WWE Fastlane 2019: Preview and predictions

Here’s a preview and prediction for every match on the card at the 2019 edition of the WWE Fastlane pay-per-view event.

The Road to WrestleMania 35 includes one more pit stop at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio this Sunday for the 2019 edition of WWE Fastlane.

Fastlane certainly isn’t the most high-profile pay-per-view on the WWE calendar but with some of the matches booked on the card, this has a chance to be a decent show as we get ready for the biggest event of the year. Even more importantly, there are some matches here that could give us a better idea of what the card in New York might look like next month.

We know we won’t see The Shield at WrestleMania as Seth Rollins obviously already has a match set but we do get at least one more chance to see them in action at Fastlane. We’re also set to see Becky Lynch get her shot at joining the Raw Women’s Championship Match in New York if she can once again defeat Charlotte Flair. More on those in a bit.

There is no cruiserweight division match at Fastlane with the tournament happening on 205 Live to see who will face Buddy Murphy at WrestleMania, so we’re set for Rey Mysterio and Andrade as the Kickoff show entertainment. Along with the two matches mentioned above, the main card will also feature five championship matches, including the SmackDown Women’s Championship Match so we’ll go ahead and start there and then jump right into the others.

So without further ado, here are our preview and predictions for the 2019 edition of WWE Fastlane.

SmackDown Women’s Championship Match

Asuka (c) vs. Mandy Rose

Since winning the SmackDown Women’s Championship, Asuka has been a bit of an afterthought in the women’s division, which is unfortunate. But with the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship being introduced at Elimination Chamber and all of the hoopla surrounding Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, it was bound to happen. But that doesn’t mean that Asuka and Mandy Rose can’t go out there and put on a good show to show the rest of the world that the Blue Brand’s women’s division still has plenty to offer. This could be surprisingly good. Rose has come a long way over the past few months and has really improved her in-ring work. Being in the ring with a true veteran like Asuka is only going to help her.

Prediction: I don’t think it’s Mandy’s time just yet (apologies to Corey Graves) but it’s good to see her at least get a title shot. It’s likely a one-off for now as a new challenger should emerge in the next few weeks ahead of WrestleMania after Asuka picks up this win on Sunday.