Wrestle Mania XXIV - Aftermath

Aftermath

After the show, WWE was criticized for a malfunction in the pyrotechnics during The Undertaker's victory celebration. During the celebration, a hot cable for pyrotechnics was sent flying into audience members in the upper seating bowl of the stadium, leaving 45 injured with some hospitalized. The accident was apparently due to a cable which fireworks were traveling across snapping, thus resulting in the fireworks exploding into the top rows of the upper bowl of the stadium. WWE's corporate website released a statement afterward stating that they would investigate the incident, though the results of the investigation were never released.

On the following episode of Raw, Ric Flair made his farewell speech, which led to Triple H introducing various people from Flair's past, such as the Four Horsemen, Ricky Steamboat, and others, each coming out to give an emotional farewell. Afterward, the entire WWE roster came out to say thank you to Flair. Shawn Michaels, who was clearly upset about retiring Flair, was forgiven by Flair. Despite Flair's forgiveness, his former protégé Batista later started a feud with Michaels, citing Michaels' "selfishness" at WrestleMania for not laying down for Flair. The two had a match booked at Backlash, WWE's next scheduled pay-per-view event, and after a confrontation between Michaels and Chris Jericho, Jericho was later added into the match as a Special Guest Referee. Michaels won with a superkick.

The feud between Randy Orton, John Cena and Triple H continued after WrestleMania with the added involvement of John "Bradshaw" Layfield leading to a Fatal Four-Way Elimination match between all four at Backlash, an elimination style match where the last person remaining is the winner. At the event, Triple H won his seventh WWE Championship by last pinning Orton. With Matt Hardy's return at WrestleMania, his feud with Montel Vontavious Porter over the WWE United States Championship, that had started in July 2007, was revived with a match booked at Backlash, which Hardy won. The rivalries between The Undertaker and Edge and the one between Kane and Chavo Guerrero both continued with successful title defenses at Backlash. On the May 2 episode of SmackDown, General Manager Vickie Guerrero stripped The Undertaker of the World Heavyweight Championship because of his continued use of his illegal chokehold, claiming she did it to protect the other wrestlers.