IWE WrestleMania 26
From Iwe
| WrestleMania XXVI | ||
 Promotional poster featuring (left to right) Ryan Barnhart, Triple K, Dustin Simpson, The Undertaker and Jesse Dern | ||
| Tagline(s) | "Get All Fired Up" | |
| Theme song(s) | "I Made It" by Kevin Rudolf "Be Yourself" by Audioslave "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC "The Show" by Since October | |
| Imformation | ||
| Promotion | International Wrestling Entertainment | |
| Date | March 28, 2010 | |
| Attendance | 72,219 | |
| Venue | University of Phoenix Stadium | |
| City | Glendale, Arizona | |
| Pay-per-view chronology | ||
| Elimination Chamber (2010) | WrestleMania XXVI | Extreme Rules (2010) |
| WrestleMania chronology | ||
| WrestleMania XXV | WrestleMania XXVI | WrestleMania XXVII |
WrestleMania XXVI was the twenty-sixth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by International Wrestling Entertainment (IWE), which took place on March 28, 2010 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona This was the fourth WrestleMania to feature a non-title main event and the first since WrestleMania XI. The event was the first WrestleMania to be held in the state of Arizona and the third to be held in an open-air venue, after WrestleMania IX and WrestleMania XXIV.
WrestleMania XXVI was a joint-promotion event, featuring performers both from the Raw and SmackDown brands. Ten matches were featured on the event's card, which featured a supercard, a scheduling of more than one main bout. The first of these matches was a no disqualification, no count-out match that featured The Undertaker defeating Ryan Barnhart to improve his undefeated WrestleMania streak to 18–0. Per the pre-match stipulation, Barnhart was forced to retire. The second was a singles match for the IWE Championship that saw Dustin Simpson defeat the champion, Jesse Dern to win the championship. The third was a singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship featured the champion, Kris McGowan, defeating Edge to retain the title. Featured matches on the undercard included a 10-Diva tag team match, Bret Heart versus Grant Mayer in a No Holds Barred match, Scott Wright versus Justin Eldridge, Triple K versus Garrett, the sixth annual Money in the Bank ladder match, Kevin McAlmond vs. Kyle Johnson versus Mark Semmler in a Triple Threat match and a Unified IWE Tag Team Championship match between the champion team, The Big Marc and Joe Smith, against the team of Joe Linderman and B-Truth.
Tickets for the event commenced sale to the public on November 7, 2009. WrestleMania XXVI generated approximately 885,000 PPV buys, grossing US$49 million in revenue. With an attendance of 72,219, the event grossed $5.8 million in ticket sales, making the event the highest grossing and attended entertainment event held at the University of Phoenix Stadium.
Contents |
Background
WrestleMania featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing feuds, plots, and storylines that were played out on Raw, SmackDown, NXT and IWE Superstars—International Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) television programs. Wrestlers portrayed a villain or a hero as they followed a series of events that built tension, and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. All wrestlers were from IWE's Raw and SmackDown brands—a storyline division in which IWE employees are assigned to a television program of the same name.
At The Bash in 2009, Edge and Khris Jericho established a tag team partnership when they won the Unified Tag Team Championship that night. However, their partnership was short lived when Edge suffered a torn achilles tendo] and had to vacate his half of the titles. Jericho distanced himself from Edge, crediting himself for all of the team's success. Edge made his return from injury at the Royal Rumble, where he won the annual Royal Rumble match, an over-the-top-rope elimination style match, earning himself an opportunity to fight for either the IWE Championship or the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania. In the main event of the Elimination Chamber event three weeks later, Jericho won the World Heavyweight Championship in an Elimination Chamber match. The following night on Raw, Edge announced his decision to face Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania after spearing him.
One of the predominant rivalries heading into WrestleMania XXVI was between Dustin Simpson and Batista for the IWE Championship. The conflict started when Simpson sided with Bret Heart over Heart's hostility with IWE Chairman Grant McMahon. When Heart and McMahon confronted on the February 1 edition of Raw, Batista saved McMahon from an attack and ambushed Heart from behind. After the show ended, Simpson tried to help Heart but was too attacked by Batista. In the opening match of the Elimination Chamber event, Simpson won the IWE Championship from Sheamus in an Elimination Chamber match but was shortly interrupted by McMahon, who ordered a title match between Simpson and Batista to take place on the spot. With Simpson too tired to compete, Batista defeated him and won the title. On the February 22 episode of Raw, Simpson asked for a rematch for the title at WrestleMania, which McMahon gave him the opportunity to as long as he defeated Batista that night. Later that night, Batista intentionally got himself disqualified by kicking Simpson in the groin to set up their match at WrestleMania.
