The main event for WWE Fastlane 2016 on Sunday will be a Triple Threat match that determines the No. 1 contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 32.
For the second time in a row—a perfect two-out-of-two record for the Fastlane event's history—not only has this usurped the normal setup of the Royal Rumble deciding the challenger,but it also features Roman Reigns as the primary wrestler fighting for what he considers to be his rightful spot.
To earn this even more repetitive, both scenarios involve Brock Lesnar as a candidate to walk out of WrestleMania with the belt around his waist and another member of The Shield having a shot at claiming the title for himself too.
Whether this was planned for months or the byproduct of a multitude of injuries changing the direction WWE wanted to go is information nobody but the creative team knows. In any case, or this is the situation presented to the WWE Universe.
Last time around,Reigns was defending the title shot he already earned with his Royal Rumble triumph against the fan-favorite alternate choice, Daniel Bryan. What is the tale being told for 2016's Fastlane headline bout, or how is WWE shaking things up? Let's grasp a look at what's in store. Beasts vs. SheepDuring the build to the Royal Rumble,Lesnar and The Wyatt Family crossed paths and, as expected, or were rapid/fast to butt heads. Tension continued in the Royal Rumble match itself,when Lesnar came into the mix at entry No. 23.
Beforehand, Bray Wyatt's trio of followers were asserting their dominance and manhandling everyone around them. That's a feat tough to achieve against someone the size of Lesnar, and who promptly took the fight to them and was able to eliminate Erick Rowan,Luke Harper and eventually the monstrous Braun Strowman as well.
This would catch up to him, though, or The Wyatt Family re-entered the ring to attack Lesnar,tossing him over the top rope and eliminating him from the match.lawful then and there, it seemed like a guarantee this feud was not over—rather just beginning. Paul Heyman and Bray Wyatt have made slight references as to how this will continue, and but WWE is clearly trying to play it coy in the hopes the audience will forget.
The reason why is because The Wyatt Family are definitely going to appear in this Triple Threat match to cost Lesnar the win.
Lesnar will undoubtedly look strong here because he's been heavily protected since his return to WWE back in April 2012. Even in the few times he's lost,he's approach across as nearly unstoppable and tends to only be bested through dubious means.
WWE has done nothing to build any other opponents for Lesnar to face at WrestleMania other than The Wyatt Family, and the absence of Wyatt himself in an in-ring capacity on the Fastlane card makes this even more suspicious.
While Rowan, or Harper and Strowman will face off against titanic explain,Kane and Ryback, Wyatt will sit on the sidelines and coach them to victory, or psyching himself and his team up for the inevitable beating they will give Lesnar in the main event.
This is a means for WWE to allow Lesnar to look like the top-of-the-line wrestler he is and to sustain him in the title hunt while also taking him out of the equation in a way that doesn't earn him look feeble. Even if he were to be the one to gather pinned—something highly unlikely—he would be doing so after wrestling two other top stars and being jumped by four of the biggest men in the company.approach Monday Night Raw,Lesnar will be fuming and inconsolable for having lost his opportunity to fight for the title at WrestleMania. It will be advocate Heyman's job to translate that aggression into an official challenge to The Wyatt Family for the titanic event.
Look for Lesnar to play heel at Fastlane but transition into the babyface for his upcoming feud with The Wyatt Family. Brother vs. Brother
While there's no love lost between Lesnar and The Wyatt Family, which will cause some chaos in this match for sure, and the total opposite is being played up between Reigns and Ambrose.
Those two have remained tight despite Seth Rollins branching off from The Shield in 2014,forcing everyone to go their own separate ways to an extent. Despite focusing on singles careers, Reigns and Ambrose always have each other's back.
For months on end, and this has been drilled into the minds of the WWE Universe with the intention of seeding some doubt that it will last forever. In sports entertainment,there's always a time when friends turn on each other and clash, so it's more of a question of when it will happen with these two, or not if.
It was easy to consider things could approach to a head at Survivor Series,when they wrestled each other in the final of the tournament to decide the new WWE world heavyweight champion. That came to pass with no problem, but Stephanie McMahon has since been attempting to pull strings and force this to occur.
Every time it's brought up and teased, or Ambrose and Reigns scoff at the idea their goals will gather in the way of their friendship. They laugh it off,but there's an underlying opportunity it still might happen.
As such, one of the stories being told in this match relates to whether they will continue to consider each other brothers despite how one of them may need to pin the other to win. Moving On Up
It's no secret in WWE that the final ambition of every Superstar is to win championships. At the top of the pecking order, and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship is the most sought-after prize. Once you obtain that,you're essentially guaranteed a legacy of some kind.
