Predicting the match order at Fastlane 2019

It’s one thing to predict the winners and losers at Fastlane 2019, but how about taking a guess at the match order on that card?

WWE has announced 7 different segments for the main card of Fastlane, not counting the two pre-show matches featuring Andrade, Mysterio, New Day, Rusev, and Nakamura.

Here is my subjective view of how important each of these 7 segments rank on the Fastlane card, ordered from most important to least important.

1. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair
2. Daniel Bryan vs. Kevin Owens
3. The Shield vs. Corbin, Lashley, McIntyre
4. The Usos vs. Miz & Shane McMahon
5. The Revival vs. Ricochet & Black vs. Roode & Gable
6. Bayley & Sasha Banks vs. Tamina & Nia Jax
7. Asuka vs. Mandy Rose

It is important to come up with a list like this to get an idea of which matches are going to be placed in the key spots on the card or take up the most time, and which matches might end up in the cool-down spots or be given the least amount of time.

Becky’s match gets the top spot since it will determine the main event of WrestleMania 35. Bryan’s match comes next due to the WWE Championship. The reunion of The Shield is a big deal and rounds out the three most important matches.

Shane McMahon is next since he is treated like a bigger star than everyone else on the list. Ricochet’s match gets the edge over Sasha since it will likely receive more time. Asuka’s match is a complete afterthought and could be used as a cool-down match, if necessary.

Main event

The top three matches are all viable contenders to main event this card, and it really isn’t clear which one is the favorite.

Becky and Charlotte will likely both be wrestling in the main event of WrestleMania 35, so they definitely have a strong case for being the main event of this card. But if Becky is selling a knee injury that requires crutches, it’s very possible the match quality will suffer as a result. This one is not a title match, which doesn’t help its case.

The WWE Championship match always has a chance to close out the night. But considering how quickly the match with Owens came together and how it feels like a placeholder for something bigger involving Kofi Kingston, there is high potential for a screwy ending. With that in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising for this one to fall short of the main event spot.

The Shield reunion is enough to land them in the final match of the night, but Corbin’s trio simply doesn’t seem like main event material.

I’m not super confident in making a choice here. Ultimately I will follow the logic that if Becky and Charlotte are going to main event WrestleMania, it would be strange for them to not main event Fastlane too. So they are my pick for the main event match at Fastlane.

Opening match

The opening match of the night is usually one of the mid-level attractions with good work rate that doesn’t require a dedicated video package ahead of time to hype it up.

There are three tag team championship matches on this card, and they are the best candidates to open this card.

The women’s match is the riskiest one in terms of delivering a quality match, so I will rule them out. That leaves either the Usos or the Revival for Segment 1.

This would normally be a no-brainer in favor of the Usos, since all four performers in their match are presented as bigger stars than each of the six competitors in the Raw match. But I’m going to choose the Raw match for the opener for two reasons. First, I am expecting a heel turn from either Shane or Miz, and that seems more fitting for the middle of the card than the beginning. Second, it looks like WWE is trying to push Ricochet and Black as a big deal, and having them win the tag titles in the opening match of the night seems like a pretty good way to continue along that path.

That gives me the following card:

Segment 1: The Revival vs. Ricochet & Black vs. Roode & Gable
Segment 2:
Segment 3:
Segment 4:
Segment 5:
Segment 6:
Segment 7: Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair

Cool-down match?

Asuka’s match is the least important fight of the night and is the best candidate to be used for a cool-down segment late in the card. Segment 2 is also a spot that needs to be considered for Asuka’s match, since that segment often goes to one of the least important matches of the night.

One thing that stands out about the Fastlane card is the abundance of tag team matches. Of the three matches that are not tag team matches, Asuka’s is the only one that seems appropriate for an early segment in the card. If I saved Asuka for a cool-down segment late in the night, that means the early portion of the card would be stacked with all tag team matches, unless I’m bold enough to place Becky or Bryan very early in the night.

I’m not bold enough to do that, so I’ll stick Asuka and Mandy in Segment 2.

That gives me the following card:

Segment 1: The Revival vs. Ricochet & Black vs. Roode & Gable
Segment 2: Asuka vs. Mandy Rose
Segment 3:
Segment 4:
Segment 5:
Segment 6:
Segment 7: Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair

Everything else

Following Asuka’s match, Segment 3 is a good spot for whatever big angle is planned for Miz and Shane.

After that, I need to decide if I am going to stack the three biggest matches of the night in the final three segments, or if I will break those matches up with Bayley’s match somewhere in between.

I don’t think WWE will close out the night with two consecutive women’s matches, which means Bayley will land in either Segment 4 or Segment 5. Bayley’s match is pretty much screwed (in terms of audience reaction) if it follows any of the big three matches, so I’m going to assume WWE will try to avoid that by putting it in Segment 4.

That leaves Bryan and The Shield for Segment 5 and Segment 6. I’ll put Bryan and Owens in Segment 5 simply for the sake of breaking up a string of consecutive tag matches.

Finalized card

So here is my final prediction for the match order at Fastlane, along with guesses on the bell-to-bell match times.

Segment 1: The Revival vs. Ricochet & Black vs. Roode & Gable (14 minutes)
Segment 2: Asuka vs. Mandy Rose (7)
Segment 3: The Usos vs. Miz & Shane McMahon (15)
Segment 4: Bayley & Sasha Banks vs. Tamina & Nia Jax (12)
Segment 5: Daniel Bryan vs. Kevin Owens (19)
Segment 6: The Shield vs. Corbin, Lashley, McIntyre (17)
Segment 7: Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair (16)

I’m really not feeling great about the match order on this card. In addition to an unclear main event, the high number of tag team matches is really making this one difficult to figure out.

That’s my prediction for the match order at Fastlane 2019. What’s yours?