10 Best WWE Fastlane Matches So Far

Tonight is WWE Fastlane, the last stop on the road to WrestleMania.

Fastlane was first introduced to the WWE calendar in 2015 and has been a staple, bar 2020 when it took a little break.

It's back now, however, and promises at least one worthwhile match in the form of Daniel Bryan challenging Roman Reigns for the Universal Title. The same two men headlined the first Fastlane show and they had a barnburner then, the first of many that would take place on Fastlane cards in the years after.

Looking back at previous events, it's striking just how many hidden gems there are on a show that is, really, at times mostly filler and not exactly necessary, especially if there is another pay-per-view bridging the Royal Rumble and 'Mania, such as Elimination Chamber.

To get you in the mood for the event - or to give you some random recommendations if you're reading this after the fact - I've looked at the other Fastlane shows and picked ten of the best matches in its short history.

It wasn't too hard, to be honest, because Fastlane has hosted plenty of frenetic multi-man matches and some big title bouts, as well as the last (proper) match of one of wrestling's greatest ever stables.

Perhaps Alexa Bliss versus Randy Orton will make next year's update.

On the other hand, almost certainly not.

10. AJ Styles Vs. Chris Jericho (2016)

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AJ Styles's first major test after his debut in the 2016 Royal Rumble match was a singles encounter with friendly rival Chris Jericho at Fastlane.

Something of a dream match, AJ versus Y2J was something that fans had wanted to see for a while and, given the experience and ability of both, expectations were high.

Thankfully, they had themselves a dandy of a bout. It was a bit ropey in the beginning as they felt each other out and set a pace, and it didn't look like they were on the same page during a couple of exchanges, but they settled into their rhythm and built the match up nicely.

The intensity grew as it went on, with Jericho getting more and more frustrated at his inability to put The Phenomenal One away. In one of the match's most impressive moments, Jericho countered an attempted springboard move by hitting a springboard dropkick, causing Styles to lose his balance and fall from the top rope.

AJ survived the Walls of Jericho, Y2J kicked out of a Style's Clash and the pendulum swung back and forth until Styles was able to lock in the Calf Crusher and score the win via submission.

This was clearly the first entry in a longer story, and the two would have better matches against one another down the road, but this was a damn fine effort and one of the best things at Fastlane 2016.

9. Braun Strowman Vs. Roman Reigns (2017)

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Though they were very much killing time on the road to WrestleMania, where Roman had a main event date with The Undertaker and Strowman had a, erm, spot in the pre-show 33-man Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, both Reigns and Braun made the best of their match at Fastlane.

This had great intensity from the off, as the Monster Among Men continually overpowered the Big Dog by throwing him around the ring and cutting him off whenever Reigns attempted to rally.

Thankfully, the two decided to play to their strengths by brawling and predominantly using power moves. It was a simple story being told, but they told it well, with Reigns unable to get Strowman off his feet and needing to duck out of the way in order to avoid catastrophe and get some respite.

Though it wasn't No Disqualification rules or anything, the referee gave them plenty of leeway and didn't call the match when Braun nailed a big running Powerslam through the announce table.

Roman eventually did make his comeback with a Spear and series of Superman Punches, forcing Strowman to go out of his comfort zone and attempt a flying headbutt from the top rope, only to miss and leave himself open for another (match-ending) Spear.

I'm not sure it was the right call to have Braun take a clean loss here, since he was coming into his own as a worker and had been well protected to that point, but the match was bordering on great regardless.

8. Samoa Joe Vs. Rey Mysterio Vs. Andrade Vs. R-Truth (2019)

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Sometimes you don't need a compelling storyline for a match to be great.

Because the four-way United States Title Championship from Fastlane 2019 was an obvious case of sticking four talented individuals out there, giving them ten minutes and telling them to tear it up.

Originally, Rey Mysterio and Andrade were going to have a match on the kickoff show, but WWE decided to have them, along with R-Truth, go after Samoa Joe's US Title instead, a rematch from the previous episode of SmackDown.

The results were spectacular, as the action was hot and heavy from the opening bell, Joe hitting a huge running dive through the ropes within the opening minute. Mysterio continued to look ageless, hitting a flawless springboard hurricanrana that took out both Truth and Andrade, before planting the champ with a beautiful swinging DDT.

He then upped the ante by dropping Andrade with a 'rana as El Idolo sat on Truth's shoulders.

