WWE United States Championship Fastlane Kickoff Match
Kalisto (c) vs Alberto Del Rio (2-out-of-3 Falls Match)
I suppose the old school stipulation is fitting given they've traded falls back and forth throughout their feud together, although it was tacked on at the last minute with no build. As this bout is on the pre-game show, expect the first two falls to be shortchanged, whilst hopefully the final one is given enough time to be worthwhile.
The Road to Fastlane
In January, Alberto Del Rio and Kalisto traded the WWE United States Championship back and forth three times with the Lucha Dragon coming out on top in that series of matches by pinning Alberto with his Salida Del Sol finisher at the Royal Rumble to win the title for a second time.
Coming out of that show, it was later reported that Alberto Del Rio had picked up a minor lower back injury that kept him out of action for just over a week, which explained why the build for their Fastlane rematch started off a week late.
After cleanly defeating The Miz and Neville on television, Kalisto's sights were set on the League of Nations again when he faced Rusev on the February 1st Monday Night Raw whilst Alberto Del Rio was at ringside offering his opinions of the match on colour commentary. Kalisto won via count-out with a flying hurricanrana off the announcer's table. After the match, an infuriated Alberto went after Kalisto, but he couldn't catch him in time.
On the February 8th Raw, Alberto Del Rio solidified his status as the number one contender to Kalisto's gold by pinning him in a tag team match with a top rope double foot stomp, after the returning Sin Cara had taken out Rusev with a tope and a momentary distraction from League of Nation second Wade Barrett allowed Alberto to hit a step-up enzuigiri.
In the go-home week, the League of Nations came out on top twice against Kalisto and his chums. On the February 15th Raw, Alberto Del Rio, Sheamus & Rusev defeated The Lucha Dragons & Neville when Del Rio pinned Sin Cara with the top rope double foot stomp after Wade Barrett had distracted Cara, whilst on Smackdown that exact same League of Nations trio beat The Lucha Dragons & Dolph Ziggler when Kevin Owens distracted Ziggler and Sheamus pinned him with the Brogue Kick.
Very by the book booking on television. Somewhere along the way, Alberto Del Rio issued a challenge for their Fastlane match to be a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match, which Kalisto eagerly accepted on Twitter.
So you want 2-out-of-3 Falls @VivaDelRio ?? I'll be happy to kick la sonrisa de su cara. I accept your challenge. See you at #WWEFastlane
— KALISTO (@KalistoWWE) February 16, 2016
Hold your title close to your pechito, @KalistoWWE. You only have 6 days left with it. #WWEFastLane I bring honor y dignidad to the #USTitle
— Alberto Del Rio (@VivaDelRio) February 16, 2016
What's at stake?
Not much other than the WWE United States Championship, of course, as this bout seems like a time-filling bridge to a climactic match at WrestleMania 32.
From a shoot perspective, a loss here might demoralise Alberto Del Rio, who left Lucha Underground partially over being in the opening match of Ultima Lucha. It could be worse though, he could be Rusev, who isn't wrestling on the show at all! It's a good thing WWE didn't break the bank to return to the company, otherwise he would be the highest paid curtain jerker in wrestling history.
Watch Fastlane exclusively on the WWE Network and follow our live coverage on Cageside Seats for all the latest news coming out of the event.