Tag: John Cena

WWE Fastlane 2023 results: Seth Rollins survives, plus new tag team champs

Seth Rollins and IYO SKY foiled strong title challenges, and WWE Fastlane was a bad night for The Judgment Day and The Bloodline.

Seth Rollins seems like he was made for the World Heavyweight Championship, priding himself on being a workhorse titleholder who defends the belt often and against all comers. But that’s only if his body can stand up to the grind, and Shinsuke Nakamura is going to try to show that it can’t tonight at WWE Fastlane in Indianapolis.

Nakamura has had one shot at the title already and come up short. But he has played Rollins masterfully over the past few weeks, essentially goading him into the stipulation he wanted: And he picked Last Man Standing.

WWE has done a nice job working Rollins’ real life back ailments into the narrative, creating a little doubt that he comes out of this with the championship. That’s perfect for a show like Fastlane, where fans wouldn’t normally expect a big title change.

A lot of attention is also on John Cena and LA Knight teaming up to face The Bloodline’s Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso (at least Jimmy says he’s in The Bloodline). It’s one of those past meets present moments WWE does so well, and while Knight certainly doesn’t need a rub from anyone right now, it can’t hurt to have a man WWE promotes as “The Greatest of All Time” paired with him for a high profile match like this.

With those bouts plus a men’s tag team title match on the card, the WWE Women’s Championship Triple Threat bout could be one that will steal the show. There are only five matches total that are expected for Fastlane, so it wouldn’t be completely shocking if something got added on the fly.

Let’s hit the gas and see where we end up.

WWE Fastlane 2023 results:

(click on any match with a link for full details)

WWE Fastlane 2023 results: LA Knight, John Cena are too much for The Bloodline

LA Knight and John Cena formed a super team and took out Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso at WWE Fastlane; get all the details here.

LA Knight and John Cena get an introduction from Pat McAfee, who joins the announcers to help call this match. Jimmy Uso gets a early taste of Cena’s power and regroups with Paul Heyman.

Will Solo Sikoa fare better? He stares down Cena and then goes to work. Uso shows off his shadow boxing as he tags in with The GOAT already worn down a bit. He’s clearly enjoying this.

Cena is taking abuse from both of his opponents and stuck on the wrong side of the ring. Uso has a headlock on him, and the crowd is trying to urge him on. He’s inches away from a tag before getting hauled back into danger.

After what seems like forever, Cena manages to hit an Attitude Adjustment on Uso. He crawls for all he’s worth, but Sikoa blasts Knight off the apron as Heyman appears to be doing play by play to Roman Reigns on the phone.

The hot tag is finally made so that Knight can run wild. His burst of offense includes a neckbreaker on Uso and a DDT to Solo. Uso catches him off guard with a superkick for a two count, however.

The Uso Splash finds Knight not home, and the Megastar drops his signature elbow. Sikoa hits a Samoan Drop but is taken out in turn by a Cena high cross body, and an Uso Splash hits Cena in turn … and all four men are down.

Knight peppers both of his foes with right hands and plenty of “Yeah” chants. Cena is about to rock Sikoa but takes a superkick from Uso. Jimmy climbs up top again, but Knight hops up there too and delivers a superplex. That leaves Jimmy in position to take the Five Kuckle Shuffle, and LA follows with a Blunt Force Trauma for the win.

[lawrence-related id=38009]

WWE Fastlane 2023 predictions: Who walks out of Indianapolis with their hand raised?

WWE Fastlane is about to roll into Indianapolis. Here’s who we think will win every match.

Let’s be real for a second: Fastlane is typically one of WWE’s premium live events that I am not going out of my way to watch.

It’s placement was usually right before WrestleMania, which also usually meant there wasn’t going to be anything of tremendous consqeuence on the card unless it was setting up something for the much more important event the next month.

This year’s Fastlane has some of those same hallmarks. It’s still not considered to be a major premium live event, it’s taking place before a more consquequential event in Survivor Series, and WWE’s top champion, Roman Reigns, is not even scheduled to appear.

