Sting turned to leave and The Cerebral Assassin attacked but was quickly taken down by the bat. Bringing The Game back to his feet, The Stinger put him down once more with the Scorpion Death Drop.
Moments after the confrontation, it was announced that at WrestleMania, not only will Sting battle Triple H in a veritable dream match, but the icon of WCW will compete inside a WWE ring for the first time ever.
United States Champion Rusev def. John Cena
United States Champion Rusev has never been pinned. He has never tapped out. Now, after an intense WWE Fastlane showdown against John Cena, he can also boast a major victory over a 15-time World Champion — even if the means to achieving that win were decisively underhanded.
It’s been nearly a decade since the Cenation leader last spun the face of the United States Title and he looked to recapture his thrice-held prize at Fastlane. But more so, Cena’s goal was to serve defeat to the man without a decisive defeat in his WWE career to date. With Cena adding “Reckless Abandon” to his “Hustle, Loyalty and Respect” mantra in the weeks leading up to his clash against the vicious Hero of The Russian Federation, their match was destined to be epic.
Live in Memphis’ FedEx Forum, Cena opened the bout with a huge right hand that stunned Rusev, but his tough opponent quickly claimed his edge, utilizing his feet as an effective weapon the Russian goliath hoped would put Cena away early. Rusev then drove his opponent into the ringside barricade, sending a statement that he was looking to crush his prey for good.
Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett def. Dean Ambrose by Disqualification
Dean Ambrose will have to wait to see his face up on WWE World Headquarters’ wall of champions, but he was able to walk out of WWE Fastlane with the Intercontinental Title. The Lunatic Fringe may have lost his match against Bad News Barrett by disqualification, but when the unstable Ambrose wants something, you better believe he is going to take it, whether or not it’s rightfully his.
The bout contained no shortage of action as both the British brawler and his unstable challenger traded heavyweight strikes. The contest moved inside and outside the ring with both men showing a remarkable ability to bounce back from damaging blows. However, the title holder seemed to grow tired of facing his opponent’s relentless attack, at one point even trying to walk off with his championship.
Barrett would go a step further when he tried to escape into the WWE Universe before Ambrose grabbed his adversary and pulled him back into action. Unfortunately for The Lunatic Fringe, his unrelenting assault would have its consequences as the referee disqualified the challenger after he refused to stop his attack on Barrett in the corner.
Although the Intercontinental Champion would retain his title with the disqualification victory, Ambrose would get the last laugh. The wild Superstar enlisted a post-match attack on Barrett, hitting the British Superstar with Dirty Deeds before walking off with the Intercontinental Title.
Barrett technically came away with the Intercontinental Championship, but it doesn’t look like he will be able to wear it around his waist any time soon. With Ambrose walking out of Memphis with the Intercontinental Title in tow, what is next for these growing rivals? And how will Bad News Barrett react after having his coveted title taken from him?
Divas Champion Nikki Bella def. Paige
At WWE Fastlane, Divas Champion Nikki Bella overcame Paige in an extremely heated confrontation to keep the butterfly-emblazoned title firmly around the waist of the “fearless” femme fatale.
Though Paige took the fight to the beautiful titleholder from the onset, Nikki quickly took over and established early dominance over her No. 1 contender.
The Diva of Tomorrow would not be denied, roaring back to build an incredible offense of her own. That was until Nikki negated her sunset flip attempt off the top rope and hurled her English challenger to the canvas with unrelenting authority. Paige regained control and hooked in her signature PTO, signaling that the reign of the Divas Champion could be at an end. But Nikki managed to reach the ropes to break the painful maneuver, then scored the three-count with the help of a fistful of tights moments later.
Nikki Bella is beautiful. And after WWE Fastlane, she has never looked better.
Tyson Kidd & Cesaro def. The Usos to win the WWE Tag Team Championship
The dynamic pair captured their first WWE Tag Team Championship at WWE Fastlane, dethroning Jimmy & Jey Uso and ending the brothers’ second reign as titleholders.
The fact-dropping, European uppercutting challengers headed into the contest riding a wave of momentum, having defeated Rikishi’s twin sons in both singles competition and a non-title Tag Team Match. Though Kidd’s wife, Natalya, originally had high hopes of keeping the bad feelings between her husband and Jimmy Uso — whose wife Naomi is Natalya’s “Total Divas” co-star — contained to the ring, her efforts proved futile, especially when an ill-fated double date ended with a punch being thrown.
As such, both Divas accompanied their respective husbands to the ring at WWE Fastlane, where the WWE Universe witnessed a fast-paced showdown that epitomized the thrills of tag team competition.
