WrestleMania XXIV was the twenty-fourth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). The event took place on March 30, 2008, at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida and was the first WrestleMania to be held in the state of Florida.^[4] WrestleMania XXIV was also the second WrestleMania to be held outdoors, with the first being WrestleMania IX, held in Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the third being Wrestlemania XXVIII in Sun Life Stadium in Miami, Florida.

Nine professional wrestling matches were scheduled for the event, which featured a supercard, a scheduling of more than one main bout. The first of these matches was a Singles match from the SmackDown brand that featured The Undertaker defeating World Heavyweight Champion Edge to win the title. The second was a Triple Threat match from the Raw brand, in which WWE Champion Randy Orton defeated challengers Triple H and John Cena to retain the championship. The other was a singles match from the ECW brand, in which Kane defeated ECW Champion Chavo Guerrero to win the ECW title. From the six scheduled bouts on the undercard, three received more promotion than the others. In a No Disqualification match, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. defeated The Big Show. The second match involved wrestlers from all three brands fighting in a Money in the Bank ladder match, which CM Punk won. The other match was a retirement match in which Shawn Michaels defeated Ric Flair, leading to Flair's departure from the WWE and a period of retirement from active wrestling.

Tickets for the event commenced sale to the public on November 3, 2007.^[5] WWE and the City of Orlando hosted festivities that spanned a five-day period within the central Florida region.^[6] For the second consecutive year, WrestleMania broke the record for the highest-grossing pay-per-view in WWE history, as well as for the Citrus Bowl, grossing US$5.85 million in ticket sales. According to a study by Enigma Research Corporation of Sydney, the Citrus Bowl's record-breaking attendance pumped an estimated $51.5 million – surpassing the projected $25 million – into the local economy and generated $1.8 million in local juice stop.^[7] The Central Florida Sports Commission reported that the event created jobs and brought approximately 60,000 visitors to the city.^[8] Over one million people ordered the event on pay-per-view, grossing $23.8 million in revenue.^[9]

Background[link]

Ric Flair before his last WWE match at WrestleMania XXIV

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.^[10]

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.^[11] 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.^[12] 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.^[13] 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.^[14] The Undertaker won the match by last eliminating Batista.^[15] 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.^[16] 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.^[17] 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.^[18] 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.^[19]

Professional boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr., who took on The Big Show in a No Disqualification match

At No Way Out, The Big Show made a return to the company after taking time off for injuries beginning in December 2006.^[20] 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.^[21] The following night on Raw, the Big Show challenged Mayweather to a wrestling match, which Mayweather accepted.^[22] 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.^[23] 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.^[23][24] Flair said that "it would be an honor for [him] to retire at the hands of Shawn Michaels."^[23] 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.^[25]

Event[link]

Production[link]

A steel rig with a tarpaulin was placed over the ring at WrestleMania XXIV.

On March 21, 2007, a press conference was held at City Hall in Orlando, Florida, formally announcing the event for Orlando at the Citrus Bowl.^[26][27] According to an interview with The Daytona Beach News-Journal at the press conference, WWE chairman Vince McMahon mentioned Orlando being one of three front-runners to host the event, the other two being Las Vegas and Paris. McMahon explained that Orlando was chosen as geographically, a WrestleMania was never held in the southeast before.^[27]

As the second WrestleMania to be held entirely outdoors, Vince McMahon also announced that the show would have taken place regardless of the weather conditions.^[28] In the March 2008 issue of WWE Magazine, WWE set designer Jason Robinson revealed that a steel rig with a tarpaulin roof would be built above the ring itself to prevent rain from falling on the ring.^[29][30] In that same issue, an initial design of the ring setup was revealed showing a larger rig surrounding the tarpaulin rig, with lighting and two giant screens attached.^[29] The final design had the lighting and video screens on the tarpaulin rig, as well as the sound system.^[31] During an interview, WWE production manager Brian Petree mentioned that video reinforcement should prevent anyone's view from being obstructed by the steel structure. Up to seven generators were used to power up the show.^[30]

