WWE Fastlane 2016: Most Intriguing Storylines to Track on Road to PPV

WWE Fastlane 2016 is three weeks away, leaving WWE Creative plenty of time to set up a blockbuster main event. Here's hoping the rest of the card for February's pay-per-view also helps move storylines ahead instead of being haphazardly tossed together.

Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar will face off in a Triple Threat match to determine who faces WWE world heavyweight champion Triple H in the main event at WrestleMania 32.

But the dynamic of the current title picture means WWE's top two titles won't be defended at this event.

Triple H is a 46-year-old part-time wrestler who also happens to be the company's chief operating officer. One can't expect The Cerebral Assassin to make his way into the ring on a regular basis, meaning you won't see him in the ring until WrestleMania 32.

The Intercontinental Championship sits around the waist of Ambrose, who's one of the main event's featured participants. It's highly unlikely WWE makes Ambrose pull double duty, especially when The Lunatic Fringe did just that mere weeks before at WWE Royal Rumble 2016, both defending his title against Kevin Owens and participating in the Rumble match.

All this means WWE needs to fill out the remainder of the card with stellar matches that help advance the angles of its Superstars heading into WrestleMania 32.

With a lot unsettled in the midcard and even in the main event ranks, WWE Fastlane 2016 is a perfect setting to build strong stories for a number of major Superstars.

Here are three of the most intriguing storylines to track heading into Fastlane.

The Bray Wyatt Conundrum

It was only last summer that Bray Wyatt famously uttered the line, "Anyone but you, Roman," which has become a rallying cry for much of the Internet Wrestling Community ever since.

Wyatt even continued that theme on the January 11 episode of Raw, once again using the line during the show's opening promo with The Authority.

Since then, The Wyatt Family has set its sights on a new mark: Lesnar. The last few weeks have seen Bray and his stable take out The Beast Incarnate on numerous occasions, most notably during the Royal Rumble match.

While Lesnar hasn't been on TV since, there's not much doubt that he and Wyatt are on a collision course for WrestleMania 32.

However, how WWE treats this story will be of note: Does The Wyatt Family interfere in the main event match at WWE Fastlane 2016? If so, does it cost Lesnar a title shot, thereby forgoing its longstanding feud with Reigns? Do The Wyatts wait until the match is over, then assault Lesnar?

WWE will have to allow Wyatt to explain his motivations, whatever they are, if The Wyatt Family ends up costing Lesnar a title shot instead of going after Reigns.

Where Does Kevin Owens Go from Here?

Kevin Owens just wrapped up a highly entertaining yet unsuccessful attempt at regaining the intercontinental title from Ambrose.

Their Last Man Standing match at WWE Royal Rumble 2016 was a fitting end to their feud, which stretched back months ever since the two tangled in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament at Survivor Series.

But now Owens is in no man's land.

He lasted less than five minutes in the Rumble match and has been left out of the main event picture for the time being. While he battled Dolph Ziggler on Raw the following night, he was also relegated to WWE Main Event against Jack Swagger.

To put it simply: Kevin Owens is a man without a story. The question is, what does WWE do with him moving forward?

The Rumble match could provide hints. Upon entering, Owens immediately clashed with WWE newcomer AJ Styles, tossing the former NJPW champion over the top rope with a quick "Welcome to the WWE" attached. Owens also tangled with old foe Sami Zayn, a surprise entrant, and was unceremoniously tossed out by his former WWE NXT nemesis.

While fans would cheer a match between either of those two Superstars and Owens, it doesn't seem to be on the horizon for WWE Fastlane 2016. Zayn is still a full-timer down in WWE NXT, while Styles seems set to face Chris Jericho in a rematch of their post-Royal Rumble Raw showdown.

But as Bleacher Report's Aaron Bower wrote, WWE Fastlane 2016 could be a perfect time to tease Styles vs. Owens. Unless, of course, Owens vs. Zayn is in the cards for Dallas.

Who Emerges as Dean Ambrose's WrestleMania Challenger?

As noted earlier, Ambrose will be main-eventing at WWE Fastlane 2016, meaning he's not likely to defend his IC belt.

That's a smart move on WWE's part. The Owens-Ambrose feud would have been tough to immediately follow up, so creating some separation between that and his next challenger is wise.

WWE Fastlane 2016 is a perfect time to determine that next challenger. There are plenty of Superstars to choose from: Anyone from The League of Nations could rightfully contend. So too could Dolph Ziggler or Luke Harper.

But the best storyline would be WWE making the winner of the aforementioned (and still-hypothetical) Chris Jericho-AJ Styles match at WWE Fastlane 2016 the No. 1 contender. And Jericho should come out on top.

Bower wrote at length about a possible Jericho-vs.-Ambrose feud brewing, and it makes too much sense. The unsettled animosity from their team-up at WWE Night of Champions 2015, Ambrose eliminating Y2J from the Rumble match this year—there's a story there to tell.

But to be successful, fans will have to believe Jericho is a credible threat to Ambrose's title reign.

Jericho can still go. His match against Neville at WWE Beast in the East: Live from Tokyo was a highlight from 2015, showing he's still go it. While this past week's match against Styles was a bit sloppy, fans could chalk that up to two guys who have never wrestled against each other before.

And it was still the best match of the night. By far.

A win over a game Jericho would cement Ambrose as a top-flight Superstar. It's a big-time match in a big-time event in a big-time venue. All the pieces are in place, as long as WWE doesn't continue to devolve Jericho into a catchphrase-spewing machine and let him show some viciousness.