Stephanie and Shane McMahon kicked off SmackDown LIVE to oversee the contract signing between WWE Champion “The New” Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston for their title match at WWE Fastlane … or, at least we thought. After bounding to the ring with The New Day, Kofi spoke passionately about his 11-year journey to his first-ever one-on-one WWE Championship opportunity, touched on the overwhelming support from the WWE Universe and vowed to take the WWE Title from Bryan at WWE Fastlane.

However, after Kofi was about to sign the dotted line, Mr. McMahon arrived and thanked Kofi for his contributions, but he told The Dreadlocked Dynamo that he was being replaced at WWE Fastlane with a Superstar who was “bigger box office” and “more deserving” — Kevin Owens. Big E and Xavier Woods were livid, Kofi was in shock and a stone-faced Owens simply walked to the ring, signed the contract and stared down the smirking WWE Champion.

We’re living life in the Fastlane, alright.

In one of the most memorable moments in recent SmackDown LIVE history, The Hardy Boyz reunited for the first time since 2017 to take on The Bar in an incredible battle on the blue brand.

Jeff & Matt quickly found themselves right back in their old rhythms, going hold for hold and step for step with one of the most dominant tag teams of the last decade in Sheamus & Cesaro. The Bar looked primed to spoil the incredible moment when they literally had Matt Hardy on the ropes, but The Hardy Boyz took out both members of The Bar with Twists of Fate, and Jeff Hardy sealed the deal with an astonishing Swanton Bomb onto The Celtic Warrior for an amazing victory. 

United States Champion R-Truth continued a longstanding tradition (started by his apparent childhood hero John Cena) when he arrived on SmackDown LIVE and issued a United States Title Open Challenge … and he quickly got more than he bargained for.

Rey Mysterio and Andrade each answered the call, resulting in Truth asking “What would John Cena do” and agreeing to an impromptu, high-octane Triple Threat Match after Carmella told him Cena would do just that. The dazzling title fight saw everything from powerbombs on the floor, to hurricanranas that were delivered with Superstars on other Superstars’ shoulders, to R-Truth hitting a picture-perfect Five-Knuckle Shuffle!

In the clutch, R-Truth avoided a double-619 from The Greatest Mask of All Time and caught Rey with a surprise rollup for the win. After the fact, Andrade tried to take out his frustrations on Mysterio, but Rey would have none of it, fighting him off and leaving them to collide another day, a day the WWE Universe would be craving sooner than later.

Charlotte Flair pulled no punches as she arrived on SmackDown LIVE, reflecting on why Mr. McMahon chose her to replace Becky Lynch in the Raw Women’s Championship Match against Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 35. The Queen spoke on her willingness to not only stay in her lane, but thrive in it. Charlotte claimed that Lynch and Rousey’s recent erratic actions can be explained by their inherent fear of The Queen and proclaimed herself the “true champion” before vowing to be on Raw this Monday so that Mr. McMahon could crown her the new, deserving Raw Women’s Champion.

Now locked in to challenge “The New” Daniel Bryan for the WWE Title, Kevin Owens aimed to get some momentum rolling as he teamed with the man he replaced at WWE Fastlane, Kofi Kingston, in his return bout against Bryan and Rowan.

KO showed that he had no ring rust whatsoever, appearing as agile and tough as ever, but Bryan and Rowan found success when they isolated Kingston and kept Owens out of the contest. However, once Kofi survived the LeBell Lock, he mustered enough energy to make the tag to the fresh Owens, who unloaded on Bryan and Rowan. In the pivotal moments, Owens avoided Rowan’s dreaded Claw and connected with his signature Pop-up Powerbomb, but the WWE Champion somehow kicked out at two. Owens attempted to go high-risk, but Rowan stopped Bryan’s next challenger and threw him over the announcer’s table. The Dreadlocked Dynamo evened the score though, taking out Rowan with a spectacular dive, and KO pinned the WWE Champion after hitting Bryan with a Stunner.

After the contest, Kingston kept it professional with Owens, but it was clear that it wasn’t all love between the two after the unbelievable night that was.