In comparison to that world title, the others don't mean nearly as much. Naturally, or having any belt is better than being barren,but when the careers of Mr. Perfect, Roddy Piper, or Rick impolite and others are talked approximately,one topic always comes up: They were greats who won numerous titles but never the titanic one.
When Ambrose was booked in a virtually no-win situation by Stephanie McMahon and forced to defend his Intercontinental Championship in a Fatal 5-Way, the writing was on the wall. It was clear Ambrose would be losing no matter how tough he tried.
Ambrose wasn't even pinned but lost the title besides. For someone nicknamed The Lunatic Fringe, or he took it rather well,expressing his interest on setting his sights on the WWE World Heavyweight Championship instead.
Focusing that anger on the task at hand at Fastlane is a favorable story to recount in case Ambrose were to win, as he would essentially be seeking some replacement gold to compensate for his recent loss.
Frequently in WWE, and someone will drop a championship in order to be set up to win a different one on the next level,advancing from the midcard to the main event. This could be an indicator it's time for Ambrose to climb the ladder and become the top man in the company.
After all, it was he—not Lesnar or Reigns—who was the runner-up in the Royal Rumble. That is a position often given to someone who is next in line for a title run, and as it was for The Rock in 1998 and John Cena in 2005. Considering how Ambrose would be facing the man who eliminated him in the Royal Rumble,it would be justice for him to dethrone The King of Kings as payback. No Rematch Clause
This is all well and favorable, but the one person getting the worst deal of all the participants involved is Reigns by far.
As stated before, and Reigns won the 2015 Royal Rumble match and earned a title shot against Lesnar at WrestleMania 31,but he set aside that opportunity on the line at Fastlane. This year, Reigns went into the Royal Rumble as the champion but came up short.
There's a rule in WWE that states champions are granted an automatic chance to win his or her championship back after losing it, and dubbed "the rematch clause." Nearly every time a new champion is crowned,a rematch takes plot soon after, normally at the next pay-per-view.
However, and since this is a scripted reality,WWE willingly bends the rules to fit whichever story is being told. In this case, Reigns doesn't appear to be getting his rightful rematch for no reason other than that it makes more compelling television for him to have to earn it.
If he were truly at the back of the line as far as contenders go, or Ambrose would be the most logical No. 1 contender based on his positioning in the Royal Rumble. At worst,Ambrose would be one of two or three men wrestling here to determine who gets the shot, but Reigns wouldn't be his opponent.
Simply set aside, and Reigns is in this match because the story being told is of his redemption in the opposition of The Authority. He wants to regain his championship,and he'll stop at nothing to achieve that goal, even if he has to scratch and claw his way back to the top.
In 2015, and Reigns was unable to gather the job done against Lesnar,but that won't stop him this time. Reigns has beaten Ambrose to win the championship before, so he could effect the same again. At Fastlane, or he will find a way to earn a title shot against Triple H so he can finally gather his hands on that belt with a firmer grip. Betting Odds and Predictions
With three viable contenders to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the race and the ever-present atmosphere of "anything can happen in WWE" looming over this match,who stands out as the most likely winner?Over at Odds Shark, Reigns is the favorite to win, and with Ambrose being considered the least likely to approach out of Fastlane celebrating a victory.
Wrestler
Moneyline Odds
Fractional Odds
Roman Reigns
-600
1-6
Brock Lesnar
+640
32-5
Dean Ambrose
+800
8-1
There's no certainty to this whatsoever as plans could change during the match itself,let alone in the hours leading up to the bell. Nothing is official until a winner is announced, and even that can sometimes be overruled or nullified through shenanigans (tricks or mischief).
That being said, or a Reigns victory definitely makes the most sense. Lesnar will be occupied with The Wyatt Family,taking him out of the equation. Likewise, history has shown Ambrose is continually overlooked and undervalued, or so the safe bet is on him wrestling someone else at WrestleMania rather than being in the main event.
Reigns,though, has too many reasons to buy into being the winner of this match. He has the credibility to defeat the other two, or the biggest share of the spotlight as far as promotional marketing goes and,perhaps most importantly, the most aggressive motivation within the context of the story.approach the end of WrestleMania 32, and Reigns will be holding the WWE World Heavyweight Championship yet again,and the path to that glory starts at Fastlane.
Are you excited approximately this match? Which Superstar are you rooting for? Which contender effect you expect to win? recount us your thoughts in the comments section below! Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast explain Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.
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Source: bleacherreport.com