Fastlane 2015: Roman Reigns beats Daniel Bryan, heads to WrestleMania
John Cena tapped out at last year's Fastlane
Last Updated: 20/02/16 2:32pm
WWE's Superstars will screech into Fastlane on Sunday night as the Road to WrestleMania gathers pace.
The winner of this weekend's Triple Threat tussle between Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Brock Lesnar will zoom straight to the main event of April's Show of Shows and into a world title bout with Triple H.
WWE FASTLANE 2016
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With Kevin Owens versus Dolph Ziggler and Kalisto against Alberto Del Rio on the card, we are on track for a stellar event - for the second year running.
Read on to reflect on what happened at Fastlane 12 months ago, as Reigns motored to 'Mania, brothers collided, and John Cena was forced to submit…
Reigns survives Bryan's charge
As Reigns approaches his high-stakes match on Sunday, he can take solace from the fact he has secured a world-title bout at WrestleMania with victory at Fastlane before. One year ago, The Big Dog defeated Daniel Bryan - the now-retired Daniel Bryan, that is - with a spear to secure a showdown with Brock Lesnar at WWE's biggest show. Reigns assumed he had accomplished that feat by knocking off 29 other Superstars during the 2015 Royal Rumble Match, lastly evicting Rusev, but was then coaxed into defending his spot as No 1 contender at Fastlane by The Authority. Bryan beat Seth Rollins in a singles scrap on Raw to become Reigns' opponent and came within inches of victory after applying the "Yes!" Lock and cracking his rival with the Running Knee. Reigns' prevailed, though, before a sporting Bryan told him to kick Lesnar's, er, posterior at WrestleMania.
Cool Kidd and Swiss Superman become champions
Tyson Kidd and Cesaro, two of the most technically proficient wrestlers in WWE, were somewhat floundering as solo competitors but struck gold - quite literally - when they joined forces. The duo bested Jimmy and Jey Uso in a terrific WWE Tag Team Championship battle at Fastlane, handing Kidd his first title since he had held the twin straps with David Hart Smith, the son of "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, five years earlier, and beginning Cesaro's inaugural reign as a WWE Tag Team Champion following a stint with the United States Title between 2012 and 2013. Kidd and Cesaro lost the straps to The New Day at Extreme Rules in late April, with their partnership put on hold shortly after when Kidd picked up a neck injury and was ruled out of action for over year. Cesaro is now sidelined, too, following shoulder surgery, so let's hope both make full and speedy recoveries.
Goldust sparkles in win over Stardust
The Bizarre One (Goldust) beat his even more bizarre brother (Stardust) at Fastlane in 2015 courtesy of a roll-up pin. The siblings had been team-mates not too long before, even winning the WWE Tag Team Titles on two occasions, but a breakdown in communications suggested a spilt was nigh and Stardust confirmed as such when he levelled Goldust with Cross Rhodes following a loss to The New Day on Raw. The artist formerly known as Cody Rhodes came up short in the pair's one-on-one match, though, and took defeat very badly, pummelling Goldust backstage in the immediate wake of his loss, before jumping his shimmering family member again a few weeks later while dressed as one of Adam Rose's rosebuds. Stardust and Goldust have as yet been unable to patch things up, leading to the latter pleading with R-Truth to become his new tag-team partner.
Watch out, there's a Viper about!
Randy Orton had been out of action since the previous November after being Curb Stomped into the steel ring steps by Seth Rollins but made an opportune return at Fastlane - even though he couldn't quite get his hands on Rollins. The Viper dished out RKOs to a plethora of Authority goons after Big Show, Kane and Rollins had overcome Dolph Ziggler, Ryback and Erick Rowan in six-man scrap - Big Show sealing victory by chokeslamming Ziggler- but his nemesis managed to squirm away. Orton changed tack in the weeks that followed by pretending to be Rollins' pal, a ploy the Aerialist fell for hook, line and sinker. That made it all the more sweet for Orton when he hit an RKO on Rollins through the announce desk on Raw and then floored him with the move again during their one-on-one match at WrestleMania, hours before Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract.
Shocking scenes as Cena submits
No Way Out, 2004. That was the last time Cena lost a match by submission - the West Newbury native tapping out to Kurt Angle on that occasion - before he passed out against Rusev while unsuccessfully trying to prise the United States Title from the Bulgarian Brute. Rusev, whose skirmish with Cena came about after a heated backstage confrontation at the Royal Rumble, countered myriad Attitude Adjustment attempts from the Cenation Leader before clobbering his opponent with a low blow and administering a match-winning Accolade. To his credit, Cena didn't tap and to his even greater credit, he bounced back at WrestleMania, conquering Rusev to claim the title and hand the European his first singles loss in WWE. Cena's subsequent championship defences in a series of United States Open Challenges were the highlights of wrestling's summer months.
Stinger makes a splash
They said it would never happen but they were wrong. Sting did the unthinkable by stepping in a WWE ring at the 2014 edition of Survivor Series to, temporarily at least, rid The Authority of its power, and then did so again on Raw in January to help Cena win a match and secure the reinstatement of Ziggler, Ryback and Rowan to the roster. Triple H was understandably seething and challenged Sting to a Fastlane face off in an attempt to smooth things over. The Game played nice first of all, offering the Icon a spot in the Hall of Fame, but when that failed, he played dirty, attacking Sting and reaching for his sledgehammer. The face-painted Superstar countered, though, whacking Triple H with his baseball bat before performing a Scorpion Death Drop and gazing at the WrestleMania sign. The dare was set and The Game accepted it. A 'Mania match was on.
WWE Fastlane booking details
WWE Fastlane will be shown on Sky Sports Box Office (channel 491) and Sky Sports HD Box Office (channel 492) at 1am on Sunday, February 21.
WWE Fastlane will be repeated on Sky Sports Box Office (channel 491) but NOT Sky Sports HD Box Office (channel 492) between 9am, Monday, February 22 and 9pm, Tuesday, February 23.
Repeat showings will last for three hours, with the final showing STARTING at 9pm on Tuesday, February 23.
The event is priced at £14.95 for UK customers, €21.95 for viewers in the Republic of Ireland.
Viewers can call 03442 410 888 to book WWE Fastlane from Tuesday, February 9. (There may be an additional charge for telephone bookings).
You can also book WWE Fastlane online by visiting this link: https://my.sky.com/orderboxoffice/?DCMP=bac-SS.com_Fastlane
Only bookings via Sky TV remote are recordable using Sky Plus.
Sky TV residential customers only. Commercial customers contact Sky for price and to order. Sky Box Office terms apply.
Cable customers should contact their local cable operator.
