WWE Fastlane 2019 review: Highlights, takeaways and projections

Kofi Kingston vs. The Bar (2-on-1 Handicap Match)

This 2-on-1 handicap match featuring Kofi Kingston taking on both members of The Bar (who didn’t have to make tags here) obviously wasn’t on the card prior heading into Fastlane. Kingston finally had his meeting with Vince McMahon (after waiting over an hour), who said that the WWE Championship Match was now going to be a triple threat and told Kingston to get to the ring. It was then revealed that the WWE Championship bout would be happening later on but that Kingston had to stay in the ring for a match, which is how we got here.

The match itself wasn’t very good from a wrestling standpoint but the booking made some degree of sense, pretty much because it’s booking we’ve seen time and time again. Kingston fought hard and nearly earned the victory but he couldn’t overcome the numbers game. Big E and Xavier Woods, who had been barred from ringside, eventually made their way out in an attempt to put a stop to the beating but were taken out themselves by Nakamura and Rusev, who were able to get a bit of revenge from their loss on the kickoff show.

What’s next: The live crowd hated all of this and so many people on social media were complaining, but this all works in Kingston’s favor. Seriously, if you don’t know what’s happening, you don’t know professional wrestling. This is a classic angle, an angle that’s been used forever. It’s the authority figure keeping someone down but then that someone has to rise above and buck the odds and overcome adversity or any other cliché you want to throw in there. Yes, it is a little lazy, especially as it’s been happening at the same time as the Becky Lynch storyline, but we know it works. Stone Cold Steve Austin. Daniel Bryan. Roman Reigns. Kingston will be in the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania. We can be happy about that.