Dream and Nightmare Scenarios for Top Stars at WWE WrestleMania 2020

Any star who sets foot in the squared circle at WWE WrestleMania 36 will face a certain amount of pressure to deliver on sports entertainment's most prestigious night, but for those involved in the event's highest-profile bouts, there are both dream and nightmare scenarios facing them and their legacies.

WWE Hall of Famer Edge, former Universal champion "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt, icon The Undertaker and Raw women's champion Becky Lynch are among those whose nights could end either triumphantly or in failure, depending on a few key factors.

What are the best and worst those men and women can expect from this year's unique WrestleMania extravaganza?

Becky Lynch

Dream Scenario

After a year-long reign as Raw women's champion, Becky Lynch rolls into WrestleMania a made woman, the face of WWE in 2020, and she delivers a match befitting a Superstar of her stature.

Together, she and Shayna Baszler offer a physical, hard-hitting match that features a considerable amount of submission wrestling and in the end, The Man elevates The Queen of Spades' star regardless of whether she wins or loses.

At that moment, she will have proved all of her doubters wrong and been instrumental in the development of a star WWE sees as a major part of the future of women's wrestling.

Nightmare Scenario

Tasked with elevating Baszler, Lynch has an off-night and like the last few women's matches to feature prominently on WWE pay-per-views, fans are left underwhelmed by the final product.

It would be a major blow to The Man's legacy after a subpar showing at Survivor Series in November, when the two last met, and it would adversely affect Baszler. It was just last month at Elimination Chamber that fans were overly critical of the quality of the women's event, in which The Queen of Spades was the undisputed star.

Neither woman can really afford that scenario at this point.

Edge

Dream Scenario

Edge returns to the stage of so many of his classic matches, including battles with Undertaker, Mick Foley and the infamous Tables, Ladders and Chair match, and delivers another all-timer that pays off one of the most engaging and engrossing stories in years with Randy Orton.

It is an appropriately violent match, a heated one that sees both men inflict pain on each other in the attempt to keep his rival down.

In the end, the triumphant hero marks his first match at WrestleMania in nine years with a monumental victory that propels him forward and puts the feud with The Viper to bed. At least for the time being.

Nightmare Scenario

Edge is injured.

No one wants to talk about the possibility but, despite a Hall of Fame career and recognition as one of the best workers and storytellers of his generation, The Rated-R Superstar has had his fair share of injuries throughout his career, not the least of which was the neck problem that forced him into retirement.

An injury would be a shame considering the work and dedication that has gone into his unlikely comeback.

Equally bad, for his legacy at least, would be a disappointing match that fails to pay off the fantastic story that preceded it and leaves fans underwhelmed.

After an unforgettable return, such a scenario would be a major blow to Edge's attempt at a full comeback.

Undertaker

Dream Scenario

Undertaker returns renewed, refreshed and under the "American Badass" persona to The Grandest Stage of Them All after missing last year's event.

The gimmick allows him to drop some of the theatricality and focus on whooping AJ Styles in a Boneyard match that has the potential to be one of the night's best, especially if the performers can capture the attitude and intensity that went into the last two weeks' worth of promos.

Make no mistake about it, The Deadman needs a great match. It has been too long since he last had one, something that is adversely affecting his reputation as age plays a major factor in every performance.

Nightmare Scenario

Undertaker does not get that great match. In fact, after weeks of build, he doesn't even get a particularly good one.

The gimmick weighs too heavily on the overall product, his age and injury history prevents him from working the type of fight he wants, or he and Styles simply don't have the chemistry to make their plans become a reality.

The presence of Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, as well as whatever bells and whistles come along with it, should help mask any deficiencies but overly produced, cinematic matches such as this tend to hit or miss with audiences.

Undertaker needs a hit. Anything else will be considered a failure.

'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt

Dream Scenario

The Fiend enters the Firefly Fun House and brutalizes John Cena, repaying him for the years of heartache and suffering endured by Bray Wyatt following his loss to him at WrestleMania 30.

While it is highly unlikely Cena returns for such a one-sided loss, particularly now he has his own Hollywood brand to protect, it is the outcome that best suits a character who has been one of the most original and creative in recent years.

That Cena has decided to work with the masked maniac of SmackDown suggests he is willing to put The Fiend over, which is a positive.

Nightmare Scenario

Cena fastens his Superman cape around his neck and conquers the evil Fiend character, defeating Wyatt and proving you can go home again.

Wyatt and his alter ego cannot afford another high-profile loss. Realistically, given the way things turned out, The Fiend never should have dropped the Universal Championship to Goldberg at Super ShowDown, but he did.

A loss to Cena would devastate that character, completely abolishing all credibility he had built. It would do guys like Daniel Bryan, The Miz, Seth Rollins and Finn Balor great disservice considering how strongly they put him over.

Simply put, a loss to Cena of any kind would kill The Fiend and send an incredibly frustrated Wyatt back to the drawing board.

Drew McIntyre

Dream Scenario

Eleven years after Vince McMahon labeled Drew McIntyre the "Chosen One," the Scot rolls into WrestleMania 36 and Claymore kicks his way to the WWE Championship by defeating Brock Lesnar and establishing himself the new top dog of Raw.

The win solidifies his status as a legitimate main event attraction and gives the red brand a titleholder it can rely on to appear every week without fail.

Nightmare Scenario

Like Roman Reigns in 2018, McIntyre is inexplicably manhandled by Lesnar and defeated in one-sided fashion.

We get it: Lesnar is a bad man. He is a dangerous competitor who can beat the unholy hell out of anyone he wants.

It is a story we have had drilled into our minds over and over again by WWE Creative and his advocate, Paul Heyman. Yes, that booking allows eventual victories to mean more, but we have to sacrifice those wins at some point to help create new stars for Lesnar to face.

McIntyre is a new star but a loss at WrestleMania, after so much was done to elevate him to that point, would be a major detriment to his growth as a performer and any chance he has of being accepted in that role.

Rhea Ripley

Dream Scenario

Win or lose, Rhea Ripley rises to the occasion and delivers a performance befitting a match with Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania.

The Aussie called out Flair, made this a personal match by telling the story of how many times she was mistaken for the second-generation competitor and is the only NXT star performing at The Show of Shows.

The same NXT that houses competitors such as Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole and Velveteen Dream. That she was hand-picked for this moment says a ton about the trust Triple H and management have in her.

Ripley now needs to repay that trust with a brilliant performance to show them and the WWE Universe why she is considered the future of women's wrestling in the company.

Nightmare Scenario

She doesn't do that.

Instead of a defining performance, Ripley falters and earns NXT back its reputation as a developmental brand.

Worse yet, a poor performance hurts the reputation and budding WrestleMania legacy of Flair, which is sparkling to this point.

Ripley can afford neither if she wants to be the worker around whom major rivalries revolve and consistent opportunities for matches at WrestleMania come easily.