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Seth Rollins Retains World Title as WWE Hesitates on Damian Priest at Fastlane

Rollins retains the title on a night that was tailor-made for Damian Priest to capture the world heavyweight championship

Justin Barrasso

Seth Rollins Retains World Title as WWE Hesitates on Damian Priest at Fastlane
Seth Rollins Retains World Title as WWE Hesitates on Damian Priest at Fastlane /

WWE’s Fastlane did not feature a new world champion.

But there was a lot to like about the show, which will be remembered as the first event of note for WWE since its merger with Endeavor.

Seth Rollins defeated Shinsuke Nakamura in the main event, winning a Last Man Standing match that seemed to be a perfect opportunity for Damian Priest to cash in his Money in the Bank contract. Yet that was not the case, as Priest–due to a storyline ankle injury–was encouraged by the Judgment Day to instead wait and strike at the right moment.

Courtesy WWE
Courtesy WWE
Courtesy WWE
Courtesy WWE

On the subject of the Judgment Day, Priest and Finn Bálor dropped the undisputed tag titles to Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso. That decision opens a world of possibility, reconnecting Rhodes to The Bloodline and perhaps even setting up a program against former champs Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. That adds even more life to Raw, which is always a positive.

Courtesy WWE
Courtesy WWE

In addition to the matches, there were three noteworthy moments. Carlito returned to WWE, joining Rey Mysterio’s LWO and pinning Montez Ford for the victory in the six-man tag. Pat McAfee made a surprise visit to the show and joined the commentary table. And we witnessed the debut of Jade Cargill, who was welcomed by Triple H (feel free to make your own conclusions as to whether that was a shot at AEW and Tony Khan).

There were also nonstop advertisements throughout the show from Pizza Hut. Before I argue why plenty of chains out-pizza the Hut, here are the results from Fastlane:

-- Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso defeated Finn Bálor and Damian Priest to win the undisputed tag team titles

-- Rey Mysterio, Santos Escobar, and Carlito defeated Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits

-- Women’s champion Iyo Sky defeated Charlotte Flair and Asuka

-- John Cena and LA Knight defeated Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa

-- World heavyweight champion Seth Rollins defeated Shinsuke Nakamura in a Last Man Standing match

The show opened with a phenomenal tag match that saw Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso win the undisputed tag titles from Judgment Day’s Finn Bálor and Damian Priest. It adds even more color to the story, as this reinserts Rhodes back into Bloodline business–and even opens a window for Rhodes and Uso to defend the belts against former champs Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. It also marks the tenth tag team title reign for Uso, which is extremely impressive, and the first without his twin brother Jimmy.

A significant part of the match was Priest dealing with a storyline ankle injury. Later in the show, as Judgment Day lamented the loss of their titles, Priest vowed to cash in his Money in the Bank contract–only to be persuaded out of it by Rhea Ripley.

In the second match of the night, Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar appeared destined to fall short against Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits. Yet that changed when Carlito emerged late in the match as the third member of their team. Carlito, who had an entire gimmick around eating an apple, was hinted at before the match–Corey Graves mentioned that Mysterio was a bad apple.

Once Carlito entered the match, he was the difference, pinning Montez Ford after hitting a backstabber. Carlito adds a valuable new piece to Mysterio’s LWO, though it is only a matter of time before he turns on Mysterio.

Courtesy WWE
Courtesy WWE

Iyo Sky pinned Charlotte Flair to retain the women’s championship in a three-way match that also included Asuka. The finish was memorable: Flair forced Asuka to tap out to the figure-eight, but that was missed because Bayley was distracting the referee (the backstory to that is Sky had told Bayley she did not need her at ringside). Sky then hit a picturesque moonsault on Flair, getting a major victory by pinning Flair.

Courtesy WWE
Courtesy WWE

The victory was a long-awaited moment for Sky. After Flair won the NXT women’s title at WrestleMania 36, she lost it to Sky without getting pinned or submitted in a three-way match the following June at NXT’s In Your House show. Sky won the belt that night after hitting her moonsault on Ripley while Flair already had Ripley locked in the Figure Eight, pinning Ripley for the win. This was a much more meaningful win, as Sky finally got that victory pin fall on Flair.

John Cena and LA Knight teamed together–without issue–to defeat Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa. This turned into a highlight reel for Cena, who is still able to perform at a high level at 46. LA Knight was incredibly popular with the crowd in Indianapolis, and the finish heightens the tension between Roman Reigns–who returns next Friday on SmackDown (of which commentary was kind enough to remind us multiple times)–and Uso and Sikoa, as well as Cena, who appears on schedule to challenge Reigns at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia next month.

Courtesy WWE
Courtesy WWE

The roller coaster of 2023 also continued for LA Knight. After starting the year at the Royal Rumble in a match against Bray Wyatt, inexplicably being left off both nights of the WrestleMania 39 card (in LA!), and winning the Slim Jim Battle Royal at SummerSlam (as well as sharing the ring with The Undertaker on Raw in January and a beautiful tribute to Wyatt after his sudden passing), he can now add teaming with Cena to a very memorable year.

Courtesy WWE
Courtesy WWE

The main event saw Shinsuke Nakamura deliver nonstop pain on Seth Rollins in a Last Man Standing match. Yet for all his effort, Nakamura could not keep Rollins down for the full 10 seconds necessary to win the match.

Nakamura found new ways to inflict pain on Rollins. Even though Rollins fought back, he was largely on the receiving end of the abuse in this match. The times when he had leverage, like the winning sequence where he hit a Falcon Arrow on Nakamura through a table, he still took punishment.

Those circumstances set up a situation where a badly injured Rollins barely survived. Despite the table being set for Damian Priest to emerge and dethrone Rollins, which would have ended the show on a very memorable note, that did not happen. Is there doubt that Priest is ready to be world champion? Or is Rollins potentially pushing for a longer title reign?

Courtesy WWE
Courtesy WWE

Whatever the case may be, this would have been an opportune time to make the title change.

Published
Justin Barrasso
JUSTIN BARRASSO

Justin Barrasso has been writing for Sports Illustrated since 2014. While his primary focus is pro wrestling and MMA, he has also covered MLB, NBA, and the NFL. He can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com and followed on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.

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