However, there is a different feel about this edition of Fastlane. Maybe it’s because John Cena is on the card. Maybe it’s because there are some unique tag team matches. Maybe it’s because Jimmy and Jey Uso are both on the card in tag team matches, but they are not teaming together.

Either way, the 2023 edition of Fastlane has the potential to be exponentially more fun than the Fastlane events of years past. 

One thing that hasn’t changed is that I’ve got predictions. Here’s what I believe will go down in Indianapolis:

Image credit: WWE.com

John Cena and LA Knight vs. Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso

When Cena was commonly referred to as “Super Cena,” the prediction for this contest would have easy. However, this is grizzled vet Cena, who has already lost to Austin Theory at WrestleMania this year.

That win has done very little for Theory, but it is not outside the realm of possibility that Cena takes another loss here, especially if Reigns gets involved to ensure a victory for his family. 

Reigns is not currently advertised for Fastlane, but he is advertised for next week’s edition of Smackdown (as is Triple H, for that matter). 

With all of that said, I think the one thing Cena and LA Knight have going for them is all of the momentum the latter currently has. Every week, the pops seem to be getting louder and louder for Knight. The people are clearly behind him, and I see no reason to hand him a loss at Fastlane. 

If anything, Knight needs this win to cement as main-event player. Because of that, I’m going with the babyfaces here. 

Winners: John Cena and LA Knight

Image credit: WWE.com

WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Boy, is there a lot of speculating and theorizing going on around Seth Rollins at the moment. 

For the record, none of it has been confirmed, but that has not stopped fans from throwing them out there.

One thing I know for certain is Rollins is walking out of Fastlane with the world title. What’s next? I can’t wait to find out.

Winner: Seth Rollins

Image credit: WWE.com

WWE Women’s Championship: IYO SKY (c) vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka

IYO SKY being put into a Triple Threat match she did not ask for is a good way to stack the deck against her heading into Fastlane. However, I believe she will overcome the odds of having to face two very accomplished wrestlers and retain her championship:

Winner: IYO SKY

Image credit: WWE.com

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship: Finn Balor and Damian Priest (c) vs. Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso

What a unique a fun matchup this has the potential to be. While it should be fun, I believe the outcome is academic: The champs retain.

Winners: Finn Balor and Damian Priest

The LWO (and mystery partner) vs. Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits

Here is another unique match that has the potential to be a lot of fun.

As far as a winner, I have to go with Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits to further establish them as a unit to be reckoned with.

Winners: Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits

WWE Fastlane 2023 card: Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso to compete for tag team titles

See what WWE has planned for Indianapolis when Fastlane rolls into town Oct. 7.

WWE Fastlane is quickly approaching, taking place on Saturday, Oct. 7 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The build to this premium live event has been relatively quiet, and given this is a calm time of year for WWE anyway, this show has little fanfare surrounding it.

That could change in this final week leading up to the show, however. John Cena and AJ Styles were set to take on Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa at Fastlane, but an injury to Styles temporarily left Cena without a partner. That changed on the Sept. 29 episode of SmackDown, when LA Knight (who had been recovering from COVID-19) agreed to team with Cena in what should be a very popular pairing.

Shinsuke Nakamura will get his rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship in a Last Man Standing match after weeks of making Seth Rollins wait. This main event-worthy match will be interesting to see, with the possibility of any shenanigans happening during the match to spice things up.

Gunther and Tommaso Ciampa will sign a contract for a WWE Intercontinental Championship match at the Oct. 1 episode of Raw. While a date hasn’t been announced for their clash, Fastlane makes obvious sense. Each passing day extends the Imperium leader’s record-setting reign, so will Ciampa become the one to dethrone him?

Cody Rhodes is without anything to do for now. He has been relatively quiet since SummerSlam, but it would be surprising to not see him wrestle at another premium live event.

