Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura at WWE Fastlane
WWE Fastlane advertised Shinsuke Nakamura challenging Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Iyo Sky defending the WWE Women’s Championship against Asuka and Charlotte Flair, and the Judgment Day defending the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships against Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso.
WWE’s newly signed free agent Jade Cargill appeared in a backstage segment to greet Triple H as hype for her debut builds. Cargill received a loud pop from the Indianapolis crowd.
Rhodes and Uso won the Tag Titles in the opening match, causing more dissension within the Judgment Day, and inevitably, the Bloodline.
John Cena and LA Knight’s match against The Bloodline featured a cameo appearance from Pat McAfee, who teased a WrestleMania in Indianapolis before doing guest commentary.
This week’s broadcast of WWE Raw was up, with 1.51 million viewers. SmackDown overnight ratings came in at 2.192 million viewers.
WWE Fastlane 2023 Results | October 7
- Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso def. The Judgment Day | WWE Undisputed Tag Titles
- LWO and Carlito def. Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits
- Iyo Sky def. Asuka and Charlotte Flair | WWE Women’s Title
- John Cena and LA Knight def. The Bloodline
- Seth Rollins def. Shinsuke Nakamura | Last Man Standing Match for WWE World Championship
- WWE Fastlane 2023 Venue: Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, Ind.)
- WWE Fastlane 2023 Tickets Distributed: 12,928
- WWE Fastlane 2023 Tickets Available: 30
WWE Fastlane 2023 Winners And Grades
Jey Uso And Cody Rhodes Def. The Judgment Day
Jey Uso came out with new gear, in the form of blue tights, and I was surprised Cody Rhodes didn’t really match him.
Michael Cole actually brought up the history of both Cody Rhodes and Finn Balor being former leaders of the Bullet Club and about 13 subredditors blushed.
Jey Uso hit a spear and Micael Cole went out of his way to say how big of a deal it was because of Roman Reigns’ pending return.
Damian Priest sold his leg throughout the match, which played into whether or not he’d cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase later.
Jey kicked out of everything, even a briefcase shot from Rhea Ripley. Ultimately, Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes hit a modified 1D (with a Cody Cutter) for the win.
Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn is going to be a great feud until Cody Rhodes is ready to finish his story at WrestleMania.
Judgment Day vs. Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes Grade: A-
LWO And Carlito Def. Lashley And Street Profits
The Street Profits continue to come out to their babyface theme, but there were not red cups. I won’t believe they’ve developed a killer instinct until they switch to trap music.
The majority of this match was two-on-three, much like the famous Bash at the Beach match between NWO and WCW.
The third man was revealed to be Carlito, who came out to different theme music but the same massive pop he received in Puerto Rico.
Carlito made quick work of the Street Profits and picked up the win. I love to see Carlito back, but I really hope Bobby Lashley doesn’t wash his hands of the Street Profits.
LWO vs. Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits Grade: B
Iyo Sky Def. Charlotte Flair And Asuka
There was product placement all over this show, from Pizza Hut to Slim Jim. In addition to the commercials on WWE Fastlane, even some of these segments felt like in-show commercials.
Fans were not into Charlotte and instead backed Iyo Sky, much like WWE Backlash.
Bayley ran down, and it seemed certain Bayley was going to cost Iyo the match. Instead, Bayley helped Iyo Sky retain. Iyo, who told Bayley to stay in the back, was overjoyed with Bayley’s involvement. All is well within Damage CTRL for now.
Women’s Triple Threat Grade: B+
John Cena And LA Knight Def. The Bloodline
Pat McAfee made a surprise appearance, and Michael Cole was (once again) legitimately surprised. McAfee called Cole the greatest of all time and took a shot at “hatin’ ass” Corey Graves. Then McAfee teased a WrestleMania in Indianapolis and headed to the commentary desk.
For those wondering, yes, LA Knight’s pop was even bigger than John Cena.
Jey Uso’s singles street gear is so much better than Jimmy’s who is essentially wearing street clothes.
The Bloodline spent an eternity getting heat on John Cena, but when he finally made the tag it led to an explosive pop and hot tag from LA Knight.
By the end of LA Knight’s comeback, all four stars were on the ground, leading to a Pavlovian “this is awesome” chant.
After the match, LA Knight declined John Cena raising his hand, and instead raised Cena’s hand.
Cena and Knight vs. Bloodline Grade: B+
Seth Rollins Def. Shinsuke Nakamura
In a backstage segment, a banged up Damian Priest agreed not to cash in the Money in the Bank contract , even handing off the purple briefcase to Mami like he was her son. It was a very necessary segment if Priest wasn’t going to cash in so fans wouldn’t wonder why he didn’t take advantage of such a golden opportunity.
The main event entrances started at around 7:15 p.m. local time, so these two were going to get a lot of time.
Both Seth Rollins and Shinsuke Nakamura wore elaborate robes to the ring.
Last Man Standing Matches always take a while for fans to really get into it. They’re typically long and have a lot of counting. But fans got more into this match the more weapons were introduced.
Shinsuke Nakamura brought out nunchucks, and he was so good with them it made me want to see him as world champion.
Michael Cole was the MVP of this match as he begged and pleaded with Seth Rollins not to risk a career-ending back injury by continuing the match. At one point, as Rollins was climbing the ladder, Cole told Graves “you’ve known this man for 10 years, talk some damn sense into him!”
Shinsuke blew red mist in Seth Rollins’ face atop a ladder, causing Rollins to fall through a table. The rest of this match looked like a bloody war. I wonder if WWE uses black and white when showing the replay.
Rollins retained with a Falcon Arrow through a table while in the crowd. It was a very good main event.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Seth Rollins Grade: A
