WWE WrestleMania 32: Breaking Down Biggest Matches on the Card

It's been a rough road, but WWE WrestleMania 32 is just about here. On Sunday, the biggest matches the company could set up with the roster will go down.

A relentless streak of injuries has thinned the talent pool considerably, taking out major players such as John Cena, Sting, Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan and others, but that doesn't mean all is lost. There are still important things to go down, particularly with the three main events.

One point of that triangle features Dean Ambrose against Brock Lesnar in what is sure to be a brutal contest that will test how tough they are.

Another has the fate of the company on the line as Shane McMahon goes one-on-one with The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match.

Lastly, the top prize in WWE is up for grabs when Triple H defends the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Roman Reigns.

While the rest of the card might be short on WrestleMania-worthy credentials, these three matches are the selling points that will truly determine whether this event is a success.

Do they provide a strong enough foundation? Just what exactly are these matches all about, and how did WWE go about setting them up?

Let's break down these matches and examine what is coming our way at the big event.

Hell in a Cell Match: The Undertaker vs. Shane McMahon

Credit: WWE.com

If there is any match on the card for this year's WrestleMania that reeks of desperation, it's this one. Just take a step back and look at all of the elements involved in this segment, particularly compared to simpler affairs that look meaningless in its reflection.

The Undertaker's matches at WrestleMania are always a featured focal point, but his opponent this time around is the returning son of Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon.

The Prodigal Son had not been seen on WWE programming since May 4, 2009, but he made his return in February to declare his intentions to right the wrongs of the company by taking control of its flagship television show.

Having The Undertaker against Shane alone would probably have the audience sold, but three important elements were added to the recipe to spice things up even more.

This is a Hell in a Cell match—proving yet again this cage works better to emphasize a single monumental bout rather than something that occurs every October no matter what is going on with the roster—and it has implications on the future of WWE as well.

If Shane wins, he assumes command of Monday Night Raw. Why only Raw and not SmackDown, Main Event, Superstars and the other broadcasts? That has not been elaborated on, but most fans would assume it's for the same reason the WWE Universe itself views those shows: nobody cares because they're worthless.

Nonetheless, control of Raw is effectively control of WWE itself, outside of possibly NXT—the only other show the audience puts any stock in but would probably prefer to see stay under Triple H's command.

On top of this, McMahon Sr. announced that if The Undertaker loses, it would be his last WrestleMania.

This is a vague stipulation to throw out there, as it could imply everything from The Phenom's forced retirement from in-ring competition to something as simple as an empty threat Vince doesn't have to follow through on.

Nothing in that regard is set in stone, so it could amount to nothing. That is, of course, only if The Undertaker loses. If he wins, it's not an issue, is it?

Therein lies the problem with this match, though. It is, in many ways, a no-win situation, and WWE Creative has booked itself into a corner.

Everything but the kitchen sink is attached to this match, with the only thing left being a special guest referee, but all of these stipulations could turn this into a scenario where it's overkill.

The more complicated things get, the more WWE tends to have screwy finishes that try to navigate the landmines it planted to begin with. How do you have The Undertaker retire by losing to Shane McMahon? If not, how do you set the audience up for Shane to take control just to yank it out from underneath them?

If either man wins, a good portion of the crowd will be upset. If something like a draw happens to avoid that disappointment, the fans will be annoyed the match had a non-ending. If there is interference, it taints the quality of a victory and renders it somewhat moot.

What is the plan WWE has to avoid disaster? For that matter, will the match's in-ring quality even deliver what it promises? It's a fight between a semi-retired wrestler and a businessman who was absent for nearly seven years and was a part-time performer at best when he was in his prime.

This could end up being a travesty or one of the coolest things to happen in WWE for quite some time; it's an epic contest in many regards with the potential to be amazing or fail miserably.

Either way, it will be jarring to the WWE Universe, and we'll all just have to tune in to see how things go down.

No Holds Barred Street Fight: Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar

Credit: WWE.com

While it seemed as though Brock Lesnar would be facing The Wyatt Family in some fashion at WrestleMania when the Royal Rumble went down, the direction changed shortly after at February's Fastlane event.

At that pay-per-view, Roman Reigns defeated Lesnar and Dean Ambrose in a No. 1 contender's match to determine who would get a shot at Triple H's WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Instead of simply admitting defeat and moving on to something else, Lesnar and Paul Heyman accused Ambrose of being the fly in the ointment for them. Basically, Lesnar would have won if Ambrose—a man who, in their minds, shouldn't have been in the match at all—weren't involved.

