LA Knight, Io Skye and the real winners and losers from the WWE Fastlane 2023 match card


Fastlane 2023 was an opportunity to increase the pace of WWE’s fall storylines, and it certainly put some top stars in the spotlight.

However, it was not nearly the performance it could have been with the talent involved. Some benefited while others were benefited.

Judgment Day remained on top in the world but then lost the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship to Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso.

Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits were expected to build momentum in their first trios action together, but Carlito returned to help defeat Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar.

However, Iyo Sky was able to retain her SmackDown Women’s Championship in a hard-fought battle. Looks like he’s set to reign gold for a long time.

LA Night with John Cena seemed like an unstoppable star. The two defeated Solo Sequoia and Jimmy Uso and defeated both of them soundly.

Shinsuke Nakamura used every trick in his arsenal to dethrone Seth Rollins, but nothing worked. The Visionary survived and possibly ended The Artist’s world title aspirations in WWE.

These are the real winners and losers of Fastlane 2023.



WWE made a big commitment to The Judgment Day at Payback when Finn Balor and Damian Priest won the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship in a memorable feud with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.

However, it only took one premium live event to change that. Despite the entire group coming to help, Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso defeated their opponents.

This comes just a day after they faced off against The Bloodline on SmackDown at Judgment Day, hurting any chances the group had of regaining Roman Reigns’ respect.

It also looks like there are signs of the group breaking up before the payback is complete. Specifically, Balor took the pin and has no title to his name while JD McDonagh accidentally eliminated Priest during the match.

Both will likely be kicked out of the group and forced to form their own alliance. This might allow The Judgment Day to regroup, but it shouldn’t have been necessary so soon.



Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits have been making some hype recently. These three are among the top names in WWE and should be nearly unbeatable in trios action.

Instead, they lost their first match together.

Carlito’s return to WWE was seen as a priority over the credibility of this new trio. Caribbean Cool is a fun artist who may have a few years of serious competition left, but he’s 44 years old. It should not be the true focal point of the product.

Lashley has waited a long time to return to the spotlight in 2023, but the new beginning is a tough one. Hopefully, the plan is to keep him undefeated in singles competition for at least a while.

Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins may suffer some losses, but it would be best for them to gain momentum heading into the final challenge for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Titles.



WWE has gradually increased its sponsorship focus, and Fastlane was highlighted with its focus. Cyberpunk 2077 was shown on every promo.

Pizza Hut got the most obvious sponsorship following the Survivor Series 2021 dual-brand battle royal. Prior to LWO vs. Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits, the company received a focused WWE advertisement that led into the post-match antics of that event.

Later, continuing his ongoing relationship with the snack-food company, L.A. Knight took to the field in a Slim Jim-branded sports car.

The night’s wrestling was within WWE’s normal standard, but this only meant that fans had more time to focus on commercials.

Although this is a smart strategy by WWE for revenue, it is a shame that this show may be remembered more for its exaggerated commercials than the in-ring action.



Io Skye is one of the most talented women in wrestling today, and WWE is finally giving her a chance to prove it. She stole the show in a triple threat with Charlotte Flair and Asuka.

Most importantly, The Genius of the Sky retained the WWE Women’s Championship. Many lost when challenged by The Queen, but Sky was still seen as a priority over Flair.

This was the most dangerous challenge to Sky’s title reign so far. Now she should have a good chance to become the Women’s Champion in 2024, as some new challengers will be available to dethrone her.

The women’s division needs bigger stars, and The Genius of the Sky is earning that label. Hopefully, she will consolidate her position by the end of her championship reign.



It took longer than fans expected, but LA Night is officially in main event booking mode. During his tag match with The Champ, he was established as a bigger player than John Cena.

After PLE’s successful win over The Bloodline, The Megastar is set to challenge Roman Reigns soon. They may face each other at Crown Jewel on November 4.

WWE may choose to wait until Survivor Series, especially since Cena himself may soon be an option for The Tribal Chief. Either way, it’s coming. That match will be the biggest test of Knight’s career.

It’s unlikely that the megastar will dethrone Reigns, but it’s not unimaginable. Knight is arguably on par with Cody Rhodes and Sami Zayn when they faced The Tribal Chief at the beginning of the year.

The future is definitely bright for him, no matter what gold he wins in the future.



Shinsuke Nakamura lagged behind for the second consecutive month. WWE did a lot to sell his World Championship aspirations, but he couldn’t do enough to defeat Seth Rollins.

Nakamura is at the final stage of his wrestling career. This was only his second WWE PLE main event, and possibly his last.

The company will look to be the next challenge for Rollins, and several young names like Ricochet or Drew McIntyre are ready for the next step.

This is all solid for WWE but leaves the artist in the status of a forgotten man. Like earlier this year, he could easily fade into the background again.

It seemed as if this was Nakamura’s last chance at a world title shot. This is now gone, and as a result the artist’s future is completely uncertain.


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