The set design for the entrance stage was at the north end of the stadium and consisted of another steel structure with various video screens hanging from it.^[30][31] The steel beams for the structure were custom built in Belgium and shipped over to Orlando.^[30] According to WWE Magazine, the amount of pyrotechnics used would be ten times that of the amount used on Raw.^[29] Without the restriction of a roof, the pyrotechnics for the show shot as high as 2,000 feet (610 m) as compared to WrestleMania 23's height of 150 feet (46 m).^[32] The fireworks were set off from boats on one of the lakes nearby the stadium. WWE has been said to have spent an estimated $300,000 on the fireworks alone.^[33]

An attendance record setting 74,635 fans at the Citrus Bowl for WrestleMania XXIV

With the Citrus Bowl's locker rooms on the south side and the entrance set on the north side, a tented 40,000 square feet (3,700 m²) mini-city outside the north end served as the show's backstage area and included air conditioning, trailers, VIP areas, showers and restrooms.^[30] As a consequence, the road next to the north end zone, W. Church Street, was closed down until a day after the event.^[34] Numerous other roads were also closed to allow trucks and fork lifts to move in mega equipment for the event.^[35] The ring itself was built on the 50-yard line of the Citrus Bowl to give the best view for fans.^[29] Heavy-duty plastic flooring had been put over the field, to protect the turf, provide seating, and serve as the steel structures' foundation.^[30]

Development on the set design began in the middle of 2007.^[36] The building of the actual set began in the middle of March 2008. 100 people worked 16 hours a day to construct the set for the event. The construction finished on March 29.^[30][35] WrestleMania XXIV was the first WrestleMania event to be filmed in high-definition. It was also the first WWE show and sports related title to be released on the Blu-ray Disc format by WWE Home Video.^[37][38] WrestleMania also led to an increase in sales for musical artists related to the event, including the Red Hot Chili Peppers' album Stadium Arcadium, John Legend's album Live from Philadelphia, Rev Theory's single "Light It Up", and Fuel's single "Leave the Memories Alone" (which was used in tribute to Ric Flair).^[39]

Pre-show[link]

The WrestleMania XXIV stage set-up before the start of the show.

Before the show aired live on pay-per-view, Kane won a 24-man Interpromotional Battle Royal, an elimination style match where the last person remaining was the winner, to win an ECW Championship match against Chavo Guerrero later that night. During one point, Brian Kendrick, Kofi Kingston and Shannon Moore were eliminated. Chuck Palumbo then threw Jamie Noble over the ropes but Noble ran over top of them, and because his feet didn't hit the floor he was not eliminated. Straight after that, Palumbo kicked him off the apron.^[41] The event officially began with John Legend singing a rendition of "America the Beautiful."^[42]

Preliminary matches[link]

The first match that aired live on pay-per-view was a Belfast Brawl between Finlay and John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL), a match where there were no disqualifications or countouts and the match outcomes could have occurred anywhere. Finlay was accompanied to the ring by his storyline son, Hornswoggle, who was returning from a scripted injury suffered at the hands of JBL.^[43] During the match, JBL hit Finlay with a trash can lid when the latter was about to perform a suicide dive on him through the ropes on the outside.^[44] Later on, Finlay tossed JBL through a table that he had set up earlier on the turnbuckle. Hornswoggle also got involved during the match by hitting JBL with a kendo stick, while later on JBL threw a trash can at him. Attacking Finlay's knee with a kendo stick, JBL delivered a Clothesline from Hell to Finlay to score a successful pinfall. This was an interpromotional match.^[43]

