Posted in: The Classroom The Classroom - History Of: WrestleMania Part 24
By Sean Taylor
Mar 31, 2009 - 5:52:14 AM
“If Vince McMahon was God, he’d turn water into wine and you’d barely be able to see the edit.”
Ladies and gentlemen welcome to a landmark edition of The Classroom. I call it a landmark edition because it officially ends the longest series of columns I have ever written. Not just the longest but probably the most in-depth series I’ve ever done as well. I owe a debt of gratitude to all of my readers for making my columns so successful and I would like to thank everyone who sent me feedback. Whether you did it once or every single time I posted, know that your words kept me going. Thank you to all of you.
SPECIAL NOTE: Stay tuned after this column for a special announcement!
But we’re not even close to being done yet. Today, we’re going to be looking at the most recent annual pay-per-view spectacular, WrestleMania XXIV. From Orlando, Florida, the Citrus Bowl showcased nine matches over four hours of wrestling. Let’s take a look.
WrestleMania XXIV: The Biggest WrestleMania Under The Sun
Date: March 30, 2008
Venue: Citrus Bowl (Orlando, Florida)
Commentators: Jim Ross (Raw), Jerry “The King” Lawler (Raw), Michael Cole (SD), Johnathan Coachman (SD), Tazz (ECW), Joey Styles (ECW)
Attendance: 74,635
Theme songs: “Light It Up” by Rev Theory & “Snow (Hey Yo)” by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Being just the second WrestleMania event to take place outdoors, WrestleMania XXIV posed many issues technically that had to be addressed. Vince McMahon had announced that no matter what the weather would be, the show would go on. So a steel rig was constructed to encircle the ring. The structure served as a lighting rig, video screen holder, and roof to protect the ring from potential weather. The entrance set at the north end of the stadium was constructed in Belgium and then shipped to Orlando. 100 people worked to build the set working sixteen-hour days starting in mid-March. Pyrotechnics used that night shot up as high as 2,000 feet (610m) and cost around $300,000. In order to power all of production gimmicks for WrestleMania XXIV, the WWE used the stadium’s existing power grid and seven high-powered generators.
When the WWE came to Orlando, they once again set records with their five-day promotional campaign. Hundreds of jobs were created just to handle to the 60,000 plus visitors to the City of Orlando. $51.5 million (plus $1.8 million in taxes) was brought into the local Orlando economy. The actual WrestleMania XXIV event broke the previous year’s record for the highest-grossing pay-per-view in history earning nearly $6 million in ticket sales and close to $24 million in pay-per-view buys.
On March 29, 2008, as a part of the WrestleMania Weekend festivities, the 2008 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Amway Arena. It was the first time the Hall of Fame show was held inside an actual sports arena and allowed for the biggest audience of any Hall of Fame ceremony ever. That night eight of professional wrestling’s greatest legends were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. The list of inductees included Jack and Jerry, The Briscoe Brothers (inducted by JBL), Mae Young (inducted by Pat Patterson), Gordon Solie (inducted by Jim Ross, accepted by Gordon Solie’s children), Eddie Graham (inducted by Dusty Rhodes, accepted by Mike Graham), “Soulman” Rocky Johnson (inducted by “The Rock” Dwayne Johnson), “High Chief” Peter Maivia (inducted by “The Rock” Dwayne Johnson, accepted by Ata Maivia), and “Nature Boy” Ric Flair (inducted by Triple H).
Prior to WrestleMania XXIV going live across the world, the WWE held an interpromotional 24-man battle royal in which the winner would receive an ECW Championship match against champion Chavo Guerrero later in the night. Kane outlasted “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, Shannon Moore, Jimmy Wang Yang, Val Venis, Cody Rhodes, Hardcore Holly, Jesse & Festus, Stevie Richards, Jamie Noble, Tommy Dreamer, Kofi Kingston, Brian Kendrick, Great Khali, The Miz, Mark Henry, Deuce & Domino, Elijah Burke, Cade and Murdoch, Chuck Palumbo, and Snitsky to win the match. The battle royal was broadcasted live on WWE.com and later appeared as an extra when WrestleMania XXIV was released on DVD and – for the first time ever – on BluRay.