Fastlane goes down on Saturday, Oct. 7. As WWE announces more matches, they will be updated below.

Latest update: Oct. 2 2023, 9:07 p.m. ET.

WWE Fastlane 2023 card:

  • Seth Rollins (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – Last Man Standing match for the World Heavyweight Championship
  • John Cena and LA Knight vs. The Bloodline (Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa)
  • IYO SKY (c) vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair – WWE Women’s Championship match
  • Damian Priest and Finn Balor (c) vs. Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso – Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship match
  • LWO (Rey Mysterio, Santos Escobar and either Joaquin Wilde or Cruz Del Toro) vs. Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits

[lawrence-related id=38000]

WWE SmackDown results 10/6/23: John Cena, LA Knight, Jey Uso, Cody Rhodes team against an evil alliance

WWE SmackDown saw The Bloodline and The Judgment Day join forces, but enough heroes banded together to stop them.

Even though it’s popular to tease WWE for doing so many “Can they coexist?” matches, there’s a reason the company goes to that well so often: It’s almost guaranteed drama. So it should come as no surprise that tonight’s WWE SmackDown, the go home show before Fastlane on Saturday night, includes one of those bouts.

Asuka would really like to win the WWE Women’s Championship again after losing it this summer. Charlotte Flair would also like to win it since she’s just accustomed to wearing gold around her waist. Both women will have a chance to do so at Fastlane in a Triple Threat match with current champion IYO SKY … but first they have to team together tonight against SKY and Bayley.

Yet there’s a chance that this might subvert the coexisting trope. After all, Asuka and Flair have been a successful team before, even winning tag team gold together. And Damage CTRL might finally be showing some cracks since Bayley took it upon herself to book SKY to face two challengers, perhaps out of jealousy. This could be interesting indeed.

The other big hook for tonight’s show is that it’s getting visitors from Raw. Cody Rhodes has backed Jey Uso even when others weren’t as crazy about it, and his reward is getting teamed with Uso to take on The Judgment Day’s Damian Priest and Finn Balor for tag team gold. All four men will be on hand tonight in St. Louis.

We’re ready to see what this night holds in store, and if any additional matches will be added to the Fastlane card which currently goes just five deep. Let’s go on this journey together, shall we?

WWE SmackDown results from St. Louis:

(please scroll down for full details on any match or segment in bold)

  • A video package shows LA Knight coming to the rescue of John Cena on last week’s show
  • Speaking of LA Knight, The Bloodline wants to mess with him, but John Cena has his back; Knight also challenges Jimmy Uso to a match tonight
  • As The Bloodline walks in, Damian Priest wants to know why JD McDonagh is there, but Rhea Ripley says he’s there at her invitation
  • Asuka and Charlotte Flair def. Bayley and IYO SKY by pinfall
  • Heyman says Roman Reigns needs to authorize a match, to which Uso points out that he’s never around; also The Judgment Day seems to have taken over the dressing room The Bloodline thought was theirs
  • Ripley tells the two teams to leave so she can chat with Heyman, but Solo and Priest linger and stare each other down
  • Bobby Lashley def. Rey Mysterio by pinfall, and officials come out to check on Cruz Del Toro and Joaquin Wilde after the match as they get entangled in the action on the outside with the Street Profits
  • Back to Heyman and Ripley: Rhea proposes an alliance, and while Paul likes the idea, he needs to get the idea authorized by the Tribal Chief … but Rhea wants Paul to acknowledge her before giving him permission to “make your little phone call”
  • Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn continue to insinuate that they’ve cursed the women’s tag team championships
  • Dragon Lee def. Austin Theory by pinfall after Cameron Grimes takes out his ringside help, Grayson Waller
  • Ripley is shown talking to Jimmy Uso backstage
  • The LWO says Del Cruz and Wilde are going to be out for tomorrow’s six-man match at Fastlane, so Mysterio tells his remaining teammates he will make a phone call …
  • Jimmy Uso vs. LA Knight ends in a no contest, becoming a huge brawl that involves The Judgment Day, Solo Sikoa, John Cena, Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes that ends badly for JD McDonagh

John Cena recalls interaction with The Rock at WWE SmackDown return: ‘It was nice to see a friend’

John Cena was happy that The Rock seems to have accepted his apology for some of his past comments.