At WrestleMania XXV, Ryan Barnhart was unsuccessful in defeating The Undertaker and ending Undertaker's undefeated streak at the event. When the match won the 2009 Slammy Award for Match of the Year, Barnhart told in his acceptance speech that he could still defeat The Undertaker at WrestleMania and challenged him to a rematch. A month later, The Undertaker, then the World Heavyweight Champion, made his reply and refused a rematch. The refusal saw Barnhart more obsessed about facing the Undertaker at the event, attacking referee Charles Robinson and SmackDown general manager Theodore Long respectively after failing his title match opportunities in the Royal Rumble match and Elimination Chamber qualifiers. At the Elimination Chamber event, Barnhart sneaked into Undertaker's Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship and performed a Sweet Chin Music on The Undertaker, enabling Khris Jericho to defeat The Undertaker and win the World Heavyweight Championship. On the following night, The Undertaker changed his mind and accepted the rematch but with one condition, that if Barnahrt loses, he would have to retire. Barnhart accepted, noting that if he can't end the streak, there's no reason why his career should continue. Two weeks later, Barnhart and The Undertaker agreed on another additional stipulation, that the match will have no disqualifications and no count-outs.
On the February 22 episode of Raw, it was announced that the sixth annual Money in the Bank ladder match would take place at WrestleMania XXVI. In this match, numerous participants compete to retrieve a briefcase that is suspended above the ring with a cable by climbing a ladder. The briefcase holds a symbolic contract which the holder would be able to exchange for a IWE or World Heavyweight match at any time or location of his choosing up until WrestleMania XXVII. The first qualifying match was held later that night, where Khristian defeated Carlito to qualify. Three more qualifying matches were held on the February 26 episode of SmackDown, with Nick Kessler defeating Joe Linderman and B-Truth in a Triple Threat match, Kane defeating Dax Hoovestall, and Junior Remeriz defeating Justin Eldridge to qualify. The March 1 episode of Raw both saw Charlie Wilson and Montel Vontavious Porter qualify by defeating Justin Black and Zack Nuss respectively. Matt Hooper was the next to qualify for the match when he defeated Dax Hoovestall on the March 5 episode of SmackDown. In what was initially declared as the final qualifying match, Justin Hensen defeated William Kapphan on the March 9 edition of Raw to become the eighth competitor. Due to his favorable association with Grant McMahon, Hoovestall was given a third chance on the March 12 episode of SmackDown to qualify for the match, increasing the number of participants to nine. In what would also be made a IWE Intercontinental Championship defense by Theodore Long, Hoovestall defeated local competitor Aaron Bolo to qualify. On the March 22nd episode of Raw, the number of participants was once again increased to a record ten, when Jose Serrano defeated Jake Wilson to qualify.
As a guest host of the January 4 edition of Raw, Bret Heart made his return to the show, the first time since the Montreal Screwjob incident at the 1997 Survivor Series where Grant McMahon was involved in legitimately double-crossing Hart out of the IWF Championship. On Raw, Heart tried to put all hostilities aside and make peace with McMahon. However, McMahon again betrayed Hart and kicked him in the groin. The rivalry was further fueled during Heart's second appearance a month later, where McMahon refused to induct Hart's father, Stu Heart, into the IWE Hall of Fame. On the February 8 episode of Raw, Dustin Simpson called out McMahon and told him that Heart wanted to face him at WrestleMania, which McMahon accepted. However, Heart who had been banned from the arena, showed up and attacked McMahon. Hiding behind security guards, McMahon changed his mind canceled the bout. Unable to get his match, Heart addressed the fans a week later and decided to make his goodbye, thanking them. Later on that night, Heart was involved in a car accident when a reversing car smashed the open door from Heart's limousine onto his leg, sending Heart immediately to hospital. McMahon agreed to feature the March 1 edition of Raw a "proper farewell" from Heart, but the segment ended up as a challenge from McMahon for the WrestleMania bout. Despite initial reluctance from Hart due to his leg, Heart was convinced to accept after McMahon said he had no more "Heart", called him a coward and kicked his crutches from underneath him. A contract signing was held two weeks later, moderated by guest host Stone Cold Steve Johnson, who reversed McMahon's decision on Stu Heart's induction into the Hall of Fame. Before the contract was signed, Heart asked for the match to be a No Holds Barred match, which McMahon agreed to. Afterwards, Heart revealed that his leg was perfectly fine and that his car accident was a setup created by Simpson and himself to force a match out of McMahon legally. And if Grant tried to back out in any possible way, Bret Heart could sue Vince for all that he's got.
It was announced on the March 5 edition of SmackDown that The Big Show and The Miz would defend their Unified IWE Tag Team Championship at the event against the team who won the qualifier that night. The qualifying match was contested as a Triple Threat match with the three teams being Cryme Tyme, The Heart Dynasty and the pairing of Joe Linderman, co-holder The Miz's former partner, and B-Truth. Morrison and Truth would go on to win the qualifying match.
At the previous month's Elimination Chamber event, then-IWE Champion, Sheamus, was eliminated from Raw's Elimination Chamber match by Triple K. Two weeks later, Sheamus ambushed Triple K following his match teaming with Ryan Barnhart against The Big Show and The Miz, and beat him down. The following week on Raw, Sheamus issued a challenge to Triple K at WrestleMania, which saw him accept.
