Wrestle Mania XXV - Aftermath

Aftermath

The rivalry between Triple H and Randy Orton continued after WrestleMania when both men would meet in a six-man tag team match at Backlash on the following episode of Raw. The match would pit Triple H, Shane McMahon and Vince McMahon against The Legacy (Orton with his protégés, Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes). Vince's part in the match was later replaced by a returning Batista. At Backlash Randy Orton and The Legacy defeated Triple H, Shane, and Batista for the WWE Championship. Triple H was put out of action after being punted by Orton after the events of the PPV, while Shane was attacked by Legacy and was taken out on a stretcher. Two months later, Batista later suffered the same fate and was taken out of the building by security, while Triple H made his return and continued his feud with Randy Orton. They would later battle in a Last Man Standing Match on Raw for the WWE Championship which went to a no contest, then at The Bash, Randy Orton defeated Triple H in a Three Stages of Hell, and would later end their feud in a Triple Threat Match at Night of Champions, with Randy Orton retaining his title against both Triple H and John Cena. Orton would then begin a feud with Cena while Triple H would go out to re-unite DX.

On the same episode of Raw, it was announced that Vickie Guerrero would vacate her role as SmackDown general manager to become the new permanent Raw general manager. As her first act, Guerrero announced that John Cena would defend his World Heavyweight Championship at Backlash against Edge in a Last Man Standing match.

The animosity between Matt and Jeff Hardy continued on the episode of SmackDown following WrestleMania, leading to continued assaults between the two; newly-appointed SmackDown general manager, Theodore Long would announce one last match between the two at Backlash, an "I Quit" match.

CM Punk would be drafted to SmackDown brand, which would see him try on multiple occasions to invoke his contractually-guaranteed title match from winning the Money in the Bank ladder match; Punk would be able to get his match at Extreme Rules in June by defeating Jeff Hardy to win the World Heavyweight Championship. Prior to CM Punk defeating Jeff Hardy, Hardy was involved in a World Heavyweight Championship ladder match with Edge. Hardy had managed to trap Edge between the ladder, climb it, and retrieve the hanging belt. It was at this point that CM Punk cashed in his "Money in the Bank" briefcase. As the briefcase guaranteed a title shot, CM Punk capitalised from an exhausted Jeff Hardy. CM Punk had hit the "GTS" (Go to Sleep) yet remarkably Hardy kicked out. CM Punk then hit the second to win the World Heavyweight Championship.

After the events of WrestleMania, both Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker took a four month hiatus from the WWE. Shawn came back to reform D-Generation X with Triple H so that they came face to face with The Legacy at SummerSlam. The Undertaker also returned at SummerSlam and attacked the then-World Heavyweight Champion, CM Punk. At the Slammy Awards, the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels won the Best Match of the Year, with Shawn expressing that he was glad that he had created history at WrestleMania, but just when he was about to leave, he challenged the Undertaker to a rematch at the next WrestleMania. The Undertaker later denied the challenge, saying he had nothing more to prove to Michaels, and told Shawn that he would have to earn the spot. Michaels later entered the Royal Rumble (2010), but would be eliminated by Batista. He later tried to enter the Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE Championship, but he was defeated by Randy Orton to earn the spot. Then at the Elimination Chamber PPV, Shawn cost The Undertaker his World Heavyweight Championship. The next night on Raw, the Undertaker accepted the rematch, but only on the condition that Michaels would retire from WWE if he lost. At WrestleMania XXVI The Undertaker defeated Shawn Michaels in a Streak vs Career Match, thus ending Michaels' career. The next night on Raw, Shawn said farewell to WWE, with his best friend and DX member Triple H right next to him as they spent their last time, together before Shawn finally left the building.