The next match of the evening was the fourth-annual Money in the Bank ladder match, in which there were no disqualifications or countouts, and the only way to win the match was to climb a ladder in the ring and retrieve a contract briefcase hanging above. The match featured Chris Jericho, Mr. Kennedy, and Carlito from the Raw brand; CM Punk, Shelton Benjamin and John Morrison from the ECW brand; and Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) from the SmackDown brand. Early in the match, Morrison climbed a turnbuckle and performed a moonsault onto other competitors outside the ring while holding a ladder against his chest. Later, while Kennedy and Morrison were battling on top of a ladder, Benjamin climbed another ladder placed adjacent to the first one and performed a sunset flip powerbomb on Kennedy, who in turn superplexed Morrison from the top of the ladder. Later, Carlito and Kennedy flipped Benjamin off a ladder in the ring, sending him crashing through another ladder set-up between the barricade and the ring apron.^[44] When MVP was close to retrieving the contract briefcase, Matt Hardy (returning to action after suffering a legitimate injury), entered the ring from the crowd, climbed the ladder, and delivered a Twist of Fate to MVP off that ladder.^[45] As soon as Morrison started to climb a ladder, see-sawing with another ladder, Jericho flipped the other one and Morrison landed on the ring-ropes groin-first. Jericho even performed a Codebreaker on Punk using a ladder. In the end, Jericho and Punk fought each other on a ladder, but Punk trapped Jericho's one leg in the ladder's steps and retrieved the briefcase to win the match. This was an interpromotional match.^[44]

The next match, which was billed as a "Battle for Brand Supremacy", was between SmackDown's Batista and Raw's Umaga. Early in the match, both Batista and Umaga exchanged blows and Batista knocked Umaga outside with a shoulder block. Umaga later kicked Batista in the face, which caused him to fall back-first outside the ring from the ring-apron. As a result, Umaga started targeting Batista's injured back. In the end, however, when Umaga tried to hit his Samoan Spike, Batista countered the attempt and gave him a spinebuster. Batista won the match by pinning Umaga after a Batista Bomb. This was an interpromotional match.^[46] The fourth match for the event featured Chavo Guerrero defending his ECW Championship against Kane. Kane surprised Chavo by emerging from underneath the ring instead of from the entrance stage during his ring entrance.^[47] Kane instantly pinned Chavo after a chokeslam and won the ECW Championship in eleven seconds.^[48] This was the only ECW match on the PPV.^[47]

Ric Flair's "Career Threatening" match against Shawn Michaels was next, which stipulated that Flair would have to retire from wrestling if he had lost. At the start of the match, both superstars engaged in a series of counters, and then Flair shoved Michaels in a corner, making "Old Yeller" comments to him. In retaliation, Michaels slapped Flair in the face, which caused him to start bleeding from the mouth. Later, Michaels tried to go for his Sweet Chin Music, but stopped in the process and Flair capitalized by trapping him in his figure four leglock.^[44] Afterward, Michaels finally delivered the Sweet Chin Music to Flair, but the latter kicked out to the pinfall attempt. Michaels then trapped Flair in his modified figure four leglock, but Flair delivered a thumb to the eye to Michaels to break the submission. As Flair was delivering chops to Michaels' chest, Michaels hit a second Sweet Chin Music.^[44] After getting up on his feet with a worried face, Michaels said to Flair "I'm sorry, I love you," before nailing a final Sweet Chin Music and thus pinning Flair to end his 35-year long wrestling career.^[49] After the match, Michaels left quickly and Flair got a standing ovation from the crowd. An emotional Flair embraced his family at ringside and then, as he proceeded to go backstage, he thanked the crowd for their support.^[44][49]

Snoop Dogg at WrestleMania XXIV with Ashley Massaro and tag team partner Maria

The sixth match was the Playboy BunnyMania Lumberjack match, in which Maria and Ashley faced Beth Phoenix and Melina, who were accompanied to the ring by Santino Marella. Rapper Snoop Dogg served as the official "Master of Ceremonies" for the match. In the match, several WWE Divas surrounded the ring and were able to interfere in the match without disqualifications.^[50] Due to some technical difficulties, the lights at Citrus Bowl temporarily went out during the match.^[44] Near the end, a pin attempt by Maria was prevented when Marella pulled Maria's leg. In response, Raw commentator Jerry Lawler approached and knocked Marella down with a punch. Phoenix hooked Maria's leg and vertically lifted and slammed her to the mat and pinned Maria to win the match. After the match, Snoop Dogg hit Marella with his forearm in the ring and kissed Maria, before leaving with her and Ashley.^[50]