Everyone looked good and there were some nifty and intricate sequences involving multiple participants. Zelina and Carmella got into it on the outside, too, before the big finishing flurry, which ended when Rey hit the 619 on the Samoan Submission Machine, but missed the big splash and fell to the choke, allowing Joe to retain.

Just non-stop excitement for ten minutes that had the crowd on their feet the whole time and a great example of a spotfest that had psychology, selling and heat.

7. Rusev Vs. John Cena (2015)

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The All-American babyface hero versus the foreign menace.

It's a story as old as wrestling itself and was the perfect vehicle for John Cena and the ascendant Rusev at the start of 2015, a sort of 80s throwback with a modern twist.

The first part of the match was all Rusev, as he used his strength and power (and surprising agility with his flying kicks) to wear Big Match John down. Now obviously, if you've seen one John Cena match you know he wasn't going to give up, and he fought valiantly from underneath and hit his usual, trying to lock in the STFU and hitting an FU for a close two.

Rusev wouldn't stay down and countered a top rope leg drop into a Powerbomb before slapping on the Accolade. That didn't quite get it done, but a swift kick to the Marines behind the refs back did the trick.

The referee stopped the match, meaning Cena never gave up (can you imagine?), as the champ retained by TKO.

It was an impressive performance and a big victory for Rusev, who was feeling so good about himself he set about looking at tank rental sites in preparation for WrestleMania.

6. The Revival Vs. Chad Gable & Bobby Roode Vs. Ricochet & Aleister Black (2019)

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Similar to the US Title four-way from a couple of pages ago, this was an example of giving a group of talented individuals ten minutes to put on an exciting, action-filled match.

And just look at the talent on display here. The Revival were at this point established as a top duo (top guys, if you will). Roode and Gable had held the straps and were finding their groove nicely. And forgotten men Ricochet and Aleister Black were fresh on the doubles scene but were fast establishing themselves as a must-watch act.

This was a nice example of three teams who looked, acted and wrestled like teams and each unit had their own styles.

After some early high flying, Ricochet was isolated by the other teams, who slowed things down a bit before an explosive ending that kicked off with Black's dynamic hot tag.

The King of Flight looked amazing, hitting a huge Shooting Star Press and a physics-defying dive over the turnbuckle in the closing moments.

But all the fancy flips and cute counters were no match for Dash and Dawson's Shatter Machine, which secured them the W after surviving the onslaught.

5. The Shield Vs. Bobby Lashley, Baron Corbin & Drew McIntyre (2019)

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Well, here it is, the last ever match of The Shield, the final time the Hounds of Justice would ever team up in a WWE rin...

Oh wait, hold on a second. No it's not. They had a whole WWE Network special with this exact match again a couple of months later, didn't they?

Oh well!

Even though there wasn't much truth in WWE's advertising, this is still really The Shield's last great match as a unit before Dean Ambrose departed the company.

Because it was promoted as such, this six-man got top billing at Fastlane 2019, above all title matches. So it's just as well they delivered against the villainous trio of Lashley, Corbin and McIntyre.

This was like a greatest hits for Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose and they looked as good as ever, their act polished and their opponents playing their parts well, too. Inevitably, it spilled outside the ring, where The Architect nailed his big dive and Drew tasted the Triple Powerbomb through the announce desk.

Baron was left all alone and ate everyone's finish, before the Triple Powerbomb led to the inevitable.

If this is indeed The Shield's last (major) match then they went out on a high.

4. AJ Styles Vs. Dolph Ziggler Vs. Kevin Owens Vs. Sami Zayn Vs. John Cena Vs. Baron Corbin (2018)

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Fastlane 2018 was a SmackDown-only affair and, for the main event, WWE put six of the Blue Brand's best in a six-pack challenge match for the WWE Title.

The odds were stacked against the champ, AJ Styles, as he did his best to fend off Ziggler, Owens, Zayn, Corbin and Cena in this one-fall contest.

The show had been a bit of a dull dud to that point, a totally skippable event that was just sort of 'there', but this match is well worth going out of your way to watch.

The tone was set early as Cena hit his finisher spam button on everyone but Styles and it didn't slow down from there, as this was almost 25 minutes of barely controlled chaos that kept escalating.

