WWE Raw Recap: The Night After Fastlane

After the conclusion of WWE’s largely disappointing PPV Fastlane this past weekend, the match line-up for Wrestlemania 33 looks like it is finally started to set in stone.

Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho’s best-friendship, turned bitter-rivalry, culminated with Owens smashing Jericho face first through a TV monitor. Jericho would see a measure of revenge after causing a distraction at Fastlane that would allow Goldberg to spear and jackhammer his way to the WWE Universal Championship.

The March 6th episode of Monday Night Raw began with a segment between the pair, including the official announcement of Chris Jericho vs Kevin Owens at Mania, with the United States Championship on the line.

Rumour has it Jericho will be back of the road touring with his band Fozzy after Wrestlemania, so the safe money is on Kevin Owens picking up his first U.S. title at the grandest stage of them all.

Goldberg and Brock Lesnar stood in the same ring for the first time since the Royal Rumble, in a segment that saw The Beast finally gain one over the Universal Champion, after laying him out with an F-5.

With that, Goldberg took his first bump in 13 years.

Raw also picked up momentum towards the Raw Women’s Championship. After Bayley explained her disappointment in beating Charlotte at Fastlane, (ending her PPV streak) thanks to help from Sasha Banks, Raw GM Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon both made cases for Banks and Charlotte to be the number one contender.

McMahon, however, muscled out Foley and made a match for that night, which saw Banks defeat Bayley, setting up a triple-threat at Mania between three of the Four Horsewomen.
It has also been rumoured that Nia Jax could be added to the match, making it a Fatal 4-Way, so it will be interesting to see how the next few weeks shape up.

Closing out Raw, Roman Reigns confronted The Undertaker, in their first interaction since the Royal Rumble, when Reigns eliminated The Deadman.

Reigns told The Deadman that this was now his yard, which Taker did not take kindly too. After looking up towards the hanging Wrestlemania sign, Undertaker would reply with a huge chokeslam that left the Big Dog laying in the middle of the ring.

Whether you love him or hate him, this is set to be an absolutely monumental match that is sure to get people tuning in.

Prior to the Undertaker/Reigns segment, Braun Strowman (who was beaten by Reigns at Fastlane) stormed to the ring, looking to tear Reigns apart, but was instead met by Taker. After a face-off, Strowman backed down and left through the crowd.

If I were a gambling man, a match between these two can’t be in the too-distant future. But for now, I would have to guess Strowman is heading for the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (which he will likely win).

Austin Aries also made his return, decking Cruiserweight Champion Neville with a Roaring Elbow. This was after Neville provoked The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, claiming he was not on his level. AA is set to make a statement on the upcoming edition of 205 Live.

Whether this leads to a Mania match for the title (or a multi-man ladder match, if the Intercontinental Championship isn’t defended in that manner, as has been tradition of late) remains to be seen.

Mick Foley also booked Sheamus and Cesaro vs Enzo and Big Cass for Raw next week, with the winners going on to face current Raw tag champs Gallows and Anderson for the belts at Wrestlemania.

Time will tell if that decision sticks or not, but I still wouldn’t be surprised to see both Raw and Smackdown have mutli-team matches for their respective tag titles.

The status of the long-speculated bout between The Big Show and Shaquile O’ Neil is still up in the air, as is a match between Seth Rollins and HHH, due to Rollins current leg injury.

As confirmed a few weeks ago, The New Day are set to host Wrestlemania 33.

So, after this episode of Raw, the Wrestlemania card is shaping up like this:

WWE Universal Championship – Goldberg (c) vs Brock Lesnar.

WWE United States Championship – Chris Jericho (c) vs Kevin Owens.

WWE Raw Womens Championship – Bayley (c) vs Charlotte vs Sasha Banks.

WWE Raw Tag Team Championship – Anderson and Gallows (c) vs Cesaro and Sheamus or Enzo and Big Cass.

Roman Reigns vs The Undertaker.

We will have to see how the March 7th episode of Smackdown Live affects the Mania card, but if the rumours are true (and so far they have all been coming to fruition) then we are still likely on course to see:

– Bray Wyatt against Randy Orton for the WWE Championship.

– AJ Styles vs Shane McMahon, in a match largely nobody wants.

-John Cena and Nikki Bella, taking on The Miz and Maryse, in a match that will certainly make for a great episode of Total Divas a few months from now.