Fastlane 2023 was an opportunity to ramp up the pace of WWE storylines for the fall and certainly put some top stars in the spotlight.
However, it wasn’t nearly the showcase it could have been with the talent involved. Some benefited while others missed out.
The Judgment Day came out on top, but then lost the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships to Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso.
Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits hoped to build momentum in their first trios act together, but Carlito returned to help Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar defeat them.
However, Iyo Sky managed to defend her SmackDown Women’s Championship in a tough fight. She seems ready for a long reign with the gold.
LA Knight looked like an unstoppable star with John Cena in his corner. The two defeated Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso, clearly defeating them both.
Shinsuke Nakamura used every trick in his arsenal to dethrone Seth Rollins, but nothing worked. The visionary survived and likely put an end to the performer’s world title ambitions in WWE.
These are the real winners and losers of Fastlane 2023.
WWE made a big splash at “The Judgment Day” at Payback, as Finn Bálor and Damian Priest won the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships in a memorable match with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.
However, all it took was one premium live event to change that. Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso overwhelmed their opponents despite the entire stable coming to help.
This comes just a day after The Judgment Day fought back against The Bloodline on SmackDown, ending any chance the group had of winning the respect of Roman Reigns.
It also looks like suggestions that the group is breaking up before “Payback” are about to come true. Notably, Bálor took the pin and has no claim to his name, while JD McDonagh accidentally knocked out Priest during the match.
Both will likely be pushed out of the group and forced to form their own alliance. This may allow The Judgment Day to regroup, but it shouldn’t have been necessary this early.
Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits have been generating some hype lately. These three are among the top names in WWE and should be nearly unstoppable in trios action.
Instead, they lost their first game together.
Carlito’s return to WWE was seen as more important than the credibility of this new trio. Caribbean Cool is a fun artist who may still have a few years of serious competition ahead of him, but he’s 44 years old. It shouldn’t be the real focus of the product.
Lashley has waited so long to get back into the spotlight in 2023, but the new venture got off to a rocky start. Hopefully the plan is to keep him undefeated in singles at least for a while.
Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins can handle some losses, but it would be best if they gained momentum for an eventual fight for the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Titles.
WWE has slowly increased its sponsorship focus, and Fastlane was clear with that focus. Cyberpunk 2077 was shown on every promo.
Pizza Hut received its largest sponsorship since the 2021 Survivor Series dual-brand battle royal. Ahead of LWO vs. Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits, the company received a targeted WWE commercial leading up to that contest’s post-match antics.
LA Knight later raced into the arena in a Slim Jim sports car, continuing his existing relationship with the snack food company.
The night’s wrestling was below WWE’s usual standard, but that just meant fans had more time to focus on the promo.
While this is a smart strategy for WWE’s revenue, it’s a shame that this show is remembered more for its over-the-top advertising than for the in-ring action.
Iyo Sky is one of the most talented women in wrestling today and WWE is finally giving her the chance to really prove it. She stole the show with Charlotte Flair and Asuka in “Triple Threat.”
Most importantly, The Genius of the Sky retained the WWE Women’s Championship. Many fell when challenged by the Queen, but Sky was still seen as having precedence over Flair.
This was the most dangerous challenge yet in Sky’s title reign. She should now have a good chance of making it to 2024 as women’s champion, as there are few new challengers available to dethrone her.
The women’s division needs big stars, and “The Genius of the Sky” deserves that label. Hopefully she will cement her status by the end of her championship reign.
It’s taken longer than fans wanted, but LA Knight is officially in booking mode for the main event. He was considered more important than John Cena during his tag match with The Champ.
After a successful PLE victory over The Bloodline, The Megastar is ready to challenge Roman Reigns sooner than later. He may face him as Crown Jewel on November 4th.
WWE could decide to wait until Survivor Series, especially since Cena himself could soon be an option for The Tribal Chief as well. Either way, it’s coming. This match will be the biggest test of Knight’s career.
It’s unlikely that The Megastar will dethrone Reigns, but it’s not unthinkable. Knight is arguably as over as Cody Rhodes and Sami Zayn were at the start of the year when they faced The Tribal Chief.
The future is definitely bright for him, no matter what gold he wins in the future.
For the second month in a row, Shinsuke Nakamura fell short. WWE had done enough to sell his world championship hopes, but he couldn’t do enough to defeat Seth Rollins.
Nakamura is at the end of his wrestling career. This was only his second WWE PLE main event and likely his last.
The company will take on the next challenge for Rollins, and there are plenty of young names ready to take the next step, like Ricochet or Drew McIntyre.
This is all solid for the WWE, but leaves the performer in the position of a forgotten man. As was the case this year, he could easily fade into the background again.
This seemed to be the last attempt to give Nakamura the world title he deserved. It is now gone and the future of The Artist is therefore completely uncertain.