There were finishers galore, Corbin and Ziggler going for a wander and ending up crashing through some plexiglass, Cena AA-ing AJ through the announce table, Owens and Zayn continuing their dispute with Shane McMahon, who was sat at ringside and plenty more.

It was hard to pick a winner and felt like a genuine surprise when The Phenomenal One popped up and hit KO with the flying forearm for the three.

And breathe...

3. Brock Lesnar Vs. Dean Ambrose Vs. Roman Reigns (2016)

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Fastlane 2016 was headlined by a number-one contender triple threat match to determine WWE World Champion Triple H's WrestleMania opponent.

Thankfully, we were treated to a highly motivated Brock Lesnar on this night, as he decimated the Shield boys with suplexes and vicious strikes while blocking any attempts that Ambrose and Reigns made to gain the advantage.

The Beast looked to have it sewn up after suplexing The Lunatic Fringe on the floor and hitting The Big Dog with an F5, but it was just barely broken up. Still didn't mean Brock could be stopped, mind, as he continued his assault, rocking Ambrose with multiple German suplexes, before going for an F5 and being met with a Spear from Roman in a cool spot.

Lesnar got dispatched with the powerbomb through the announce table, as Dean and Reigns did their thing for a bit.

Brock came back like the big unstoppable viking zombie that he is, his Kimura broken up by an Ambrose chair attack as the match neared its climax.

Unfortunately for the majority of the audience, it was the ever-unpopular Roman Reigns who got the win after hitting a Spear on his running buddy. The result wasn't what a large portion of people wanted to see, but you cannot go against the plan now, can you?

Aside from the undesirable crowd response, the match was golden and, by rights, should have been over the title itself, not the opportunity to fight it.

2. Daniel Bryan Vs. Kevin Owens Vs. Mustafa Ali (2019)

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It came about in rather convoluted circumstances - basically Vince McMahon said the WWE Title match between Daniel Bryan and Kevin Owens would become a triple threat, inferring that Kofi Kingston would be the third man, but then booked him in a handicap match instead, but still needed a third man in the title bout since he said it would be a triple threat - but the addition of Mustafi Ali here made this quite the pleasant surprise indeed.

Ali was looking to make the most of the opportunity, since he'd had to sit out the Elimination Chamber weeks earlier due to injury. While the fans took some convincing, since they were miffed at the apparent bait and switch with Kofi, this match turned into something of an unexpected minor classic.

The three men got the match over due to their hard work and ingenuity, putting it all on the line with some risky spots and big moves.

Owens and Ali got to shine with the spectacular, while D-Bry was the glue that held the whole thing together, putting in an assured performance (and really taking one for the team when he lay on the apron for Ali's 450).

The final exchanges were breath-taking, as Ali hit a perfect spinning tornado DDT on the floor before taking a powerbomb on the apron. A mid-air Knee Plus was enough to enable the Planet's Champion to retain, but he was certainly made to work for it.

Maybe a little bit 'indie' for some tastes, but you cannot discount the effort they each put in.

1. Roman Reigns Vs. Daniel Bryan (2015)

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Poor Roman Reigns.

He felt the full wrath of a WWE Universe that wanted Daniel Bryan to main event WrestleMania instead of him.

Sensing the need to do something about the situation, WWE booked the two men against each other in the main event of the first Fastlane pay-per-view, with the Big Dog's 'Mania title shot on the line.

Given that he was the chosen one and was featured on the poster, the smart money was on Reigns triumphing. However, it is a testament to the talents of both men that they had fans guessing (and believing that Bryan could pull off the upset) during the course of this twenty-minute cracker.

The best match on what had been a middling show, Reigns versus D-Bry was a great wrestling contest, a babyface encounter that had a bit of bite to it. The strikes were laid in hard and both men took their lumps while looking like they both really wanted to win.

Roman showed some new moves off, too, such as a trio of exploder-style suplexes and a powerbomb from the middle rope. The crowd were more into the action here than they were during anything else on the show and reacted favourably to the expected near-falls, including a breathless one where Bryan countered a Spear into an inside cradle.

It was the aggression and, at times, desperation, that both men displayed that made this feel important and when Reigns finally hit the winning Spear, he looked as though he had been through a war.

It was easily his best singles match to that point and, while the result wasn't what many fans wanted, it certainly set The Big Dog up nicely for his date with Brock Lesnar at the Showcase of the Immortals.

Tremendous drama here. Let's see if they can match it in 2021.