When wrestling fans think of Wrestlemania, they think it is the best time for the form of entertainment that is pro wrestling. However, this year, much like last year, Wrestlemania seems like it could very well be another dud. This fact seems to be cemented after the last stop on the road to Wrestlemania, Fastlane. The show had the potential to do some great things, none of which happened. So, without anymore hesitation, let’s get into it.

The show started off with a match that could have earned top booking on any other show. For some reason, they were simply in the undercard. Samoa Joe and Sami Zayn are two of the best wrestlers in the world right now and they were only given about ten minutes to show what they could do. That’s not enough, and when there was some terrible filler matches such as Cesaro vs Jinder Mahal and Big Show vs Rusev taking up a combined twenty minutes of airtime, it’s disheartening to think what this match could have been. Samoa Joe picked up the win, and even though it may be tough to do, hopefully this feud continues. That way, both men can gain some character development and Sami Zayn can finally topple the Destroyer in his first Wrestlemania win.

The middle of the evening was just atrocious. The tag team championship match between The Club and Enzo and Cass was okay but nothing special as The Club cheated to win. Sasha Banks defeated Nia Jax via a roll up pin in a boring match. And of course the terrible pair of filler matches happened for some reason, with Cesaro and Big Show going over respectively. These matches just added on to the fact that the night was horrible, and there was still more atrocity to come.

The match of the night, in most people’s opinion, was the Cruiserweight championship match between Neville and Jack Gallagher. Is it sad that the floundering Cruiserweight division was able to top the rest of the Raw roster? Yes. It was a solidly worked match in which Neville came out victorious. This was the right move for both of the superstars and also the division itself. The current hope is that Austin Aries will make his main roster in-ring debut to feud with Neville going into Wrestlemania, and that match would have the potential to steal the show.

Roman Reigns vs Braun Strowman was next, and many were in firm belief that the Undertaker would be making an appearance to cost Reigns the match in order to get payback for eliminating him from the Royal Rumble. At the same time, that would keep Strowman and Reigns looking strong going into the show of shows. Unfortunately, Reigns pinned Strowman clean, handing him his first singles pinfall loss since the brand split. It was unfortunate that Taker didn’t show up and that Reigns toppled the monster, but if it means that Roman will be turning heel soon, it will all be worth it in the end.

The Raw Women’s Championship was on the line as Bayley defended it against Charlotte Flair, who was undefeated in pay-per-view singles matches. The match wasn’t worked very well from the start, and Bayley eventually won due to interference from Sasha Banks. May believed that Sasha would actually cost Bayley the title and turn heel, but that didn’t happen. Banks didn’t even end up attacking her post match or anything. Hopefully she turns soon and sets up an interesting match for Wrestlemania.

The main event. Oh, this was just a doozy, wasn’t it? Kevin Owens defended his Universal Championship against Goldberg, and it went just the way everyone thought it would. Before the bell even rang, Owens got out of the ring and stalled as a part of his “strategy.” He did this twice, and when he was finally ready to fight, Chris Jericho’s music hit. This distracted Owens, allowing Goldberg to spear him, then Jackhammer him for the win in just 25 seconds. Awful. It was a shame that just when Owens was returning to his old Prizefighter gimmick that he loses the title. Jericho and him will still have a match, but it won’t be for the top prize on Raw. Instead, Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar will be for the Universal Championship. If this is supposed to be the New Era, put some faith in the young talent that sticks around all year. Build new stars instead of relying on old ones. It’s a shame that the company continues to rely on these part-timers whenever they have most of the top tier talent in the industry. Should these legends/part timers be respected? Absolutely. But their time has come and gone. It’s time for new people and characters to shine and not take a backseat. This road to Wrestlemania has shown that Vince McMahon thinks quite the opposite.

Let’s face it, Fastlane was terrible. Not one surprise happened. No turns, no returns, nothing. At this rate, Wrestlemania will be bad. Hopefully the company can make the best of it, but it appears that it is too far gone at this point.