WWE Fastlane 2018 review: What we learned, takeaways, future projections

Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Rusev

What we learned: The only thing we really learned here was that Aiden English’s throat heals very quickly. It wasn’t that long ago that he took some Shinsuke Nakamura knees to the throat, which is what prompted this match in the first place, but there he was on the stage before this match got rolling with the latest version of “Rusev Day.” So there’s that. Good for you, Aiden.

As I said in my preview and predictions, this had the chance to be a decent match, even with the silly story behind it, and I think we got even better than decent from Nakamura and Rusev in this curtain-jerker. With just six matches on the card, most of these matches were going to get some time and these two made the most of it, even if the outcome was never really a question.

With the crowd essentially rooting for both guys (Rusev really is crazy over right now), they worked a nice back and forth with the Bulgarian Brute picking up some fairly believable nearfalls. It was a little slow at points but the last few minutes were really good and featured some stiff shots leading into the finish. Nakamura hit the Kinshasa on both sides of Rusev’s noggin and got the 1-2-3. Good start.

What’s next: Obviously, we know that Shinsuke is headed to WrestleMania to face AJ Styles (spoiler alert) for the WWE Championship and the buzz for that match is going to be incredible. If you haven’t done so yet, go back and watch their match from Japan to get yourself hyped up. As for Rusev, he’s likely headed towards the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Aiden English, if he wrestles at all in New Orleans, will probably be in there with him.