John Cena and The Rock‘s differing ideologies on their participation in the wrestling business caused their on-screen animosity for WrestleMania 28 and 29 to extend into real life, leaving them far from cordial in the aftermath.

Since then, things have changed. Both men have walked nearly identical paths, jumping from the wrestling ring to Hollywood and other opportunities that turned them into media superstars. Earlier this year, Cena told EW that he had failed to understand someone else’s perspective about loving the wrestling business while balancing other activities, calling himself a hypocrite for “selfish” views.

On Wednesday, Cena reflected on The Bump about his old interactions with The Rock, reiterating how he mistakenly handled things. He also mentioned that their interaction on the Sept. 15 episode of SmackDown was their first since he had publicly apologized for the past (h/t Fightful for transcription).

In between the times we’ve spent with one another, I’ve openly come to a realization that the first foray into us competing against each other probably was a professional mistake on my part. I’ve been very apologetic and open with my apology, the way I conducted business was in the realm of trying to do good business. We did great business, and it was really nice to see a friend. He’s actually very generous with his time, we actually conversed a little bit. That was the first time we’ve seen each other since publicly apologizing for that, and I just want to make sure he heard it from me face to face as well. It was really nice to see a friend.

The Rock and Cena have clearly moved past their differences and become friends. Animosity that lingered for years seems to have disappeared, and it made for a nice moment on SmackDown that might not have happened without the actors’ strike.

How to watch WWE Fastlane 2023: Live stream US, international

Everything you need to know to catch WWE Fastlane this weekend from Indianapolis.

On Saturday, Oct. 7, WWE Fastlane will emanate from the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. This “B” show will be the culmination of multiple feuds with important stakes, including the World Heavyweight Championship being defended.

John Cena and AJ Styles looked set to team up to face Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa of The Bloodline at one point, but an attack on Styles opened up a spot for LA Knight to team with WWE’s “Greatest of All Time.” It will be the former Max Dupri’s biggest spotlight yet, especially if this match closes Fastlane. Whether he earns the biggest win of his career, though, could impact his role at the remaining premium live events of 2023.

Shinsuke Nakamura will try to break Seth Rollins‘ back and keep him down for 10 seconds in a Last Man Standing match for the World Heavyweight Championship. Despite taking a few weeks to finalize, Nakamura challenged Rollins on his own terms for the title he failed to take at Payback, and with a win, the King of Strong Style would earn his first world title in WWE.

The unlikely team of Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso will challenge The Judgment Day’s Finn Balor and Damian Priest for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship. A win would break recent tension within Balor and Priest’s group, but if Rhodes and Uso claim gold, will Rhea Ripley’s unhappiness with her stablemates boil over?

IYO SKY puts her WWE Women’s Championship on the line against Asuka and Charlotte Flair. In a run that began at SummerSlam, the Genius of the Sky has overcome every obstacle despite some hints at issues with Bayley. Can Damage CTRL remain intact for one more premium live event?

These matches, and more, will grace Fastlane in Indianapolis. Here’s everything you need to know to watch the action this weekend.

WWE Fastlane 2023

  • Date: Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023
  • Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
  • Start time: 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT
  • How to watch: On Peacock in the U.S., and on WWE Network in the rest of the world

Is LA Knight merch outselling John Cena, Stone Cold? Yeah! (Probably)

LA Knight is bringing his popularity directly to WWE’s bottom line when it comes to merchandise sales.

Whose merch game is it? Maybe not everybody is buying LA Knight shirts, but a lot of people are — enough so that he appears to be outselling a couple of WWE icons.

