WWE Fastlane is almost here, and there's a lot to look forward to from it. The recently-returned John Cena is tag-team partners with rising star L.A. Knight; Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso are pursuing the tag titles; and Damian Priest is still in possession of the Money In The Bank briefcase. However, I have a sneaking suspicion Priest won't still have it by the time the night is over, and unlike the false alarm at SummerSlam, there are some clear signs leading me to believe he will cash in before the end of the night.
As wrestling fans watch SmackDown and fire up their Peacock Premium subscription the next day, let's be aware there are some undeniable signs the upcoming WWE event is lining up a briefcase cash-in by Damian Priest for the WWE Heavyweight championship. For those scratching their heads, let's review some of the signs.
Seth Rollins And Shinsuke Nakamura Are Doing A Last Man Standing Match
A Last Man Standing match is one of the most brutal stipulations in WWE. Shinsuke Nakamura and Seth Rollins will continue to fight until one of them is knocked out or no longer able to fight. They would already go all-out in a standard title match, but I think we can all be sure even the winner will be exhausted after this bout. They'll certainly not be in any shape to take out Damian Priest and Judgment Day should they enter at the end of the match.
Damian Priest and Finn Bálor Are Defending Their Titles Against Cody Rhodes And Jey Uso
The fact that Judgment Day is defending their tag-team titles at Fastlane isn't necessarily as indicative of a cash-in as who they're defending against. Cody Rhodes has won every feud he's had since falling short at WrestleMania 39 (a match some legends believe he should've never lost), and with Jey Uso on the rise as his tag partner, I think there's a good chance of them overtaking Damian Priest and Finn Bálor. If Priest has no reason to worry about defending one title, why not pursue another?
WWE Is Really Playing Up Rollins' Back Injury
Roman Reigns may run the WWE, but I don't think it's any secret that Seth Rollins is almost as high up there in terms of being protected and made to look strong. Make no mistake, this back injury storyline is being used to "weaken" Rollins, who would usually be at the top of the food chain in any other situation. Him losing to Shinsuke Nakamura with a back injury keeps him looking strong once he's "recovered," and if he somehow wins and then loses to Priest in a cash-in, that's a non-issue as well. No wrestler would be able to withstand that, not even the Head of the Table. Then again, the list of people who can beat Roman Reigns in my mind is steadily growing, so maybe that's not a great metric.
I don't know whether or not Damian Priest will cash in at Fastlane, but I do know that if I was him and in good enough shape, this would be the best time to do it. That is, unless he's holding on for some dramatic cash-in at Mania, which would be a great callback to Seth Rollins' infamous title win at WrestleMania 31.
WWE Fastlane will air on Peacock live from Indianapolis on Saturday, October 7th, at 8:00 p.m. ET. Tune in for an exciting pay-per-view that features some iconic team-ups and, hopefully, some other big surprises, like an appearance by the recently signed Jade Cargill.
