Biggest Moments From Fastlane 2018- Exceeding Expectations

If recent history has taught us anything it's that the less anticipation there is for a WWE pay-per-view the better that it tends to end up being. If that trend continued to ring true on Sunday night, then Fastlane may have wound up being one of the best shows in the past twelve months. The line up for Fastlane was so lackluster that many fans probably forgot that it was even taking place. As expected though the pay-per-view went above and beyond and actually treated us to quite a few big moments, some of which will have WrestleMania ramifications. Check out the biggest five from the show below.

5. That Was A Long Way To Fall

Despite it being a potentially devastating maneuver from the top rope the superplex has become something that we see all too often in WWE. It has lost a little of its luster because it's used so much and the ring has to implode for it to be interesting. Well on Sunday night Randy Orton and Bobby Roode actually proved that isn't strictly true. A veteran and thirteen time World Champion like Orton does the basics better than anybody and can make something routine look perfect. That was the case with his superplex on The Glorious One at Fastlane. It looked crisp and it looked devastating, as it should do. Clearly, it was as well since soon after The Viper was being crowned the new United States Champion.

4. A Jaw-Jacking Machka Kick

What's the best way to kick off a show that most fans believed was going to be lackluster before it had even begun? Put two of the most popular Superstars on SmackDown Live out there in the opening match of course! Shinsuke Nakamura may be beloved by the WWE Universe but there is no getting away from the fact that so is Rusev who was The King Of Strong Style's Fastlane opponent. Despite the result being a foregone conclusion, the match was still pretty good and well and truly warmed the crowd up. There were even moments where The Bulgarian Brute might have believed he had Nakamura beat. The biggest of those moments came when Rusev hit his opponent with a devastating Machka Kick. Nakamura was turned inside out by the hit but it still wasn't enough to keep him down for a three count.

3. Ruby Riott Gets Speared Into Last Week

Charlotte Flair had to overcome an awful lot of odds in her match against Ruby Riott on Sunday night. The SmackDown Women's Champion was likely expecting that though. When you take on Riott then Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan are always going to be nearby. Lucky for Flair though, Naomi and Becky Lynch were also on hand and eventually the referee ejected all four of the women who were causing trouble at ringside. Although Riott's showing was impressive, after that happened there was only ever going to be one outcome, a win for The Queen. That victory was well and truly put in to motion when the champ hit her opponent with a spear that the likes of Edge and Goldberg would have been proud of.

2. Another Big Bludgeon Brothers Moment

What was for certain heading into the Tag Team Title match between The New Day and The Usos was that it would likely play host to a litany of big moments. Their series of matches last year certainly did. What we got was a post-match beatdown that provided enough big moments to fill this entire article at least twice courtesy of The Bludgeon Brothers. Harper and Rowan have been subtly threatening that they want those titles and at Fastlane they sent a clear and direct message by brutally attacking the champions and the challengers. The biggest of their big moments came when they joined forces to slam Xavier Woods on to the steel steps. Those titles have never been more at risk.

1. One Nasty Looking Attitude Adjustment

While Fastlane's main event was very much about whether AJ Styles could make a dream match at WrestleMania with Shinsuke Nakamura official, it was also about John Cena's unrelenting plight to carve his own path to the biggest show of the year. The Franchise Player is a smart man which is why he looked to take out arguably the biggest threat out of all five of his opponents early on, the WWE Champion himself. Cena did that by delivering a huge Attitude Adjustment to The Phenomenal One through an announce table. It looked pretty nasty and kept Styles down for a very long time. The two time WWE Champion recovered just in time though and despite being put through a table by perhaps his greatest WWE rival he is still champion.