WWE WrestleMania 32: Stars Who Will Cement Their Legacies

WrestleMania has long been the perfect platform for up-and-coming athletes to solidify themselves as stars, and with WWE WrestleMania 32 quickly approaching, everyone on the current roster is anxious to break out on the big stage.

At The Showcase of the Immortals, WrestleMania will feature several marquee matches, including Triple H vs. Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar vs. Dean Ambrose. From championship gold to control of the company, there is plenty at stake in most of the matches, which will make the subsequent Raw a must-see.

Batista, Shawn Michaels and Edge are among the elite few to have emerged as main event players in past years at WrestleMania, and this year should be no exception. Let's look at the stars who will cement their legacies at The Show of Shows on April 3.

Roman Reigns

Credit: WWE.com

The road to WrestleMania 32 has been a rocky one for Roman Reigns, who has had to overcome obstacle after obstacle in his never-ending rivalry with The Authority. Becoming the new No. 1 contender at WWE Fastlane was only the beginning; now, he has his sights set on slaying Triple H for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania.

There has been much speculation what the future will hold for The Big Dog beyond the event, however. Despite being in desperate need of a heel turn, WWE seems determined to get him over as the company's next big babyface, especially in the absence of John Cena.

Regardless, he will face his toughest adversary to date in Dallas in the form of Triple H. He had a strong showing against Brock Lesnar at last year's installment, but his loss to the opportunistic Seth Rollins knocked him down a few notches for many months.

Since then, he has scratched and clawed his way back to the top by beating Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose and Sheamus in high-profile matches, proving himself to the fans and the WWE brass as a worthy main event mainstay.

If he can regain the gold from HHH at 'Mania, Reigns would become a permanent fixture in the WWE title picture going forward. Not to mention that a win over The Game could help him silence the critics that claim he is not yet ready for the spotlight.

AJ Styles

Credit: WWE.com

In a matter of months, AJ Styles has become one of WWE's fastest-rising stars in recent memory. Furthermore, his in-ring encounters with The Miz, The New Day and Kevin Owens have been among the best bouts of 2016 thus far.

That said, he has plenty left to accomplish before we can consider him a top-tier talent, and the one roadblock standing in his way is Chris Jericho. He made an enemy out of Y2J by beating him on two separate occasions on Raw and at Fastlane, respectively, and Jericho remains envious of The Phenomenal One.

As of this writing, no match between the two has been made official for the card, but it is all but confirmed that they will face off one-on-one on The Grandest Stage of Them All. That will be Styles' ultimate opportunity to cement his legacy as a WWE Superstar.

Granted, he has ripped it up all over the world for nearly two decades, but some might say he hasn't done it all until he has found success in WWE. It's been "so far, so good" for the former face of TNA, but nothing quite comes close to matching a victory at WrestleMania.

In front of a worldwide audience at WWE's biggest event of the year, a win over Jericho would immediately establish him as a star on the ascent.

Dean Ambrose

Credit: WWE.com

Dean Ambrose has constantly been on the brink of superstardom since breaking out on his own in the summer of 2014. He has gone to war with some of the best in the business—from Seth Rollins to Triple H—but more often than not has come up short.

At WrestleMania 32, he will do battle with The Beast Incarnate himself, Brock Lesnar, in a No Holds Barred Street Fight. No one has pinned or submitted Lesnar in nearly three years, yet the unpredictable Ambrose will pose an entirely different challenge.

In recent weeks, Ambrose has attempted to get the better of The Beast with crowbars and Singapore canes, though nothing has kept him down for long. Come WrestleMania, Ambrose will have the chance to not only have an impressive outing versus Lesnar but also be the one to finally put an end to his reign of terror by emerging victorious.

There is little doubt that The Lunatic Fringe has all the tools necessary to become a main event-level babyface with the right push. With his legacy on the line in his match with Lesnar, Ambrose has everything to gain—and that's when he has proved to be most dangerous.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is a journalism major at Endicott College. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.

Follow @WrestleRant