The rationality behind starting the feud was about as generic as it can get in sports entertainment, but the catalyst didn't matter as much as what would follow. Who cares about the spark when the end result is to announce a No Holds Barred Street Fight between these two?

Essentially, this is being billed as a classic scenario of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. An alternate take would be to say it's the most dominant force of destruction in the company going up against someone who can take a beating and dish out a wreck of his own in all sorts of crazy ways.

To drive home that point, hardcore legends Mick Foley and Terry Funk have been counselling Ambrose, providing him with weaponry as well. Ambrose already had an arsenal up his sleeves, yet he now has the added bonus of a barbed-wire bat and a chainsaw.

Assuredly, The Lunatic Fringe will do just that: go nuts. He'll take the fight to The Beast in more ways than one. He's going to have to if he wants to win this match since Lesnar is perhaps the most credible active wrestler on the roster because of John Cena's injury.

It would be no surprise if Lesnar wins, as he more often than not does. But it's not wise to rule out an Ambrose victory, either. WWE may try to ignore the lack of support for Roman Reigns, but it isn't deaf and can certainly hear the positive response Ambrose receives on a consistent basis.

If Ambrose is going to be as big of a player in 2016 as it seems he will be, a win over Lesnar at WrestleMania would cement his position as a top-tier star who could finally win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship sometime this year.

Then again, the only way to make sure Lesnar stays as tough of an opponent as he is would be to keep having him win, so WWE might just as easily go with the natural flow of things and book yet another scenario in which Ambrose is so close and yet so far, coming up short after a hard fight.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Triple H vs. Roman Reigns

Credit: WWE.com

What is likely going to be the main event of WrestleMania 32 is the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match in which Triple H will defend his title against Roman Reigns.

Contrary to what used to be the standard operating procedure for the big title match at WrestleMania, this year has not followed suit by having the challenger earn his shot at glory by winning the Royal Rumble.

Rather, this year's main event will be revolving around the personal vendetta between Reigns and Triple H that just so happens to be circling the championship as the prized McGuffin to help propel the feud.

The backstory to this match goes well beyond the past few months, though, starting the day after WrestleMania 30.

On that episode of Monday Night Raw, The Shield turned on The Authority, which resulted in a feud between Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins against Evolution, as Triple H reformed the trio of himself, Randy Orton and Batista.

The Shield eventually crumbled when Rollins joined The Authority and rode that momentum to a Money in the Bank win. That briefcase would prove disastrous for Reigns, as Rollins cashed in his title shot at WrestleMania 31, defeating Reigns and Brock Lesnar to capture the championship.

Whether the decision to go with Rollins as the champion was because of a lack of support from the fans is not certain, but one can surmise it was probably the deciding factor that changed the original plan of having Reigns leave with the title.

It was several months before Reigns accomplished his goal of becoming champion by defeating brother-in-arms Ambrose at Survivor Series 2015, but that celebration was cut short as the Money in the Bank briefcase reared its ugly head once more.

Sheamus—a supporter of The Authority with Triple H's endorsement—cashed in to defeat Reigns in roughly five minutes. Clearly, if Reigns is WWE's next Superman, the briefcase should be green rather than gold as it is proving to be his kryptonite.

Reigns won the title back on December 15 during Raw, but by January, his days as champion were numbered. Vince McMahon decreed that Reigns would have to defend his title in the Royal Rumble match, with his 29 opponents all looking out for themselves.

With the odds heavily against his favor, Reigns lost the title to Triple H, intensifying the issues between the two and creating the situation they are in, with Reigns yet again fighting for the title at WrestleMania.

Unlike last year, though, the Money in the Bank is not in play this time around. With the fans still not cheering Reigns as much as the company would seemingly like and no easy alternate route to take, what is WWE going to do?

Having only held the title for a mere 41 days, it seems like a guarantee that Reigns will not only win this match to give the story some resolution but be in store for a lengthy run with the strap after WrestleMania.

It would be odd if, after all this, Triple H just retained and Reigns is suddenly not the biggest priority for WWE, wouldn't it? If that were even an option on the table at any point on The Road to WrestleMania, WWE probably would have changed the match to something the fans would have better responsed to.

Once Ambrose was eliminated from the equation at Roadblock, the idea Reigns would be the next champion was set in stone. Whether you're a supporter of him or you're adamantly against him, it doesn't seem to have factored into the plans this year.

This feud has gone on long enough that there needs to be some finality to it at this event, and the only way to accomplish that is for Reigns to conquer The King of Kings. After that is up in the air, but don't be surprised if the title stays in his possession until SummerSlam at the very least.

What do you think is going to happen at WrestleMania 32? Are you feeling confident in any predictions for these three matches?

Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below!

Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.