Three Fastlane Matches CONFIRMED – SmackDown Live Round-Up 2/20/18

Published: Feb 21, 2018 by Wrestle Talk | Last Updated: Feb 21, 2018 by Wrestle Talk

Three Fastlane Matches CONFIRMED – SmackDown Live Round-Up 2/20/18

WWE announced three title matches for Fastlane on March 11 at last night’s SmackDown Live show. It was revealed that Bobby Roode would defend his United States Championship against Randy Orton at the pay-per-view, a decision made by Shane McMahon. GM Daniel Bryan disagreed as he wanted to make Roode vs. Jinder Mahal, but McMahon won out in this week’s cold war between the two. Given the way the program has been built and with two weeks still to go before Fastlane, it is almost certain that Mahal will be added to the bout anyway, making yet another multi-man bout.

The Tag Team Title match is expected to receive the same treatment. Currently the bout is set as The Usos vs. New Day, after the latter defeated Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin to become number one contenders. The rivalry between the two tandems was one of WWE’s most revered of 2017 so the prospect of another go around is appealing. However, the presence of the Bludgeon Brothers at the end of New Day’s win is likely to be a spanner in the works that will lead to yet another multi-man. Joy of joys.

Thankfully, it seems that the Women’s Title bout between Charlotte Flair and Ruby Riott will remain as is. This was the match most expected based on the recent issues between Flair and the Riott Squad, and it makes the most sense. It’s also never been done before, which adds a freshness that the division needs to stay interesting prior to Charlotte’s expected defense against Asuka at WrestleMania.