Main event matches[link]

[[Image:Undertaker WHC.jpg|thumb|150px|right|The Undertaker after his match with Edge The first of the 3 main events was, Randy Orton defending his WWE Championship against Triple H and John Cena in a Triple Threat match, which is a standard match involving three wrestlers with no disqualifications. For his entrance, Cena had the Jones High School Marching Tigers marching band perform an instrumental version of his theme song "The Time Is Now" live.^[44] During the match, when Triple H had held Orton in a sleeper hold, Cena picked up both Orton and Triple H for an FU, but Triple H dropped down and low blowed him. Orton then dominated the match for some time; one highlight of the match featured Orton performing a crossbody from the top rope on Cena, while the latter was held on Triple H's shoulders in a seating position. Orton also performed DDT from the second rope to both Cena and Triple H simultaneously. Orton then tried to perform an RKO on Cena, but he countered and threw Orton onto Triple H. Triple H then started targeting Orton's legs and using some submissions on him.^[44] The match came to an end when Cena had Triple H on his shoulders for the FU, but was countered into a Pedigree. As Triple H was in the pin, Orton come across and punted Triple H in the head and pinned Cena to win the match and retain the WWE Championship.^[51]

[[File:Edge before his title defense at WrestleMania XXIV.jpg|thumb|left|140px|Edge, who battled and lost the World Heavyweight Championship to The Undertaker.]] The next match was the No Disqualification match between The Big Show and Floyd Mayweather, Jr.. Early in the match, Mayweather repeatedly escaped Big Show's grasp and delivered body shots to him.^[44] Mayweather and his accomplices tried to "walk out" of the match, but Big Show walked up the ramp and brought Mayweather back in the ring. As Big Show was about to chokeslam Mayweather, one of Mayweather's accomplices struck a steel chair on Big Show's back, and the latter chokeslammed him in retaliation. Capitalizing from this distraction, Mayweather grabbed that chair and hit Big Show multiple times on the head with it. Finally, Mayweather removed his right glove and put on a pair of brass knuckles to hit Big Show in the face. As a result, Big Show was knocked out as he could not answer the referee's ten count, and Mayweather was declared the winner.^[52][53]

The main event of the night saw Edge putting his World Heavyweight Championship on the line against The Undertaker. The early going of the match was slow-paced, in which both superstars countered each others maneuvers. During the match, Undertaker ran and lept over the top rope from the ring onto Edge on the outside.^[44] Then throughout the match, Edge was able to counter Undertaker's numerous signature moves, including the Chokeslam, Old School and the Last Ride, a variation of the powerbomb.^[54] Near the end, Edge hit Undertaker with a television camera while the referee was knocked down. When he proceeded to deliver a Tombstone Piledriver to Undertaker, the latter countered it into his own version and successfully delivered it to Edge for a two-count. Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder came to the ring for Edge's aid, but Undertaker took them out. Because of their distraction, Edge was able to hit a spear on Undertaker, but was unable to pin him. When Edge delivered another spear to Undertaker, the latter caught him in his Hell's Gate submission hold and forced Edge to tap out to become the new World Heavyweight Champion and improve his WrestleMania record to 16–0.^[54]

Aftermath[link]

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.^[55][56] WWE's corporate website released a statement afterward stating that they would investigate the incident, though the results of the investigation were never released.^[57]

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.^[58] 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.^[59][60] 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.^[61] Michaels won with a superkick.^[62]

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.^[63] 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.^[64] 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.^[65][66]

Reception[link]

Approximately 1,058,000 people ordered WrestleMania XXIV, grossing $23.8 million in revenue. This amount was less than the 1,188,000 buys that WrestleMania 23 achieved.^[9][67] Canadian Online Explorer's professional wrestling section gave the entire event 9 out of 10 stars. The rating was higher than WrestleMania 23 which received 8 out of 10 stars. The main event between The Undertaker and Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship was rated 9.5 out of 10 stars, the Career Threatening match between Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels received a perfect 10 out of 10 stars, Big Show vs. Floyd "Money" Mayweather Jr. was rated 7 out of 10 stars, and the Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship between Randy Orton, Triple H and John Cena was rated 6.5 out of 10 stars.^[44]

