WWE Fastlane 2021 was a blast and it is exactly what WWE needed before the grandest Pay Per View event – WrestleMania. The 2021 Fastlane saw the return of the Fiend and a fallout between Bianca Belair and tag team partner Sasha Banks, while superstars like Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins came up trumps in their respective matches. The main events that caught everyone’s attention though was Sheamus’ brilliant performance while Edge helped Roman Reigns retain his Universal. Here’s everything you need to know to bring you up to speed with Fastlane 2021:
United States Championship
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The 2021 Fastlane kicked off with a bout for the United States Championship between Riddle and Mustafa Ali. It was a dominating performance by Riddle who did well to retain his title via pinfall. At the end of the match, RETRIBUTION showed up and turned-on Mustafa Ali. The #1 contender for the United States Champion ended up with a double chokeslam by Mace and T-Bar.
Women’s Tag Team Championship
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Shauna Baszler and Nia Jax Did enough to retain the Tag Team title against Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair. Sasha and Bianca were doing well at the start of the game with both the wrestlers tagging each other in and out to gain some early advantage. But soon, Bianca was taken down and was thrown outside the apron by Jax who forced a tag. Sasha was trying to finish the game with the Bank Statement but the move broke down as Jax pushed Bianca into Sasha. This created an argument between Banks and Belair mid-match. Shayna took advantage of the situation and rolled in for a pin which worked out and helped them retain the title. As the two defeated superstars were arguing, Belair pointed at the WrestleMania sign which was pointed towards Banks.
Intercontinental Championship – Big E VS Apollo Crews
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This by far, has been one of the most interesting feuds in WWE history. The match was a wild one and Big E started bashing Crews throwing him off the apron and hitting a Big E splash. As we all know, Big E is good with his banter and kept taunting Crews before hitting a Suplex. Apollo did well to come back in the game. He delivered a dropkick with three German Suplexes and was about to win the game but his pin got reversed and Big E retained the Intercontinental Championship. Out of frustration, Apollo attacked Big E which means that the Feud is far from over and the pair is likely to meet again at WrestleMania.
Braun Strowman vs Elias
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As we all would have expected, Strowman completely dominated this match. He started to unload on Elias as soon as the match began giving him no time to breathe. Ryker tried to interfere but wended up with the ring post hitting his head and Braun continued to pound on Elias. Soon, Ryker distracted Braun which helped the Drifter to deliver a DDT, he then went on for an Elbow drop and executed it perfectly but Braun managed to kick out at two. Then Braun ended things with a closeline and a Running Powerslam to win the game.
Seth Rollins vs Shinsuke Nakamura
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Seth Rollins took charge of the game in the early stages and was taunting Nakamura but it was a through and fro battle. Nakamura hit a few knee strikes on the apron before he took it to the corner and hit Rollins in the mid-section. Nakamura did an amazing move when he reversed Rollin’s attack into an Armbar but Rollins was clever enough to counter that too. In the end, Rollins countered Shinsuke Nakamura’s Kinshasa with the stomp to win the match.
No Holds Barred Match – Drew McIntyre vs Sheamus
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Drew McIntyre has been on a constant feud with the Celtic Warrior Sheamus since Elimination Chamber 2021. The was a big game for both the superstars in their career. The Scottish wrestler had an early advantage in the game. He took the game outside and landed a bunch of kendo sticks on Sheamus. Later, he was hammered into the steel steps and managed to kick out. Sheamus then took charge with the Kendo sticks but got caught with a Glasgow Kiss. Then the match went towards the LED board. Both the superstars climbed the ThunderDome platforms where Sheamus hit a senton which was soon followed by a brogue kick before hitting the White Noise through the commentator’s desk. Despite so much Drew managed to hit a Futureshock DDT which changed the scenario of the match. He then followed the DDT with the Claymore and won the game.
Randy Orton vs Alexa Bliss
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This match turned out to be completely unexpected. This seemed quite off when Orton started coughing up black substance during his entrance and this was added by Alexa’s entrance where the lights turned purple and the WWE Diva started throwing fireballs at Orton. When the Viper finally had the moment to attack Alexa, she made a lighting fixture fall from the ceiling which almost hit Orton. Later in the ring when Alexa was throwing fireballs at Randy, a hand came and grabbed Orton’s foot and it was the Fiend. Bray Wyatt then hit Sister Abigail which allowed Bliss to pin down Orton.
WWE Universal Championship – Roman Reigns VS Daniel Bryan
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The match between Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan at Fastlane 2021 has got to be one of the most entertaining games in WWE. Bryan who had his eyes on the championship belt hit Reigns with plenty of running knees and the Yes Kicks but the Champion was strong enough to tap out of the fall. The Tribal Chief even broke out of a yes lock to deliver a powerbomb. Daniel Bryan then took out the referee with one of his running knees and Reigns took advantage and landed a spear on Bryan. The R-rated superstar Edge stepped into the ring while Bryan managed to get the Yes Lock again. Reign’s cousin Jey Uso then rushed towards the ring to save Roman. He took out Edge with a steel chair but Bryan reversed the move before Roman came in with the Superman Punch. Both the fighters went on to fight for more time and Bryan managed to get the Yes Lock again which would have made Roman tap out. But Edge showed up again, this time with a steel chair, and took out both of them. Roman then got the cover to retain the title, thanks to Edge. This victory means that Roman Reigns remains undefeated at Fastlane with a score of 5 – 0.
[Image Credit: WWE]
Shashank Iyer