Wrestle Mania XXIV - Background

Background

WrestleMania featured nine professional wrestling matches with wrestlers involved in pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines. Wrestlers were portrayed as either villains or fan favorites as they followed a series of tension-building events, which culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. All wrestlers belonged to either the Raw, SmackDown, or ECW brand – storyline divisions in which WWE assigned its employees to different programs.

The predominant rivalry scripted into WrestleMania on the Raw brand was between Randy Orton, John Cena, and Triple H, over the WWE Championship. At the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event in January, Randy Orton successfully defended the WWE Championship against Jeff Hardy at the same event where John Cena returned from an injury and won the Royal Rumble match, where thirty wrestlers competed in a ring and were eliminated by being thrown over the top rope when he last eliminated Triple H. By winning the match, Cena became a top contender for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XXIV. Instead of challenging Randy Orton for the title at WrestleMania, he decided to challenge him at No Way Out. In the match, Orton got himself intentionally disqualified by slapping the referee, thus retaining the WWE Championship due to WWE regulations. That same night, Triple H also became a top contender to the WWE Championship by defeating five other men in an Elimination Chamber match, which featured wrestlers fighting in a ring surrounded by chains and girders. The next night on Raw, Cena argued that he deserved another WWE Championship match. Raw General Manager William Regal, who was portrayed as a matchmaker and rules enforcer, then announced that Cena would face Orton later in the night. Regal added a stipulation to the match that if Cena won, he would be added to the WrestleMania match between Triple H and Orton, making it a Triple threat match, a standard match that involves three wrestlers. If Orton won, the main event would remain as Orton versus Triple H in a singles match. However, Cena won the match and was added to the bout at WrestleMania. After the match, Triple H, who was the Special Guest Referee, executed a Pedigree to both Cena and Orton. On the February 25th edition of Raw, the unlikely team of Cena and Triple H defeated WWE Champion, Randy Orton and Mr. Kennedy in a tag team brawl. Yet as Cena and Triple H stared each other down, Mr. Kennedy snuck up on Cena and took him down with the Mic Check, as Triple H did nothing to intervene. On the March 3rd edition of Raw, Raw General Manager, William Regal allowed a triple threat take over, which would permit Randy Orton, Triple H, & John Cena to establish rules for their matches leading up to the March 30th extravaganza-WrestleMania 24. On that night, Cena was in charge and pitted Orton against Triple H. During the match, Cena charged into the ring and lifted Triple H overhead for an FU. Then Orton snuck up and dropped Cena with an RKO. On the March 10th edition of Raw (WrestleMania re-wind night), Randy Orton was next to be in charge. He arranged a match between Triple H and his WrestleMania XV opponent, Kane, which Triple H won after executing a Pedigree on Kane while Orton was watching at ringside. Orton also threw John Cena in a match against his WrestleMania 23 opponent, Shawn Michaels. In an attempt at throwing a victory at HBK, Orton attacked him and then went to RKO Cena. Cena countered the RKO and leveled Orton with an FU. On the following week's edition of Raw, Triple H got his turn of being in charge by pitting Cena and Orton against the entire Raw roster. During the match, both men were forced to work together to eliminate Paul Burchill, Snitsky, and Trevor Murdoch before the rest of the roster charged over the ropes, disqualifying themselves and handing Cena and Orton the victory. Afterwords, Triple H had his say too, when he entered the ring and Pedigreed both Orton and Cena, standing over their spent bodies with a look of satisfaction. On the last edition of Raw, the Raw GM, William Regal ordered a No-disqualification "WrestleMania Showcase" 8 man tag team match pitting Triple H, John Cena, Ric Flair, and Shawn Michaels against Randy Orton, John "Bradshaw" Layfield, Umaga, and The Big Show which Triple H and John Cena's team won when Flair forced Orton to tap out to the modified figure four leglock for the victory.

The predominant rivalry on the SmackDown! brand was between Edge and The Undertaker, over the World Heavyweight Championship. On the May 11, 2007 edition of SmackDown!, the Undertaker was defending his first World Championship against Batista (who he defeated for the World title at WrestleMania 23) in a Steel Cage match, which resulted in a draw when both men escaped the cage and both of their feet touched the floor at the same time. After the match, Mark Henry made his unexpected return from an injury and ambushed the Undertaker. As Henry left the ring, Edge, who defeated Mr. Kennedy a few days earlier on Raw to win the Money in the Bank contract, entered the SmackDown! brand to cash it in and defeated the Undertaker to win his first World Championship. At Armageddon, Edge won his second World Championship when he pinned then-champion, Batista in a Triple Threat match that also involved Undertaker due to interference by the Major Brothers (rechristened as the "Edge-heads" on the December 21st edition of SmackDown!). Then at the Royal Rumble event, Edge successfully defended the World title against Rey Mysterio. On the February 1 episode of SmackDown, Assistant General Manager Theodore Long announced that at No Way Out, an Elimination Chamber match would be held to determine the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania. The Undertaker won the match by last eliminating Batista. On the following episode of SmackDown, Edge predicted that The Undertaker's 15–0 undefeated streak at WrestleMania would come to an end once he defeated him. Two weeks later, on the March 7 episode of SmackDown, the team of Edge and Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder defeated The Undertaker in a Handicap match, in which one wrestler faces a team of two or more wrestlers, after Edge pinned The Undertaker following a takedown variation called the spear. The following week, Edge, Hawkins, Ryder, and Chavo Guerrero, a group of aligned wrestlers, defeated Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels in a Steel Cage match, where the ring was surrounded by walls of steel. During the match, Undertaker interfered and attacked Hawkins, Ryder, and Guerrero. The Undertaker used a Double chokeslam on Hawkins and Ryder and a Tombstone Piledriver on Guerrero. As Undertaker was attacking Guerrero, however, Edge escaped the cage and won the match for his team. The next week on SmackDown, Edge, along with Vickie Guerrero, Hawkins, and Ryder, held a mock burial, entitled "Burial of The Undertaker’s WrestleMania Undefeated Streak," to celebrate Edge's early victory over The Undertaker. During the "burial", however, The Undertaker emerged from a casket, which was inside the ring, and attacked Edge, Hawkins, and Ryder, knocking Hawkins and Ryder outside the ring and chokeslamming Edge through the casket.