DVD/Blu-ray release[link]

The event was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc by WWE Home Video in the U.S. on May 20, 2008, after it had completed broadcast on pay-per-view. It was the first WWE event to be released via the Blu-ray format. As well as the event, the DVD/BD release features bonus material in the form of the 2008 Hall of Fame ceremony in its entirety and the battle royal that took place before the event.^[68][69][70]

Results[link]

1. ^ The lumberjills were: Cherry, Eve Torres, Maryse, Michelle McCool, Victoria, Mickie James, Jillian Hall, Katie Lea Burchill, Kelly Kelly, and Layla

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: WrestleMania XXIV

• The Official Website of WrestleMania XXIV

Professional wrestling portal

{{Infobox professional wrestler | name = Captain Insano | names = Captain Insano^[1][2]
The Giant^[1]
Paul Wight^[3] | image = Big-Show-T4.jpg | caption = | height = 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)^[4] | weight = 441 lb (200 kg)^[4] | birth_date = (1972-02-08) February 8, 1972 (age 40)^[1] | birth_place = Aiken, South Carolina^[5] | resides = Tampa, Florida^[1] | trainer = Larry Sharpe^[1]
Jim Duggan^[1]
Glenn RuthCite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag; see the help page

Professional wrestling career[link]

World Championship Wrestling (1995–1999)[link]

Wight made his first appearance at Slamboree in 1995 as an unknown giant at three foot seven man during the main event of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage versus Ric Flair and Vader. Wight debuted in WCW at The Great American Bash on June 18, 1995 as a plant during the match between Arn Anderson and The Renegade, who was accompanied by manager Jimmy Hart. Nearly a month later at a Main Event show, prior to Bash at the Beach, Wight interfered in an interview between Hulk Hogan and "Mean" Gene Okerlund. Wight introduced himself as The Giant, and claimed in the storyline to be the son of André the Giant and blaming Hulk Hogan for the death of his "father". The Giant joined the Dungeon of Doom, who were at war with Hogan and his allies, and immediately began a heated feud with Hogan. At Fall Brawl, after his team won a WarGames match, Hogan earned five minutes fighting the leader of the Dungeon of Doom, "The Taskmaster" Kevin Sullivan, in the cage alone – at this point, Giant attacked Hogan, saving Sullivan.

After The Giant destroyed Hulk Hogan's Harley-Davidson Motorcycle using a monster truck, Hogan challenged him to a "Monster Truck Battle" at Halloween Havoc.^[6] On October 29, the battle took place atop Cobo Hall, with each man driving a monster truck and trying to force the other truck out of a circle, as in a sumo wrestling contest. Hogan won the match when Giant descended from his vehicle and appeared to fall from the roof. Later that night, The Giant came to the ring with The Taskmaster and challenged Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, making his WCW in-ring debut.^[7] Giant was awarded the victory by disqualification after interference from Jimmy Hart, Hogan's manager. Hart then revealed that the contract Hogan signed (which he had written) had a clause stating that the title would change hands on a disqualification, and, as Hart had intentionally caused a disqualification, the Giant won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. At 23 years old, The Giant became the youngest WCW World Heavyweight Champion. The title was vacated one week later as a result of the controversial finish.^[6][8][9]

The Giant tried to reclaim the title at World War 3 but was foiled by Hogan, who helped Randy Savage win the vacant title.^[10][11] The Giant teamed with Ric Flair to defeat Hogan and Savage at Clash of the Champions XXXII,^[12] but was decisively beaten by Hogan in a Cage match at SuperBrawl VI.^[13][14]

After a short feud with Loch Ness,^[15][16] The Giant won the World Heavyweight Championship a second time by defeating Ric Flair.^[9] After Hogan formed the New World Order (nWo), he defeated The Giant for the Championship at Hog Wild following interference from Scott Hall and Kevin Nash.^[17][18] The Giant joined the nWo twenty three days later, citing Ted DiBiase's money as his primary motivation, feuding with Lex Luger and the Four Horsemen.^[6][8] The Giant was thrown out of the nWo on December 30 for asking Hogan for a World Heavyweight Championship title match. He fought against the nWo along with Sting and Lex Luger, winning the WCW World Tag Team Championship twice.^[6]

