Aaron BowerFeatured ColumnistFebruary 7, 2017
Credit: WWE.com
Monday's edition of WWE Raw saw the first two matches officially announced on the card for Fastlane on March 5, but expect plenty more to follow over the coming weeks.
With a number of weeks still to go until the show airs, WWE Creative has the chance to ensure the right matches are made to set up Fastlane as a well-rounded precursor for WrestleMania 33 later this year.
And if the show is done right, there will be a lot of development in terms of the matches made for the 'Mania card following the events of Fastlane.
Here's a look at the feuds on the Fastlane card that will help shape what could be one of the best WrestleMania shows in a good while.
Since WWE screwed Sheamus and Cesaro out of the Raw Tag Team Championships on Monday night, it doesn't quite feel like their rivalry with The Club is over just yet.
Expect that to culminate at Fastlane, and in doing so, it will help shape the WrestleMania bout for the tag titles as Enzo and Big Cass come into the picture.
Sheamus and Cesaro have done nothing wrong as tag champs, nor have they faltered as challengers vying for the belts. But their story has reached the end of its journey, and it feels like the right time for the uber-popular Enzo and Cass to come into the picture.
So Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson should retain the belts at Fastlane, especially as they are the one true heel tag team that could offer a proper dynamic in terms of storytelling with Enzo and Cass.
Those two are well overdue a run with the championships, and WrestleMania should really be the night they ascend to the top of the pyramid.
It's highly unlikely that WWE will give away a match planned for WrestleMania a few weeks earlier at Fastlane, so expect Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman to be the one and only time both men meet on pay-per-view in the short term.
Developments elsewhere, such as the injury to Seth Rollins, which could yet rule him out of WrestleMania 33, may see Reigns come into the sights of Samoa Joe as a potential WrestleMania target.
So perhaps Joe could interfere in this match, much like Strowman did on Monday night, helping to give the win to Reigns' opponent and set up a feud for WrestleMania.
There's little doubting this match is a big stepping stone for Strowman, and it will be interesting to see how WWE uses him in a match against one of the company's true stars.
Although WWE fans had suspected for some time that Goldberg and Brock Lesnar would resume their rivalry at WrestleMania 33, it wasn't made official until the former WCW star returned to Raw on Monday night and accepted Lesnar's challenge.
However, before that, Goldberg will fight Kevin Owens for the WWE Universal Championship, and all the signs point to him taking the belt from KO and heading to WrestleMania as champion. In fact, Dave Meltzer reported recently in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Wrestling Inc) that Owens wasn't scheduled to go into 'Mania as champion.
So with Goldberg likely winning the belt, it leaves Owens with the need to have a feud with someone, which will no doubt be Chris Jericho.
The actions of Goldberg's bout against Owens will perhaps see Jericho either inadvertently or deliberately cost Owens the match and set up a WrestleMania feud.
That will be a solid addition to the midcard, probably for the United States Championship, while Goldberg will take the big prize to the big show.
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