At No Way Out, The Big Show made a return to the company after taking time off for injuries beginning in December 2006. In his return promotional interview, Big Show threatened to give Rey Mysterio a chokeslam. Professional boxer and WBC Welterweight Champion Floyd Mayweather, Jr., who was in attendance and a close friend of Mysterio's, came to his aid and confronted Big Show. After Big Show dropped to his knees, Mayweather attacked him with a combination of punches, which caused Big Show to bleed from the nose and mouth. The following night on Raw, the Big Show challenged Mayweather to a wrestling match, which Mayweather accepted. Big Show arranged the exhibition with fighter Brandon “The Thrill” Hill. Big Show’s choosing to battle the 5-foot-7, 150-pounder – who was similar in size and stature to Mayweather – was no coincidence. He appeared intent on sending a message as he overpowered his opponent in an MMA-style match that could be won by pinfall, submission, or knockout. Mayweather, however, was not impressed and reminded the world that “The Thrill” was not “Money.” After watching the exhibition via satellite, he then told Big Show “I broke your nose and at WrestleMania, I’m going to break your jaw.” Big Show had heard enough. To put an exclamation point on his winning statement, he lifted his hapless opponent overhead and tossed him over the ropes and onto the hard concrete below. On the following night's edition of Raw (WrestleMania re-wind night), the Big Show-Floyd Mayweather weigh-in took place where The World’s Largest Athlete outweighed The Greatest Fighter in the World by a daunting 300 pounds. While Show reveled in the disparity, Mayweather made it clear that he would not be intimidated. That’s when Big Show scooped up Mayweather and hurled him into a crowd of fellow Superstars. On the March 17th edition of Raw, Big Show stopped by Chris Jericho’s talk show segment The Highlight Reel for a chat when things quickly turned ugly. Show challenged Jericho to a title match after equating him with his WrestleMania foe, Floyd “Money” Mayweather. During their match, Show made a statement by overpowering Jericho. Jericho then got disqualified when he smacked Show across the face with his title belt. However, Big Show sent Mayweather a message loud and clear by knocking out Y2J with one punch.

On the February 25 episode of Raw, 2008 WWE Hall of Fame Inductee Ric Flair challenged Shawn Michaels to a match at WrestleMania. Michaels accepted after some reluctance, knowing that due to a previous announcement from WWE chairman Mr. McMahon the next match Flair lost would result in his forced retirement. Flair said that "it would be an honor for to retire at the hands of Shawn Michaels." During a press conference before his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, Flair mentioned that he was asked about having his match as the main event for the Pay per view show. However, Flair refused and insisted that "the world champions go on last." On the March 17th edition of Raw, Mr. McMahon, who had issued a win-or-retire ultimatum to Flair back in November (the week after the Survivor Series event), competed against Flair. With his latest victory, the 16-time World Champion leapt seven hurdles tossed in his path, including Randy Orton, Umaga, Triple H, William Regal, Montel Vontavious Porter, and Mr. Kennedy, and kept his career alive. During the battle, Mr. McMahon used a battery of weapons to bloody the “Nature Boy”: a garbage can, kendo stick, and a metal folding chair. Just when it appeared Mr. McMahon would emerge victorious, Michaels distracted the referee before the three-count. Flair prevailed in the end, after nailing Mr. McMahon in the blarney stones and crashing down on him and putting him through a table.

On February 18, WWE announced via its website that the fourth annual Money in the Bank ladder match would take place at WrestleMania XXIV, a match where the objective is to retrieve a briefcase suspended in the air using a ladder. The match involved wrestlers from all three WWE brands. The winner would earn a contract to challenge for any of the three WWE World Championships (the WWE Championship of Raw, the World Heavyweight Championship of SmackDown, or the ECW Championship of ECW) at any time and any place over a one-year period. Qualifying matches occurred to determine the participants in the match at WrestleMania, starting on that night's edition of Raw with Jeff Hardy and Mr. Kennedy defeating Snitsky and Val Venis respectively to qualify. Shelton Benjamin became the third participant when he defeated Jimmy Wang Yang on the following episode of SmackDown. During the next two editions of Raw, Chris Jericho defeated Jeff Hardy, and Carlito defeated Cody Rhodes to qualify. At a non-televised SmackDown/ECW house show held on March 8, Montel Vontavious Porter qualified when he defeated Jamie Noble. On the March 11 edition of ECW, CM Punk became the seventh person when he defeated Big Daddy V. John Morrison was the final person to qualify when he beat The Miz on the March 14 edition of SmackDown. Jeff Hardy was later removed from the match after a legitimate suspension by WWE for a drug violation of the company's Wellness Policy. WWE decided not to add another superstar in his place, making that year's Money in the Bank ladder match the first year to have seven participants.