In 1997, The Giant began a feud with nWo member Kevin Nash, who constantly dodged Giant, failing to appear for their scheduled match at Starrcade. In 1998 at Souled Out the two finally met in the ring, with Nash accidentally injuring Wight's neck when he botched a Jackknife Powerbomb.^[19][20] When Nash left the nWo and formed his own stable, the nWo Wolfpac, The Giant rejoined the original nWo to oppose Nash and his allies. While back with the nWo, The Giant won two more Tag Team Championships, once with Sting as an unwilling partner (as the match was signed before The Giant returned to the nWo) and once with Scott Hall. In the interim between those two reigns, he lost his half of the Tag Team Championship to Sting in a singles match where only the winner would remain champion and choose a partner for the second half of the team.

On the October 11, 1998, episode of WCW Monday Nitro, Goldberg defeated The Giant in a no-disqualification match; in a show of strength, Goldberg executed a delayed vertical suplex before hitting the Jackhammer on The Giant.^[21][22][23] After the nWo Hollywood and the nWo Wolfpac merged together again in January 1999, Hogan declared that there was only room for one "giant" in the group, and forced Giant and Nash to wrestle for that spot. Nash defeated him following a run-in by Scott Hall and Eric Bischoff. The Giant was then attacked by the entire nWo. Wight allowed his WCW contract to expire on February 8, 1999 at his 27th birthday.

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment[link]

Debut and WWF Champion (1999–2000)[link]

Show entering arena on the SmackDown entrance way in 1999.

Wight signed a ten-year contract with the World Wrestling Federation on February 9, 1999,^[8] debuting as a villainous member of Vince McMahon's stable, The Corporation, at St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House. During the McMahon versus Steve Austin cage match, Wight tore through the canvas from underneath the ring and attacked Austin. However, Wight cost McMahon the match when he threw Austin into the side of the cage and the cage broke, spilling Austin outside to the floor and granting him the victory. Wight subsequently served as McMahon's enforcer.^[6]

Wight performed as "Big Nasty" Paul Wight for several weeks before being renamed "Big Show" Paul Wight.^{[8][not in citation given]} He then gradually dropped his real name, eventually being referred to simply as (The) Big Show. McMahon wanted to ensure that Corporation member The Rock would retain his title at WrestleMania, so he had Wight wrestle Mankind at WrestleMania XV for the right to referee the main event. Wight incapacitated Mankind, but got disqualified in the process, meaning that he could not be referee. Mankind won the right to be the official but was taken to a hospital following the match with Wight (although he eventually returned during the Championship match). After a furious McMahon slapped Wight, he punched McMahon. Wight concluded his feud with Foley in a Boiler Room Brawl before joining Mankind, Test, and Ken Shamrock in a stable known as The Union who fought against the Corporation, and later against The Corporate Ministry. On the May 10 episode of Monday Night Raw, Show was pitted against The Undertaker's manager Paul Bearer. On the June 7 episode of Raw, Big Show faced The Undertaker for the WWF Championship. Undertaker attempted a clothesline from the top turnbuckle, however Wight caught him and delivered a chokeslam, which sent Undertaker crashing through the ring mat; the referee was forced to stop the match so The Undertaker retained his title. Following the match Bradshaw, Faarooq, and Mideon all ran down to attack Big Show and were all subsequently chokeslammed as well. Big Show and The Undertaker later formed an unlikely alliance, wrestling against X-Pac and Kane. As a team, Show and The Undertaker won the WWF Tag Team Championship twice.^[6] After The Undertaker was sidelined with injuries, Big Show began a feud with the Big Boss Man. After it was announced that Big Show's father was terminally ill with cancer, the Boss Man had one of his crooked police colleagues inform Show that his father has died, and then mocked Show's tearful reaction. Several weeks later, when it was announced Big Show's father had actually died (in reality, Wight's father had died years before), the Boss Man interrupted the ten-bell toll by reciting an offensive poem. Later, Boss Man invaded the funeral and used a chain to couple the coffin to the hearse, towing the coffin away with a grief stricken Big Show clinging on to it. Big Show then took on Big Boss Man, Prince Albert, Mideon and Viscera at Survivor Series in a 4-on-1 elimination match. He eventually won the match after Big Boss Man left the match and was counted out. Later that night, Wight took the injured Steve Austin's place in the Triple Threat match for the WWF Championship. In that match, which also featured The Rock, he pinned Triple H to become WWF Champion.^[6][8] At Armageddon 1999, Show defeated Boss Man to retain his WWF Championship, despite interference by Prince Albert.^[24]