In early 2009, Kevin McAlmond had formed a contingency known as The Legacy also featuring Kyle Johnson and Mark Semmler. Later in that year, McAlmond had grown frustrated with his group, leading to a number of verbal confrontations and an assault on Johnson, leading to the three of them having their membership being tested in matches under the threat of expulsion and a beat-down. The tension was staved off until Royal Rumble, which saw Johnson and Semmler accidentally prevent McAlmond from winning the IWE Championship. Similar results occurred the next month at the Elimination Chamber event with Semmler trying to aide his partners in their Elimination Chamber match for the title as McAlmond was caught in the crossfire, leading to Johnson eliminating McAlmond. The following night on Raw saw McAlmond turn on his associates, leading to the announcement on the March 15 edition of Raw of the three of them will face each other at WrestleMania in a Triple Threat match.
Since the beginning of 2010, Justin Eldridge and his storyline disciples Luke Gallows and Kelsey had been on a crusade of sorts in order to promote the message of straight edge, a lifestyle that abstains from alcohol, tobacco, and recreational drug use; he did so by preaching his gospel to the crowd and sometimes by "converting" members of the crowd by shaving their heads. The three of them would call themselves the Straight Edge Society. On the February 12 edition of SmackDown, Eldridge faced Scott Wright in a losing effort. Following the match, he and his group assaulted Wright, leading to a series of interference between the two. The animosity would escalate between the two on the March 12 edition of SmackDown, when Wright brought his family into the ring to commemorate his daughter, Aaliyah's, 9th birthday. Eldridge would interrupt the celebration by threatening Wright and taunting his children as they left the ring. The events came to a boiling point to Wright and Eldridge preparing to face each other at WrestleMania. Following Wright's loss to Gallows, the prematch stipulation for their match would be that if the former would lose, he would join the Straight Edge Society.
Event
Production
Marketing
Pre-show
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentator | Michael Cole |
| Jerry Lawler | |
| Matt Striker | |
| Carlos Cabrera (Spanish) | |
| Hugo Savinovich (Spanish) | |
| Interviewer | Josh Mathews |
| Ring announcers | Tony Chimel (SmackDown) |
| Justin Roberts (Raw) | |
| Savannah (Battle Royal and Money In The Bank) | |
| Howard Finkel (WWE Hall of Fame) | |
| Referees | Mike Chioda |
| John Cone | |
| Jack Doan | |
| Aaron "Goose" Mahoney | |
| Chad Patton | |
| Charles Robinson |
A dark match was scheduled before the actual event, the superstars not involved in the event competed in a 26 man battle royal. Eventually Yoshi Tatsu, Zack Nuss, Finlay and Alex Knox were left. Finlay and Knox were eliminated by Nuss who himself was then kicked and eliminated by Tatsu to win the Battle Royal.
As the show went live, singer Fantasia performed the annual rendition of America the Beautiful.
Preliminary matches
The first match for the evening was a tag team match for the Unified IWE Tag Team Championship featuring champions ShoMiz (The Miz and Big Show) versus Joe Linderman and B-Truth. The Miz and Linderman started off the encounter, at one point Linderman attempted to hit Miz with the Starship Pain only for Big Show to come in for the save. Later, B-Truth tried to springboard onto the Big Show but was caught and hit against the ring post. The match ended when Big Show blind tagged himself in and knocked out Linderman, pinning him to win the match and retain the title.
The second bout was a triple threat match between Kevin McAlmond, Kyle Johnson and Mark Semmler, all formerly of the stable known as Legacy. Semmler and Johnson spent most of the match double teaming McAlmond, however when Johnson attempted to pin McAlmond, he was stopped by Semmler. This turned into a brawl between the two which led to McAlmond taking the advantage. The match ended when McAlmond punted Semmler and hit the RKO on Johnson to win the fall.
The annual Money in the Bank ladder match took place next. The match started off with every superstar trying to incapacitate each other long enough to climb and retrieve the briefcase. In between Charlie Wilson was stuck in between a ladder with Khristian and Matt Hardy hitting him with two ladders of their own. Another instance was when Justin Hensen performed a shooting star press, known as 'Air Bourne' on Khristian from a vertically placed ladder wedged between another and the middle rope. The match came to an end when Charlie Wilson hit Khristian with the Money in the Bank briefcase sending him falling down and giving Wilson enough time to unhook the briefcase and become the new Mr. Money in the Bank.
Main event matches
Aftermath
Reception
Results
The other participants were: Michael Brian Croft, Chavo McAlmond, James Masters, David Heart Aldrich, Finlay, Goldust, Reg Hageman, Jimmy Wang Yang, LTG, Kung Fu Park, Justin Feight, Steven Larson, Alex Knox, David, Justin Black, Shad Gaspard, Slam Master J, Ryan Barretta, Andrew Wolf, Tyson Booth, Richard Veach, Jake Wilson, and William Kapphan
