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WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN TONIGHT - THE WWE FASTLANE 2023 TIP SHEET

WWE will present the Fastlane PPV on October 7. Here are our thoughts on what will happen.

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins  vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - Last Man Standing match.

Dave: This is a classic “in between the big shows” kind of feud.  I expect it will be really good but I don’t see Rollins losing, and he shouldn’t.  He needs to vanquish Shinsuke.

Mike: There's no reason for Nakamura to win here as even in a loss, they've built him up over the course of this program and have gotten more out of him then they've tried to in forever.  They can build lots of drama around Seth almost being counted down and making the big comeback to save himself, but in the end, I suspect Nakamura gets driven onto a stack of chairs with the stomp and is counted down.

Rich:  I am not a fan of Last Man Standing matches because it turns into do a move or three and then stand around while the referee counts and the wrestler gets up at eight or nine.  With Seth's back, it makes sense to do this to build the story behind the match.  Nakamura has had a bit of a resurgence and I hope after this feud is over, he can keep it going.  Seth retains and he can move on to his next feud (maybe Drew?).

John Cena and LA Knight vs. The Bloodline's Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa with Paul Heyman.

Dave: The Bloodline storyline has really missed Roman Reigns.  I know so yellow journalists out there don’t want to give Roman his due, probably because he wrestles on Mondays and Fridays, but even those hacks have to give Roman his props now.  The Bloodline should lose here since the Chief is coming back.  He needs a lot of things to address.  Plus, Cena has been putting over young talents in losses, now it’s time to put Knight over in a win.   

Mike: This is all about Cena giving the rub to LA Knight, which is a smart strategy.  My feeling is that Knights gets the win here over Jimmy as they have to protect Solo.

Rich:  This match is where we see if Solo is able to go to the next level and if Knight should stay on top.  Knight will do most of the heavy lifting to lead into the hot tag by Cena for the moves of doom.  Jimmy and Solo have been a bit rudderless without Roman and it appears that Jimmy is trying to take over the Bloodline so it time to show if he can stand next to Roman or if he is going to be the one who suffers the Wrath of Roman.  Once Cena clears the path, Knight gets the pin and maybe we get LA Knight versus Roman Reigns at Survivor Series for the title.  I do not want to be Jimmy or Solo when Roman finally returns.

WWE Women's Champion IYO SKY vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair.

Dave: As I always say, I hate for the champion to lose their titles in matches like this.  If it’s going to happen, it should be due to Bayley screwing up since she put Iyo in this mess to begin with but there is no way I would do it now.  This is a B show.

Mike: If I am WWE, I give Jade a big entrance and have her watching from ringside to tease her "first" move.  Three-ways are usually really fun or disjointed, but with the quality of talents involved here, my guess is the former.  I can see Flair pinning Asuka to win the title.

Rich:  Iyo gets thrown into this match because of Bayley, and I am worried that Bayley's bold move is going to blow up in Iyo's face.  It seems like Charlotte being thrust into the title picture is like the old pattern in TNA when they would move to a new network or time slot, Jeff Jarrett won the title.  This should be a good match and I think Bayley will finally do enough to piss off Iyo, which we will see teased at the end of the match and build until Friday night.  Charlotte wins the title and then we can count down to the eventual face off with Jade Cargill.

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Finn Balor & Damian Priest vs. Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso.

Dave: If this was the Survivor Series, I would pull the trigger but since it’s October, and Rhea just had to lay down the law to her group, I see the champs retaining.

Mike: My guess is that there's some sort of miscommunication between the talents that lead to Judgment Day retaining.   I wonder if Jimmy and Jey cross paths since they will be under the "same roof."

Rich:  I am writing this before the likely face off on Smackdown but I think we will see the tension between Finn and Priest get to the point where they should be contacting me to facilitate the group's divorce before and during the match.  Do we need yet another 'strange bedfellows' tag team champions?  I say no.  Since Cody is one of the two people who trusts Jey, I can see some problems but they will work through them, but a team joining forces for the first time shouldn't win the tag titles (even if it is the WWE trope).  If they do War Games at Survivor Series, I think this situation adds JD and Dom on the Judgment Day side and Kevin and Sami join Cody and Jey.

Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits vs. The LWO.

Dave: You don’t have The Profits do a new attitude and then lose.  You just don’t do it.

Mike: Dave nailed it.  They haven't really put any momentum behind LWO.  They are going to be the first to fall to Lashley and The Profits.

Rich:  I think something happens on Smackdown (remember, I am writing this before Smackdown airs) in Dragon Lee's match that has Rey and Santos add Lee to the LWO, at least for one night so he can join them on Saturday against Bobby, Montez, and Angelo.  It sucks for Cruz and Joaquin if that does happen, but they would probably be there to eat the pin for the Hurt Profits (or is it Street Business?).  I think this match could surprise a lot of people and I think it could steal the show.

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