Texas vs Ireland
WrestleMania XXIV opened with a fly-by of the US Air Force followed by John Legend signing “America the Beautiful”
During the summer of 2007, it was revealed that Vince McMahon had sired an illegitimate son. When it was revealed that the son was midget wrestler Hornswoggle, McMahon did all he could to embarrass Hornswoggle just like he felt it was embarrassment to have him as a son. Humourous segments on Raw saw Hornswoggle outsmarting and humiliating Vince McMahon, William Regal, and various other WWE superstars. But on February 18, 2008, JBL interfered in a cage match between Vince and Hornswoggle causing Hornswoggle to suffer kayfabe injuries requiring surgery. Seven days later, JBL informed Vince that Hornswoggle was not his son but rather the son of SmackDown wrestler Fit Finlay. The next week, Finlay confirmed that Hornswoggle was his son and tricked McMahon because he wanted a great life for his son. JBL interrupted him by appearing on the TitanTron from the hospital where he attacked Hornswoggle in his hospital bed. Soon after, Finlay challenged JBL to a Belfast Brawl at WrestleMania XXIV, which JBL promptly accepted.
The Belfast Brawl came with the stipulations of no disqualifications and no count outs. The match was very aggressive and very hardcore. Trash cans, kendo sticks, and the ring’s steel steps were the weapons of choice. One of the more memorable spots came when, with JBL on the outside of the ring, Finlay dove through the top and second ropes but JBL met him with a trash can lid head shot. In the end, JBL hit Finlay with the Clothesline From Hell to win the match.
Straightedge Shocker
With the fourth Money In The Bank ladder match scheduled for WrestleMania XXIV, a series of qualifying matches were set up. On Raw, Jeff Hardy, Mr. Kennedy, and the recently returned Chris Jericho qualified by defeating Snitsky, Val Venis, and Jeff Hardy respectively. On SmackDown, Carlito and MVP qualified by defeating Cody Rhodes and Jamie Noble. ECW was the qualifying show for CM Punk and John Morrison who bested Big Daddy V and The Miz respectively. Jeff Hardy was taken out of the match on February 25th after testing positive for drugs during a Wellness Policy test. Instead of replacing Hardy in the match, the number of competitors was just reduced to seven.
The 2008 version of the Money In The Bank match was significantly faster paced than the previous year’s offering. The majority of the match actually took place on top of ladders as the combatants each tried numerous times to gain possession of the briefcase. The match also marked the return of Matt Hardy from injury. Matt had been feuding with MVP over MVP’s United States Championship for most of 2008 until Matt suffered a legitimate knee injury. In the end, CM Punk shocked everyone by pulling down the briefcase while Jericho was hung upside down on the opposite side of the ladder.
Legends And Backstage Fun-izzle
After the 2008 Hall of Fame inductees were introduced to the live crowd, cameras went backstage where Todd Grisham interviewed pop culture icon Snoop Dogg about his involvement as Master of Ceremonies for the Playboy Bunnymania match later that night. Snoop Dogg said he was having a great time and that he had made a friend in Festus. Comedic character Santino Marella interrupted Snoop Dogg and started making fun of him. Snoop Dogg reached behind him, pulled out a ring bell, and rang it, which awaken Festus who chased Santino away. When Grisham asked Snoop Dogg where he got the bell, Mick Foley appeared and started talking in Snoop-speak culminating with the line, “Have a nice dizzle!”
Animals Collide
When the Raw and SmackDown General Managers (William Regal and Vickie Guerrero) decided to chose one wrestler from their rosters to face each other at WrestleMania XXIV, they dubbed the match “The Battle For Brand Supremacy”. SmackDown Assistant General Manager Teddy Long chose “The Animal” Batista for his brand while Regal selected “The Samoan Bulldozer” Umaga. Umaga dominated most of the match but Batista overpowered him, hit his patented Batista Bomb finisher, and pinned Umaga for the win.
