traditional/imaginative blend.

Gibb: No.

Goodwillie: No, it’s terrible. I’ll do one better and bet that I can guess the man behind it too. His name probably rhymes with “Evan Sun.”

Who will be John Cena’s opponent at WrestleMania?

Gibbon: I’m hoping it’s the Undertaker, but it’s probably not him. On the other hand, it has to be. I want this match. I need this match. Please, we can’t let the last real dream match go by right? Right?!

Cross: Cena wouldn’t bring up the Undertaker unless it’s happening.

Taroff: Most likely Undertaker, as long as he is good to go and his hip hasn’t fallen off.

Mahalis: This is an interesting question. Initially, everyone and their mother thought it was going to be The Undertaker. Thankfully, it looks like we are going to dodge that heap of trash. Then it looked like they were teasing Cena/Elias, but that isn’t going to happen. So he goes to Smackdown and predictably earns his way into the Six-Pack Challenge, which as I have stated previously and on our Instagram (follow us @TheWrestlingEstate if you haven’t already), he better not win. So he is seemingly out of options. I am just going to go with the hot rumor right now and say that Cena will be facing Rey Mysterio on the grandest stage.

Corrigan: Nobody. He will instead take valuable time away to hold his wedding ceremony with Nikki. Will I object? Of course. That man doesn’t deserve happiness.

Gibb: Hmmmm…Maybe Baron Corbin? Corbin’s desperately needed to level-up for the better part of a year, and a match with Cena (even a loss) could give him much needed big-stage credibility.

Goodwillie: Sadly, I think it has to be The Undertaker. How can it not be? He’s already being incorporated into the storyline and while I’m not one to throw reporters under the bus (because I know how thankless the job can be), any evidence to the contrary has come from Justin Barrasso of S.I. and I don’t think he’s been right in his entire life. So until the marquee reads, “John Cena vs Somebody Else,” I have to assume it will be The Undertaker standing across the ring from him in Nawlins.

Who will win the Six-Pack Challenge?

Gibbon: The champ that runs the camp, the new face that runs the place, AJ Styles! It’ll be superb to see. The faceoff between Nakamura and Styles to end Fastlane will be epic! WWE has me in the palm of their hands with this matchup.

Cross: Styles will retain. It’s too soon before Mania to switch the belt.

Taroff: Styles. Please WWE, don’t rob us of Shinsuke vs AJ.

Mahalis: AJ Styles. It is that simple. There should be no other name even up for discussion. Styles will bring the best out of Nakamura like none of the other five competitors can. If you saw Styles and Nakamura at Wrestle Kingdom, you know they have the ability to tear the house down, and I believe that is exactly what will happen at WrestleMania. Don’t outsmart yourself here, WWE.

Corrigan: The Phenomenal One.

Gibb: AJ Styles. Between his just-alright match against Chris Jericho and the Shane McMahon stunt show last year, he is desperately owed a spot at WrestleMania that reflects what he’s meant to the company since he got there, and that means walking to the ring at the biggest show of the year wearing the WWE Championship.

Goodwillie: It’ll be A.J. Styles, but I’m going to use this platform to say something else. WWE, please do away with the February pay-per-views unless there’s actually a plan to how they can best utilized. Don’t get me wrong, I love the February PPV (St. Valentine’s Day Massacre 1999 and No Way Out 2005 are two of my all-time favorites), but I’ll be honest when I say that this year’s Fastlane is completely unnecessary and that the talent would be best served with more emphasis on the week-to-week television.