According to the estimated sales data from Wrestlenomics (subscription required) for September 2023, Knight had both the category that appeared in the top 10 daily listings the most, well above John Cena in second, and the single item atop the items list too. His black “YEAH!” shirt narrowly beat out one of Cena’s recent tees.

Wrestlenomics uses only the standings within the WWE Shop’s daily top rankings to compile its list, which is why they are estimates. Still, they have proven to be great indicators of what is selling fastest over time, and there’s no question that anecdotal evidence from attending live WWE shows suggests Knight is very hot when it comes to moving merchandise.

Three of Knight’s shirts appear in the top 10 for September, while no other WWE talent, past or present, had more than one.

The upcoming plans for Knight should only help keep him top of mind among fans. He’s going to join Cena to team to face The Bloodline’s Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa at Fastlane this weekend. Knight doesn’t really seem to need the rub right now, but pairing him with the man WWE has actively been promoting as “The Greatest of All Time” sure won’t hurt.

It might even convince some more fans in Indianapolis to buy a few additional shirts. Don’t expect the Megastar to drop off the WWE top 10 list for October, the way things are going.

[lawrence-related id=37122]

WWE SmackDown preview 09/29/23: Will John Cena really fight The Bloodline alone?

WWE SmackDown from Sacramento will also see LWO teammates Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar battle for the U.S. title.

Leave it to John Cena to wade right into the biggest storyline in WWE as soon as he was around for a few months. He quickly made enemies of The Bloodline, and now the consequences of that decision will be an important part of tonight’s WWE SmackDown from Sacramento.

Cena thought he had a staunch ally in AJ Styles, who was ready to tag with him to face Jimmy Uso (whose Bloodline status is tenuous but is trying to work through it) and Solo Sikoa at Fastlane. But Uso and Sikoa took him out of the equation last week with a vicious attack that saw Styles leave the arena in an ambulance.

That left Cena to take a beating at the end of the show with no one to save him, and he’s currently slated to fight the Bloodline duo in a 2-on-1 handicap match in Indianapolis. Might that change tonight? Well, there were reports that a certain very popular wrestler with a one-word catchphrase was supposed to come to Cena’s aid until illness scuttled those plans. We’ll see if a Megastar shines on Cena on SmackDown.

Also tonight, Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar haven’t let the United States Championship come between them, even though Mysterio won it during a match that was originally supposed to feature his LWO teammate. Rey has granted Santos a title shot, as friends do, but will their friendship remain intact with the belt up for grabs?

It would be a bit of a bummer if there was a turn involved (imagine if it’s Rey!), but this is pro wrestling we’re talking about.

Those are the big reasons to tune in tonight at 8 p.m. on Fox, and we’ll update this post if and when WWE promotes more matches or segments for tonight’s SmackDown. Until then!

Why LA Knight didn’t come to save John Cena on SmackDown

Turns out there was a very good reason LA Knight could not appear this week on WWE SmackDown.

John Cena started the night on WWE SmackDown this week with a great partner in AJ Styles. He ended it with no one to stop The Bloodline from pummeling him, and while the crowd might have been chanting for The Rock, it was supposed to be a Megastar coming to his aid.

As it turns out, however, there was a good reason that LA Knight, who was originally slated to make the save in the show-ending segment, never arrived: He was forced to leave the building due to illness.

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful reported that Knight tested positive for COVID-19, changing the plans for the show.

Hopefully this is just a brief setback for Knight, whose rapid ascent and connection with WWE fans have been some of the more pleasant surprises of the past year in all of pro wrestling. The way this week’s show ended, there’s still a definite chance for Knight to be named Cena’s partner to face Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa at Fastlane, which is just over two weeks away.

It would be a logical pairing too, since Cena was the special referee for Knight’s match against The Miz at Payback, and appeared to give the Megastar his seal of approval afterward. Not that he seems to need it right now, but Knight would get even more of a rub from teaming with Cena at Fastlane, so here’s hoping he recovers quickly and that’s the way WWE is leaning.