For Johnny Gargano, Fastlane represents the biggest night of his career. The man known as "Johnny Wrestling" has spent many years chasing the ultimate prize, and tonight, he puts everything on the line, including his career, on the line for one last shot at glory. Opposing Gargano is one of the most dominant men in Universe Mode history, Drew McIntyre. Drew is a former long reigning WWE and tag team champion, and won the 2020 Royal Rumble last month, eliminating former winner Samoa Joe. With everything at stake and everything to lose, it's Johnny Gargano versus Drew McIntyre in tonight's main event, with the winner going to WrestleMania IV. Welcome to Fastlane.
Universe Mode
Fastlane
February 16th, 2020
Location: Kansas City, MO
Fastlane 2020 Theme Song- "Untraveled Road"- Thousand Foot Krutch
Andrade and Zelina vs Ravishing Rusev Day
Andrade and Zelina were certainly the superior wrestlers on this night, and put on a showcase early, taking turns out-wrestling their counterpart before working together to hit some very impressive simultaneous offense. But it was all downhill from there, as Lana proved the difference maker, dropping Vega with a facebuster and hitting Almas with a low blow. Rusev capitalized on his wife's work, planting Andrade with a powerbomb on the floor, before applying the Accolade and forcing "El Idolo" to tap out at least five to ten times. From there, Rusev re-entered the ring and celebrated with Lana, as Andrade was counted out and the "Bulgarian Brute" earned an Intercontinental Championship match.
Winners: Ravishing Rusev Day
Bayley vs Shayna Baszler
After becoming the first person to fail a Money in the Bank cash-in last month at the Royal Rumble, Shayna Baszler was on a warpath and made an example out of that meddling Bayley. "The Hugster" tried her best to survive the onslaught, but nothing she did made much of an impact. At least Bayley proved her toughness by kicking of Baszler's gutwrech suplex combo, but she was quickly forced to tap to the Kirifuda Clutch.
Winner: Shayna Baszler
SAnitY(c) vs The Bludgeon Brothers- SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match
On their path to become four-time champions, nothing was standing in the way of Harper and Rowan, as the challengers were as good as ever here. They absolutely demolished Eric Young, as the mastermind behind SAnitY was almost entirely useless against these two monsters. This would become essentially a handicap match, and give tons of credit to Killian Dain, as with his championship in trouble, "The Beast of Belfast" was near unstoppable. He overpowered Rowan multiple times, then caught Harper's attempted suicide dive and sent him flying through the barricade! Dain was certainly closing in on an incredible win, but Eric Young unexpectedly tagged himself in. Young's ego was too big for him to not play a role in retaining the titles, and he was determined to finish the match off himself. That decision backfired, as Rowan rolled out of the way of Young's diving elbow drop, hitting him with a big spinning back heel kick, and turned him inside out with a full nelson slam to end SAnitY's title reign.
Winners and the NEW SmackDown Tag Team Champions: The Bludgeon Brothers
Post-Match
As Harper joined Rowan in the ring to celebrate with their new hardware, the defeated Eric Young and Killian Dain made their way up the ramp. EY began to berate his partner, telling him that he could've broken up the pinfall, and blaming him for Alexander Wolfe's exit from the group. Dain grew more and more frustrated as they walked, and as they reached the stage, he finally snapped! Young was sent flying into the LED minitron, before being planted on the steel with an Ulster Plantation. It appears that SAnitY is no more, and Killian Dain is now his own man.
Big E(c) vs Samoa Joe- Intercontinental Championship Match
Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods were ringside to support Big E in this title defense at his personal request, but it turned out that the champion needed no assistance. Big E traded shots and power moves with Samoa Joe, thwarting the challenger at every turn. Multiple times, the "Samoan Submission Machine" went to his well of deadly holds, and each time Big E had a counter. A frustrated Joe went outside the box, and took an extra chance, attempting a big senton splash off the middle rope. But again, Big E had the answer, getting his knees up as Joe crashed and burned. With an extra burst of adrenaline, Big E got the challenger up onto his shoulder, and planted him into the canvas with the Big Ending to cap off another impressive title defense.
Winner and still Intercontinental Champion: Big E
Robert Roode(c) vs Mustafa Ali- WWE Championship Match
Ali was clearly the better wrestler in this match, but Roode was the smarter competitor and those differences defined this match. Ali was all over the place, flying through the air, leaping off the ground and even using a surprising array of power moves to entertain the crowd. Roode, meanwhile, just focused on picking his spots, using kicks to keep his distance and focusing all offense on Ali's head and neck. With a massive groundswell of support behind him, the challenger came mere heartbeats away from a three count multiple times, but the champion just about survived. It looked for sure like Roode's title reign was history following the 054, but Ali couldn't quite capitalize quick enough, as there was enough time after the move and before the cover for Roode to kick out. Reaching deep to find the finishing move, Ali went for a superkick, but Roode caught Ali's leg. In a brilliant counter, Roode swung Ali's leg free, leaving the challenger staggering, off balance for a moment. A moment was all that was needed for the Glorious DDT to connect, and all the work done on the head paid off, as Ali was down for three.
Winner and still WWE Champion: Robert Roode
Sasha Banks(c) vs Trish Stratus- SmackDown Women's Championship Match
This match was much slower paced that the last, as both women took turns feeling each other out and playing to the crowd. Trish showcased some impressive counters, landing on her feet to escape a back suplex, and was first to hit a big move, hitting a spinebuster for a near fall. Banks was able to counter a forearm from Stratus, and she got a near fall with her Bankrupt neckbreaker. Down the closing stretch, it was Sasha's aerial ability that paid dividends, as she kicked her way free of Stratus' attempted top rope hurricanrana, crushing Trish to the mat with a flying crossbody out of the tree of woe. The champion was able to apply the Bank Statement, and despite Trish's attempt to escape by clawing at Banks's eyes, the legendary diva was forced to tap.
Winner and still SmackDown Women's Champion: Sasha Banks
Drew McIntyre vs Johnny Gargano
Despite the size difference between these two men, there was little in the way of a talent difference, and it showed in our most even match of the night. With his career and the chance of a title opportunity on the line, Gargano threw everything at McIntyre. Twice, Drew was only just able to survive the Gargano Escape thanks to his incredibly long legs, which always seemed to find the ropes. For his part, McIntyre was unable to hit his biggest moves, as Gargano was just so fluid in the ring and one step ahead of Drew's finishing blows. But the "Scottish Terminator" changed the outlook of the match by taking an incredible risk, flying through the air like a man his size never should, thrilling the pro-Gargano crowd with a tope con giro. From there, McIntyre was able to send Gargano flying sky high, before punting him right in the ribs. That left Gargano struggling for air, and the brief moment allowed Drew the chance to wind up and hit the Claymore Kick! Time stood still as McIntyre scrambled for the cover, Johnny Gargano's career hanging on the knife's edge, but "Johnny Wrestling" found the biggest kickout of his life, just getting the shoulder up before three. Frustrated, McIntyre looked to finish Johnny with his own move, and applied the Gargano Escape! Time stood still once more as McIntyre looked to wrench back on the hold, but fortunately for Gargano, Drew didn't quite have the hold fully locked in. Gargano wriggled free, and then blasted McIntyre with a jaw snapping superkick! Once again, the Gargano Escape was locked in, and this time, Drew was in the center of the ring. With pure power, McIntyre fought and fought, and began to slowly drag he and Gargano towards the ropes. But Gargano was able to successfully wrench back with all the fire he could muster, and the pain was just too much for McIntyre, who tapped out! Johnny Gargano is going to WrestleMania IV!
Winner: Johnny Gargano
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