Let’s Hurry This Up. I’m Double Parked
After earning the right to challenge Chavo Guerrero for the ECW Championship earlier in the night, Kane snuck up behind Chavo and chokeslammed him. Kane immediately went for the cover and got the pinfall. The match lasted a total of eight seconds and set the WrestleMania record for being the fastest title match in history.
“I’m Sorry. I Love You.”
On November 26, 2007, Ric Flair appeared was rumoured to appear on Raw announcing his official retirement. Flair did appear on Raw but he passionately claimed that he loved the wrestling business and would “never retire”. Vince McMahon interrupted Flair and announced that the next time Flair lost a match; he would be forced to retire. Over the next three months, Flair’s winning streak included matches against Randy Orton, Triple H, Umaga, William Regal, Mr. Kennedy, and Vince McMahon. When Shawn Michaels announced that Ric Flair was being inducted into the Hall of Fame that year, Flair responded by challenging Michaels to a match at WrestleMania XXIV. Michael initially refused not wanting to be the man to retire “The Nature Boy”. But after further pleading from Flair, he accepted. Flair also said he didn’t want Michaels to go easy on him saying, “If I can’t beat the best, I don’t want my career to continue.” Michaels promised that Flair would get the “Mr. WrestleMania” version of Shawn Michaels. Michaels then compared Flair to Old Yeller and at WrestleMania XXIV, he would put Flair out of his misery.
The match at WrestleMania XXIV had a lot to live up to. Fans believed that this match would be an instant wrestling classic followed complete with emotional ending. The match delivered in spades. It started with Michaels and Flair taunting each other physically and verbally leading to very little commentary. While not getting hardcore, the action was aggressive and vicious. It was reminiscent of Flair’s matches in the 1980s with Dusty Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat, and Sting. No punch was pulled and each move was done to inflict as much pain as possible. Control of the match went back and forth with numerous near falls for both men until Michaels hits Flair with a surprise Superkick. Michaels crawled over to the corner of the ring and pulled himself to his feet. Flair began to stand slowly but called Michaels on with clenched fists. Michaels nodded, mouthed the words “I’m Sorry. I Love You”, and hit Flair with a final Superkick. After a three count, Michaels had won the match and Ric Flair’s thirty-five year career ended.
Michaels left the ring visibly upset that he had caused his mentor to retire. Flair was left alone in the ring while the 74,635 fans in attendance stood and applauded while chanting “Thank you Ric”. The standing ovation lasted for the entire duration of Flair’s solo walk to the entrance where he waved to the crowd one final time as an active in-ring competitor.
Playbizzle Bunnymizzle
In early 2008, Ashley Massaro returned to the WWE after an injury and approached fellow Diva Maria about posing for Playboy. Maria considered it much to the chagrin of Maria’s boyfriend, Santino Marella. Maria decided to pose for Playboy and at her cover’s unveiling, Santino posed an ultimatum – either she didn’t go through with the Playboy spread or else he would leave her. Maria wasted no time in dumping Santino on national television. Soon after, Maria and Ashley were booked to face Beth Phoenix and Melina (with Marella) in a Playboy Bunnymania Lumberjack Match at WrestleMania XXIV. Phoenix and Melina won the match when Phoenix pinned Maria but after the match, Master of Ceremonies Snoop Dogg hit Santino with a forearm and won a kiss from Maria.
Any NFL Team Looking For A Good Kicker?
On October 1, 2007, John Cena suffered a torn pectoral injury in a match against Mr. Kennedy forcing him to vacate the WWE Championship. At No Mercy, Vince McMahon handed the belt to Randy Orton making him the new champion. That night, he lost the belt to and then reclaimed the belt from Triple H, who had just returned from injury himself. Orton held onto the title through subsequent matches against Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Jeff Hardy. At the 2008 Royal Rumble, John Cena shocked the wrestling world with his surprise return entering at number thirty before becoming the second man to win the Rumble match when entering in the last spot.
