WrestleMania XXV (also marketed as "The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania") was the twenty-fifth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which took place on April 5, 2009 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. The event featured talent from all three WWE brands: Raw, SmackDown, and ECW. It was the second WrestleMania to be held in Houston, with the first being WrestleMania X-Seven at the Reliant Astrodome, which was held in 2001.

Eight matches were held on the event's card, which featured a supercard, a scheduling of more than one main bout. The first of these matches was a singles match for the WWE Championship that featured the champion, Triple H, defeating Randy Orton to retain the title. The second was a Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship, which saw John Cena defeat the champion, Edge, and the third participant in the match, The Big Show, to win the championship. The third main event was The Undertaker versus Shawn Michaels. Featured matches on the undercard included, Jeff Hardy versus Matt Hardy in an Extreme Rules match, Chris Jericho versus the team of Roddy Piper, Ricky Steamboat and Jimmy Snuka, and the annual Money in the Bank ladder match.

John Felix Anthony Cena (/ˈsiːnə/; born April 23, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its Raw brand.

In WWE, Cena has won 19 championships in total, including 12 world titles (having won the WWE Championship a record 10 times and the World Heavyweight Championship twice). In addition, Cena has also won the WWE United States Championship three times, and is a four-time Tag Team Champion, having held the World Tag Team Championship twice (once each with Shawn Michaels and Batista), and the WWE Tag Team Championship twice (once each with David Otunga and The Miz). Cena also won the 2008 Royal Rumble match, and is a two-time Superstar of the Year Slammy Award winner (2009 and 2010). He also has the fourth highest number of combined days as WWE Champion behind Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan and Bruno Sammartino.

Cena started his professional wrestling career in 2000, wrestling for Ultimate Pro Wrestling, where he held the UPW Heavyweight Championship. In 2001, Cena signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) where he held the OVW Heavyweight Championship and the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (with Rico Constantino).

Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is a retired professional wrestler, and an American television host. He is currently signed to WWE, where he has served as an ambassador for the company since December 2010. Hickenbottom consistently wrestled for WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), from 1988 until his first retirement in 1998, due to injury. He appeared in non-wrestling roles from 1998 to 2000, and resumed his in-ring career in 2002, retiring in 2010. He also hosts the show MacMillan River Adventures, airing on the Outdoor Channel.

Hickenbottom began his wrestling career with Mid-South Wrestling, now known as Universal Wrestling Federation, and American Wrestling Association (AWA). During his time with AWA, he performed in partnership with Marty Jannetty, as The Midnight Rockers; winning the AWA World Tag Team Championship twice. Hickenbottom and Jannetty briefly signed with World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1987, while in contract with AWA. They returned to AWA, only to go back to the WWF in 1988.