Jey Uso got off to a fiery start against Kidd, connecting with a hard forearm, but once Jey tagged in and Cesaro took him down with a chop block from behind, the challengers launched into a slew of double-team maneuvers that targeted the champion’s left knee. After taking control with a short leg scissors, The Swiss Superman upped the ante, spinning Jimmy round with a one-legged variation of the Cesaro Swing.
Once back in the match, Kidd applied even more punishment to the weakened knee, but Jimmy Uso courageously shook off the cat-loving Superstar and tagged in his brother, setting off a flurry of offense between the two tandems. A deadlift superplex/springboard elbow drop combo by Cesaro & Kidd resulted in a near fall before the match spilled to the floor, with Jey soaring over the top with a dive and Jimmy eventually hitting Kidd with a pulverizing Samoan drop into the ring barricade.
Before the referee finished administering a 10 count, the competitors climbed back into the ring, where Jimmy, now the legal man, attempted a top-rope splash, only to connect with a pair of knees. A subsequent attempt by Kidd to lock in the Hart family’s legendary Sharpshooter, however, was broken up when Jey superkicked him in the back of the head.
As concerned looks befell Naomi and Natalya at ringside, Kidd quickly regained control, this time dropping Jimmy Uso with a swinging fisherman suplex out of nowhere for the three-count. Now that they’ve grabbed the elusive brass rings by capturing the WWE Tag Team Titles, what’s next for the lethal combination of Kidd & Cesaro?
Goldust def. Stardust
The increasing turmoil between Goldust and Stardust came to a climax of galactic proportions at WWE Fastlane Sunday night, as the brothers battled it out in a vicious match. Goldust may have won the match, but it was an unhinged Stardust who got the last evil laugh when he attacked his brother backstage and berated their father, WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes.
Goldust, who had been trying to snap his younger sibling back into reality and save him from entering too far into the darkness of his Stardust persona, won the match with a roll-up that caught his brother off-guard. Afterward, a bewildered Stardust walked away from his brother’s extended hand and pleas to listen to reason.
Moments later backstage, Stardust assaulted his own flesh and blood in front of their father, calling Goldust an “albatross” and “bag of bones.” Then Stardust aggressively told his father, “You killed Cody Rhodes!” as Goldust writhed on the floor in pain.
“One more thing, big daddy, I am not living in your shadow. You’re living in mine!” Stardust said, kicking his fallen brother to the shock of Dusty.
Is this truly the end of a brotherhood that included two WWE Tag Team Championships? Is Cody Rhodes truly no more…and is he right about who’s to blame?
Seth Rollins, Kane & Big Show def. Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan & Ryback
Seth Rollins led Big Show and Kane to victory at WWE Fastlane over Dolph Ziggler, Ryback & Erick Rowan. However, it was The Authority’s henchmen who found themselves with targets on their backs afterward, when Randy Orton slithered into the ring and took out J&J Security and the Director of Operations with ring-rocking RKOs.
The WWE Universe in Memphis’ FedExForum was ready for a night of action as The Showoff got the upper hand in the early moments, sending Rollins to ringside to regroup. The punishment continued for Mr. Money in the Bank at the hands of Rowan, until he was able to slip away and tag in Kane. The Director of Operations didn’t fare much better, but The World’s Largest Athlete was finally able to slow Rowan down, ducking out of the path of his spinning kick. Instead, the bearded titan’s leg connected with the unforgiving steel ring post. J&J Security got in some offense for good measure, allowing The Authority sympathizers to take control.
Rollins, Big Show & Kane worked over Rowan’s injured leg, keeping the big man from tagging his partners in. Rowan finally escaped and sent Ryback into the fray. With the WWE Universe urging him on, Ryback caught Rollins out of mid-air for Shell Shocked. Ziggler was tagged in and seemed primed to win the match, until he was caught with a flying KO Punch by Big Show, allowing Kane to chokeslam The Showoff from out of the corner and pick up the victory.
J&J Security joined the victors for another 5-on-3 beatdown. Though Rollins hit Ziggler with a devastating Curb Stomp, the celebratory attack was cut short as The Apex Predator made his impactful return. Making his return to a WWE ring for the first time since November, when he suffered a pair of devastating Curb Stomps from Rollins, Orton got his hands on J&J Security and Kane. However, Rollins was able to escape the wrath of the vengeful Viper, thanks to a helping hand from Big Show. Mr. Money in the Bank was last seen scrambling out of FedExForum, far, far away from Randy Orton.