With the reintroduction of the brand extension in mid-2016, Fastlane was Raw-exclusive in 2017 and SmackDown-exclusive in 2018 before brand-exclusive PPVs were discontinued following WrestleMania 34 that year. The event was produced annually until 2020 when Fastlane was removed from the schedule to allow WWE to hold that year's Super ShowDown PPV; however, Fastlane was reinstated in 2021, but it was again discontinued. The 2021 event was also WWE's first PPV available to livestream on Peacock in the United States before the American version of the WWE Network merged under Peacock and shut down on April 4, which also made it the final PPV available to stream on the American WWE Network before its closure. After a two-year hiatus, Fastlane was again reinstated for 2023.
The name of the event was originally a reference to its position on the "Road to WrestleMania", as the event was held in the two-month period between the Royal Rumble and WWE's flagship event. With the event's revival in 2023, however, this theme was dropped due to Fastlane taking place six months after WrestleMania 39.
The event returned in 2016, also in February, thus establishing Fastlane as an annual PPV for the promotion.[2] In 2017, Fastlane was pushed back to March, with Elimination Chamber returning to its original February slot, which made Fastlane the first non-WrestleMania PPV to be held in March. The 2017 event was also held as a Raw-exclusive show, following the reintroduction of the WWE brand extension in mid-2016 where the promotion again split its roster into brands where wrestlers were exclusively assigned to perform.[3] The 2018 event was then made a SmackDown-exclusive PPV,[4] but this would be the final SmackDown-exclusive PPV, as well as WWE's final brand-exclusive PPV, as following WrestleMania 34 that year, brand-exclusive PPVs were discontinued.[5] In 2020, Fastlane was removed from the schedule to allow WWE to hold that year's Super ShowDown PPV;[6] however, Fastlane was reinstated in 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 event was held in WWE's bio-secure bubble called the WWE ThunderDome, hosted at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.[7]
The 2021 event was WWE's first PPV event to livestream on Peacock's WWE Network channel in the United States, following the merger of the American WWE Network under Peacock on March 18 that year. Fastlane was held during the transitional period (March 18 – April 4) and was simulcast on Peacock and the American WWE Network, which in turn made it the final PPV to air on the American WWE Network as following this transitional period, the American WWE Network shut down on April 4; this did not affect other countries, which maintained the separate WWE Network service (although a few other countries have since branched off onto other livestreaming platforms).[8]
In October 2021, WWE revealed their PPV calendar for 2022 and Fastlane was not included.[9] While there had been a to be announced event for February, on January 17, 2022, this event was revealed as Elimination Chamber.[10] Fastlane was in turn discontinued without a formal announcement. However, on June 20, 2023, after a two-year hiatus, WWE announced that Fastlane had been reinstated for October 7 of that year, dropping its "Road to WrestleMania" theme due to it taking place six months after WrestleMania 39. As WWE resumed live touring in July 2021, the 2023 Fastlane was scheduled for the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, replacing the Extreme Rules in the October slot.[11] Fastlane was not in the 2024 schedule was replaced by the revived Bad Bloodevent.
^ abJohnson, Mike (January 17, 2021). "WWE FAST LANE PPV UPDATE". PWInsider. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
