WWE Fastlane: 5 Best Matches in the Event's History
Ever since the first edition in 2015, Fastlane has been the last pay-per-view WWE presents before WrestleMania. Sandwiched between Royal Rumble and WrestleMania, along with Elimination Chamber, the show is rarely counted among the most important shows of the year, given that it is both preceded and succeeded by more important shows.
However, that is not to say that the February/March pay-per-view has not been home to good matches, with four of the previous editions so far producing at least one Match of the Year candidate.
Even though the Road to WrestleMania starts at Royal Rumble, most of the time, it isn't until Fastlane that the majority of the marquee matches, including the World Title matches, are set for the Biggest Show of the Year.
This year's show, which is scheduled for March 21st, also promises to be a fun affair already, with a Universal Title match between Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan already confirmed for the show, and a WWE Title defense for Bobby Lashley also expected to be confirmed soon.
Both matches have "show-stealer" written all over them. So before we witness what WWE has in store for at Fastlane 2021, here are the five best matches in the history of the pay-per-view.
Honorable Mentions:
AJ Styles vs Chris Jericho (Fastlane 2016)
Braun Strowman vs Roman Reigns (Fastlane 2017)
Samoa Joe vs Andrade vs Rey Mysterio vs R-Truth (Fastlane 2019)
#5 Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar vs Dean Ambrose (Fastlane 2016)
For the first two years, the main event of Fastlane decided the main event match for WrestleMania, and the presence of genuine stars resulted in a few great matches. While not on the level of the main event of the inaugural Fastlane event, this triple threat match to determine Triple H's opponent at WrestleMania 32 was great in its own right.
Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, and Dean Ambrose - three of the biggest active superstars in WWE at that time - gave it their all in this 16-minute slugfest. Action was non-stop between the bells. Lesnar was his typical self, dominating both Reigns and Ambrose in the first half of the match before the two Shield Members power bombed him through the Announcers Table twice, before burying him underneath the wreckage.
The stretch between The Big Dog and The Lunatic Fringe was equally good, and a late return by The Beast enhanced the excitement for the closing stretch. A victory for Reigns at Fastlane not only confirmed the main event of Mania but also laid the stones for the Mania program between Lesnar and Ambrose.