WWE FASTLANE
OCTOBER 7, 2023
GAINBRIDGE FIELDHOUSE
INDIANAPOLIS, IN

Watch: Peacock

MEET YOUR REVIEWER:

Suit Williams: Your WWE correspondent is here, punching the clock for a show that neither I nor the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis cared much for. Follow me on Twitter/all Twitter variants @SuitWilliams and find my ROH and AEW Collision reviews on F4WOnline.

WWE TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH
CODY RHODES & JEY USO DEF. THE JUDGMENT DAY (DAMIAN PRIEST & FINN BALOR) (W/ RHEA RIPLEY, DOMINIK MYSTERIO, & JD MCDONAUGH) (C)

This match had the energy of a mid-tour house show for the first ten minutes. The action was quite sleepy until the interference started, as it’s not a Judgment Day match without the clown car interference. Hmm, now that I think about it, Judgment Day is very reminiscent of NJPW’s House of Torture. They’re technically BULLET CLUB affiliated, both sides have boatloads of outside interference, and both are big fans of leather.

Anyway, some MISCOMMUNICATION between JD McDonaugh and Damian Priest led to Rhodes dropping Priest with the Cross Rhodes on the table. In the ring, Uso and Rhodes hit an elevated Cody Cutter on Balor before Rhodes hit the Cross Rhodes for the win and the tag titles. The finishing stretch picked up the energy the first part of the match lacked, and they peaked it at the finish. But that opening stretch was uninspired and dull. There was also a West Side Story standoff that made me curse at the screen. There’s also the whole thing with Cody being cool with one of the guys that cost him the World Title, but they don’t seem to care. **1/2

CARLITO & LWO (REY MYSTERIO & SANTOS ESCOBAR) (W/ZELINA VEGA) DEF. BOBBY LASHLEY & THE STREET PROFITS (ANGELO DAWKINS & MONTEZ FORD)

This review is sponsored by Pizza Hut. No one Outpizzas The Hut.

There’s this thing that has been happening with WWE recently that fascinates me to no end, where people or groups who were never presented as big deals in WWE are suddenly recognized as these big returning stars. Of course, you would expect WWE to act like they matter as they’re the ones trying to make money on it, but the fanbase actually buys it and treats the act like a big deal. There’s no more apt description of this phenomenon than this match.

Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar wrestled this match representing the Latino World Order, a midcard group in WCW that existed for a whole four months from October 1998 to January 1999. They were eventually joined by Carlito, a decade after leaving the WWE and nearly two decades since he was treated like any kind of a star. Yet the crowd bought in, with the match structured around Carlito’s arrival as the third man. It wasn’t exactly Bash at the Beach ’96, but it worked for the live crowd. Carlito pinned Ford with the Backstabber.

Meanwhile, Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits have turned heel. It’s a new coat of paint for the Street Profits, but to have a fresh, talented, charismatic guy like Montez Ford taking the fall for a 44-year-old never-was like Carlito is the type of choice that WWE makes so often that you’re numb to it at this point. This group should be the catapult for Ford into the main event scene, but it’s far more likely that he and Dawkins will be pin eaters for Lashley. If a guy like Ford wants to be seen as the marquee talent that he has the potential to be, he’s gonna have to take a page out of the Cody playbook and hit the open market when he gets a chance. WWE won’t make him a star, but if he makes himself a star, they’ll always be willing to take him back. **

WWE WOMEN’S TITLE TRIPLE THREAT MATCH
IYO SKY (C) DEF. ASUKA, CHARLOTTE FLAIR

WWE Women’s Title matches are similar to the X Division Title matches in Impact a few years ago, as, for some reason, they always seem to end up in multi-person matches on PPV. This was a bog-standard three-way match, with Naptown living up to its nickname for the majority of it.

Like the last two matches, and reminiscent of WCW in 1999, the crowd gave them nothing until someone ran in. That someone was Bayley, who distracted the ref as Asuka tapped to a Figure Eight. Sky hit the moonsault on Charlotte to win and retain the title. **

JOHN CENA & LA KNIGHT DEF. THE BLOODLINE (JIMMY USO & SOLO SIKOA) (W/PAUL HEYMAN)

“Roman Reigns, who is celebrating day 1,133 as the Undisputed Champion, hasn’t been around since SummerSlam.” – Michael Cole

Jimmy Uso is back in The Bloodline, as this snake of a storyline continues chomping on its own tail. This was a complete house show match. They got the heat on Cena for a dog’s age until Knight got the hot tag, big moves, babyfaces up. Knight pinned Uso with the Blunt Force Trauma. Knight looks to be next up for Roman Reigns if his involvement with the Bloodline is anything to go by. The Reigns Train stops for no one, so enjoy your fifteen minutes while they last Mr. Knight.

Meanwhile, Cena said at the Fastlane press conference that if the SAG-AFTRA strike ended anytime soon, his time in WWE would be done. I can’t say I’m going to miss him if that happens. I don’t blame him for protecting the day job, but his work has had such little substance on this return run. Giving the new guy a stamp of approval may be the best way for him to bow out for now. **

WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE LAST MAN STANDING MATCH
SETH ROLLINS (C) DEF. SHINSUKE NAKAMURA

What am I supposed to say about this match? It was a half-hour of guys hitting each other with stuff and guys falling off stuff. Michael Cole was in overdrive in this match, acting as if Nakamura was savagely destroying this man in front of his eyes. I can’t blame him because it’s Cole’s job to put these matches over, but Nakamura had such little urgency here. Rollins sold the back when it was convenient for him. This was supposed to be this big emotional crescendo, with Rollins overcoming the back issues to beat this man he pinned clean a month ago. But this was a soulless main event, which fit the soulless three hours of CONTENT that was WWE Fastlane 2023.

This is the promotion on the hot streak?

WWE is the promotion doing 10k in ticket sales twice a week for TV? This is what’s hot right now? I wrote an opinion piece on MJF’s recent work in AEW being beneath a talent of his stature. But WWE packed almost 13,000 people into the Gainbridge Fieldhouse for this show. They didn’t make much noise, but they showed up. If this is what’s moving wrestling fans and getting them into arenas around the country, maybe I’m the one that’s wrong. My hope is that this is a fad, and that quality will win the day. I hope I’m not wrong. **