Instead of waiting until WrestleMania XXIV for his shot, Cena challenged Orton to a WWE Championship match at No Way Out. Cena’s efforts were for naught though as Orton intentionally got himself disqualified in order to keep the title. Later that night, Triple H won a six-man Elimination Chamber match to determine the number one contender to the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XXIV. The match was set to be Orton defending against Triple H but Raw General Manager William Regal decided that, because of the faulty finish to the Cena/Orton match, Cena would be added to the title match making it a Triple Threat.
Before the match, the WWE asked fans to text message their vote as to who they thought was going to win the match. John Cena garnered the majority of the vote with 52% while Triple H was close behind with 40%. Orton appeared to be an underdog champion getting only 8% of the fans’ votes. Unlike many Triple Threat matches, the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania XXIV contained more time with all three men in the ring at the same time. Orton dominated early in the match aided by hitting both Cena and Triple H with a double-DDT off the second rope. With Orton incapacitated on the outside of the ring, Cena and Triple H fended off each other’s finisher attempts. When Triple H was finally able to drop Cena with the Pedigree, he made the cover but Orton swiftly came back in and punted Triple H in the head knocking him out. Orton dropped to cover Cena and the referee counted three. The underdog Orton won the match and quickly left the ring area with his WWE Championship.
The $20 Million Match
The Big Show returned the WWE at No Way Out after an absence of over a year. During his promo, Show threatened to chokeslam Rey Mysterio. Seeing this, Mysterio’s friend and undefeated WBC Welterweight Champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. jumped the barricade and attacked Show. Show pushed Mayweather’s bodyguards back and dropped to his knees offering Mayweather a free shot. Mayweather took three shots and legitimately broke Show’s nose. Soon after, Show challenged Mayweather to a one-on-one match at WrestleMania 24, which Mayweather accepted. Rumours spread about Mayweather making a reported $20 million for the match. The rumours were later confirmed around the same time that the WWE announced that the match would be contested under the stipulation of “Anything Goes”.
The match ended up being better than many fans thought it would be. Although he was supposed to be the heel in the match, Mayweather’s cocky attitude and tendency to flash his money around caused the fans to cheer for Big Show instead. While Mayweather dodged Show’s attacks early on, Show eventually caught Mayweather and began to beat him down. Mayweather’s manager tried to take his charge out of the match but Show chased them down, knocking over his bodyguards, and brought Mayweather back to the ring. Mayweather eventually turned the tide and using chair shots and a brass knuckle assisted punch, knocked out the Big Show to the point where he couldn’t answer the standing ten count.
Streak vs Streak/Title
After WrestleMania XXIV’s hostess, television personality Kim Kardashian, announced the official record-breaking attendance number, it was time for the main event. After defeating Mr. Kennedy for this Money In The Bank title shot, Edge cashed it in and defeated The Undertaker for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on the May 8th episode of SmackDown. After suffering a pectoral injury, Edge was forced to vacate the title. At Survivor Series 2007, Edge cost the Undertaker his title shot against then-champion Batista during a Hell in a Cell match. A month later, Edge defeated Batista and The Undertaker in a Triple Threat Match to become the new World Heavyweight Champion. The Undertaker would go on to win an Elimination Chamber match at No Way Out 2008 to earn a title shot at WrestleMania XXIV.
By this time, Edge was aligned SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero announcing that they were in love. He also aligned himself with Chavo Guerrero and the tag team of Hawkins & Ryder. The group was called La Familia and together helped Edge get the upper hand on The Undertaker week after week building to WrestleMania XXIV. Edge claimed that he too was undefeated at WrestleMania (not counting the previous year because he was medically taken out) and therefore was the only man who could end Undertaker’s streak. Edge further taunted the Undertaker with a mock funeral for him and his streak. Undertaker attempted to attack Edge during the funeral but Hawkins & Ryder assisted Edge in beating down the Deadman just three days prior to WrestleMania XXIV.
