See the checkered flag?
Crossing it with this Sunday night's WWE Fastlane 2016 pay-per-view means World Wrestling Entertainment is on the road to WrestleMania — the best time of year for a pro-wrestling fan.
That makes the results of Fastlane, live from Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena, even more important, being that they'll have direct ramifications on WrestleMania 32 on April 3.
That being said, Tech Times takes it match by match, predicting the results for every bout this Sunday night.
Buckle up ... and get ready for life in the Fastlane!
Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks vs. Naomi and Tamina
Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch aren't exactly BFFs, having butted heads on more than one occasion, failing to see eye-to-eye. Making matters worse is Naomi and Tamina have used each instance of miscommunication as an opportunity to pick Lynch and Banks apart. That being said, this WWE divas tag team match has all the ingredients for an explosive outcome.
Prediction: We see the trust issues between Lynch and Banks boiling over enough for Naomi and Tamina to pick up the victory, leaving Banks with decisions to make.
U.S. Champion Kalisto vs. Alberto Del Rio (Two-out-of-Three Falls Match)
Each time Kalisto and Alberto Del Rio faced off last month, it resulted in the United States championship belt changing hands. The superstars' feud sparked when Kalisto upset Del Rio to win the U.S. title on the Jan. 11 episode of SmackDown. On the same show within the same month, though, Del Rio rebounded and took back the strap ... with a little assistance from his League of Nations brethren. Still, Kalisto persisted and won the title back in an action-packed fashion during the Royal Rumble.
So, how does WWE want to resolve their feud once and for all? By aptly placing them back in the squared circle for a two-out-three-falls match. Fitting, right? Look for Del Rio to turn his guile up a notch to get the job done.
Prediction: Del Rio takes the first fall, only to be shocked and pinned during the second. The newly-dubbed "Excellence of Execution" will receive some more help from the League of Nations during the deciding bout, reclaiming the gold.
Ryback, Kane and the Big Show vs. the Wyatt Family
This six-man tag match should be watched with a keen eye ... especially if the reported Internet rumors pan out to be true and that the Undertaker makes his presence felt to help his brother Kane and set up a Phenom vs. Braun Strowman WrestleMania 32 match.
Even if Taker is nowhere to be found in this match, this bout should have enough destruction to go around with six of the most aggressive superstars in the entire company scheduled in this one.
Prediction: In the end, the Wyatts' cohesiveness — not to mention, fourth member — pays dividends and get their arms raised by the final bell. Oh yeah ... the final body count in this one should be massive.
Divas Champion Charlotte vs. Brie Bella
WWE Divas champion Charlotte used this past Monday Night Raw to make things ultra personal between her and Brie Bella, rubbing in the fact that Brie's husband, Daniel Bryan, recently had to retire. After suggesting that Brie is now the breadwinner of the family and saying the only reason she's showing up is to make some cash for her and Bryan, Bella had enough, and cut the champ down to size. Will Brie be able to channel that anger and emotion and leave Cleveland with the Divas title in tow, though?
Prediction: Expect Charlotte's bloodline to make a literal difference with some interference from her father, Ric Flair, enabling her to keep the Divas title. Wouldn't it be something, though, if Bryan shows up to even the score on the outside? Hey, despite his retirement, you never know.
Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler
You have to be either crazed or so full of confidence that you're borderline delusional to call out Kevin Owens. We think Dolph Ziggler is a little bit of both. Yet, as the adage goes — no risk, no reward — and although the WWE Universe should expect a long, slow night for the Showoff at Fastlane, we like Ziggler's challenge to walk away with KO's gold.
With rumors surfacing on the Web about Sami Zayn making his presence felt to possibly address unfinished NXT business with Owens, such an incident would create just the sliver of opportunity for Dolph to nail the Zig Zag and steal the title.
Prediction: Ziggler is your newly-crowned Intercontinental champ.
Chris Jericho vs. AJ Styles
While there's no doubt that the "Phenomenal One" AJ Styles has been making his WWE debut pretty memorable thus far, don't sleep on the veteran "Y2J" still being able to pull off a big win.
Whatever happens, we wouldn't be surprised if this is the best match of Sunday night, as both are capable of delivering in a big spot and stealing the show. Before you're so quick to have Styles' hand raised in the match, consider this — WWE hasn't always shown instant love to superstars who dominated the ranks at a different company.
Take Sting, who was World Championship Wrestling's flagship superstar, and his WrestleMania 31 loss to Triple H, for instance. Along those lines, while there's nothing new about Styles, who dominated the Total Nonstop Action (TNA) ranks for quite some time, he is still new to WWE. Whichever way this goes, expect fireworks.
Prediction: Don't ever underestimate a veteran — Jericho wins it.
Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose (Triple Threat)
Saving the best for last, this could go down as one of the best triple threat matches in recent memory, if played right. At stake will be the No. 1 contender position for Triple H's WWE World Heavyweight championship. Now, if WWE wants to go against the grain and take some risk, it will find a way for the "Lunatic Fringe" to be the last man standing at the final bell, as the most unsuspecting No. 1 contender to challenge "the Game" for the gold on the "Grandest Stage of Them All."
Instead, though, we see WWE using Fastlane as a platform for Reigns to win it all and continue this modern-day Stone Cold vs. Vince McMahon employee vs. boss angle, catapulting him to WrestleMania 32 to face Triple H in the main event.
There's no way Reigns or Ambrose could tame "the Beast" without some help from the outside, and they'll get it via interference from a deranged Wyatt Family, buying just enough time for Reigns to Superman Punch and Spear Ambrose for the win.
The interesting angle with Ambrose losing is it could set him up to have a major deciding role in a Reigns vs. Triple H main event at WrestleMania 32. Hmm ...
Prediction: Reigns wins a war ... just barely.