On the January 3, 2000 episode of Raw, Triple H defeated Show for the WWF Championship. Trying to regain the title, Wight participated in the Royal Rumble match where he antagonized The Rock. The Rock eliminated him to win the Royal Rumble. Wight was convinced that he had won, and eventually produced a video tape that showed The Rock's feet striking the ground first.^[6] He was then given a match with The Rock at No Way Out, with the WrestleMania title shot on the line. Wight defeated The Rock when Shane McMahon interfered, knocking The Rock out with a chair shot. Rock was desperate to reclaim his title shot, and eventually agreed to a match with Wight on the March 13 episode of Raw – if he won, the WrestleMania title match would become a Triple Threat match, and if he lost, he would retire from the WWF. Shane McMahon, now actively supporting Wight's bid to become champion, appointed himself as the special guest referee. However, The Rock triumphed when Vince McMahon assaulted Shane and donned the referee shirt, personally making the three count following a Rock Bottom.

On the March 20 episode of Raw, Triple H defended the title against The Rock and Wight on the condition that the match would not take place at WrestleMania, pinning Wight. Linda McMahon stated this match would not occur at WrestleMania as Triple H would defend the title there in a Fatal Four-Way Elimination match, with Mick Foley as the fourth man. Wight was the first man eliminated from the match at WrestleMania 2000 after the other three competitors worked together against him.^[6]

Various feuds, nWo and Championship reigns (2000–2004)[link]

Show competing for the Raw brand.

After WrestleMania, Big Show became a fan favorite again by starting a comical gimmick where he began mimicking other wrestlers, lampooning Rikishi as Showkishi, The Berzerker as Shonan the Barbarian, and Val Venis as The Big Showbowski. He defeated Kurt Angle at Backlash dressed like his friend and role model Hulk Hogan as the Showster, complete with skullcap/wig and yellow tights.^[6] Show began feuding with Shane McMahon after Shane voiced his disapproval of Big Show's antics. At Judgment Day 2000, Shane defeated Wight in a Falls Count Anywhere match following interference from Big Boss Man, Bull Buchanan, Test, and Albert.^[25] Wight returned two months later, apparently intending to gain revenge on Shane. Instead, he attacked The Undertaker thus siding with Shane once more, forming a short-lived stable known as "The Conspiracy" with Shane, Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, and Edge and Christian. After The Undertaker threw Show off a stage through a table, he was removed from WWF television for the remainder of the year. Big Show was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling, a WWF developmental territory, to lose weight and improve his cardiovascular fitness.^[6][8][26]

Show returned at the 2001 Royal Rumble, but was eliminated by The Rock.^[27] Angered by his quick elimination, Wight proceeded to chokeslam The Rock through the announcer's table before leaving the arena. He then began competing for the WWF Hardcore Championship, which he lost to Kane in a Triple Threat match that also included Raven at WrestleMania X-Seven.^[28]

Throughout The Invasion, Big Show remained loyal to the WWF, which made him a fan favorite again. He faced Shane McMahon, the on-screen owner of WCW, in a Last Man Standing match at Backlash and was defeated following interference from Test.^[29] Show was also part of the victorious Team WWF at Survivor Series, though he was the first man eliminated.^[30]