When match time came around, Undertaker appeared to be out for blood. Utilizing a mixture of classic and newer maneuvers, Undertaker dominated most of the match. Edge took control initially with a low blow and then took Undertaker to the outside a suplexed him into the front row of the audience. Back in the ring, Edge continued the assault by locking Undertaker in a leglock submission hold. Undertaker would come back but Edge caused him to accidentally knocking out referee Jimmy Korderas. Edge went to the outside and grabbed a television camera and nailed Undertaker in the head. While Edge attempted to revive the referee, Undertaker sat up and hit Edge with a Tombstone. Referee Charles Robinson ran full-tilt to the ring to make the count but enough time passed to allow Edge to kick out. Hawkins & Ryder tried to interfere but were stopped by the Undertaker but when he turned around he was met with a Spear from Edge. Edge attempted a second Spear but Undertaker put him in his new Gogoplata submission hold. Edge struggled to reach the ropes and when he failed to do so, he had no choice but to tap out. Undertaker won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and improved his WrestleMania undefeated streak to 16-0.
While the Undertaker celebrated in the ring, fireworks filled the sky. Unfortunately, one of the fireworks rig set up in the upper level of the stadium malfunctioned causing fireworks to be shot into the audience. Forty attendees were injured but the WWE agreed to pay for any medical bills stemming from the injuries.
SERIES CONCLUSION
Since 1985, WrestleMania has been the biggest wrestling event of the calendar year. Any wrestling fan – whether they are devoted fans of WWE, WCW, TNA, or ROH and the independents – either tune in or read the results of WrestleMania each and every year. It is the wrestling event that has set attendance and pay-per-view buy rate records that still stand to this day. Each year, wrestlers all over the world strive to gain even just a one-minute spot on a WrestleMania card – and if they don’t, they’re in the wrong business. And although, sometimes WrestleMania produces moments that fans would rather forget, most often than not, WrestleMania engraves moments that live in the memories and hearts of wrestling fans worldwide.
The biggest names of professional wrestling have all had their WrestleMania Moment. Who will ever forget when they watched Hulk Hogan slamming Andre the Giant, Shawn Michaels achieving his boyhood dream, or “Stone Cold” Steve Austin ushering in the Attitude Era. Fans will always shed a tear when they relive watching Randy Savage finally coming back to the arms of Elizabeth, two lifelong friends hugging amidst a flurry of confetti, or a true legend walking out of the ring for the very last time. Whatever the moment that sticks in our minds, it is all because of the single greatest wrestling event ever produced. It is historical, it is magical, it is . . .
. . . WrestleMania.
That’s it, folks. Thank you again for coming on this journey with me. This has been the longest, most detailed, and most fun series I’ve written in the short time I’ve been writing for LOP. I truly hope you all enjoyed it and, once again, I’d love to hear your thoughts. You can email me here or if you’re a member of the Columns Forum, drop a note here. I’m still unsure what the nest History Of series will be and I’m still accepting ideas. Once again, thank you sincerely for joining me on this epic series. I truly hope you’ve enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.
Pop Quiz
The answers to the last quiz were:
1) Who appeared in a backstage segment with Donald Trump and former Miss USA Tara Conner? Boogeyman and Little Boogeyman
2) Batista’s nickname was “The Animal”. Name two other WrestleMania alumni shared the same nickname? George “The Animal” Steele and “The Animal” Brock Lesnar
3) Had Triple H appeared at WrestleMania he would have tied the record for most consecutive WrestleMania appearances with 12. Whose record would he have tied? Bret “The Hitman” Hart
Now, being that this is the final column of this series, I don’t have any pop quiz questions this time around but I do have a Homework Assignment for you. I want to compile a list of the greatest WrestleManias so…. Rank your top ten favourite WrestleManias of all time, send them to me, and I’ll announce the definitive Classroom list in my next column in a about a week or so.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
What? There’s more? Yes, my faithful students, there is. As a special thank you to everyone who reads my columns I invite you back to the Columns section of lordsofpain.net at around 9:30-10pm EST Tuesday, March 31, 2009 for a special edition of The Classroom that will blow your socks off. Oh ho, the tension is rising! I can’t wait!
