WrestleMania XXIV

Wrestlemania Background

After John Cena made his return to the WWE and won the 2008 Royal Rumble match entering at the #30 spot, he decided to challenge Randy Orton for the WWE Championship at No Way Out instead of WrestleMania. During the match, Orton slapped the referee to get himself intentionally disqualified and retain the WWE Championship. Also at No Way Out, Triple H defeated five other competitors in an Elimination Chamber match to earn a WWE Championship match against Orton at WrestleMania. The night after No Way Out on RAW, Cena argued that he deserved another shot at the WWE Championship due to the way his match with Orton ended. The General Manager of RAW William Regal then announced that Cena would face Orton in the main event later in the night with the stipulation being if Cena won, he would be added to the WrestleMania match, changing it to a Triple Threat match, but if Orton won, the main event would stay as Orton defending against Triple H. Regal also announced Triple H as the Special Guest Referee for the match. Cena won the match after an FU to Orton. After the match, Triple H delivered a Pedigree to both Cena and Orton and posed with the WWE Championship.

On the heels of William Regal announcing an Elimination Chamber match at No Way Out to determine the No. 1 Contender to the WWE Championship, Theodore Long announced another Elimination Chamber match to determine the No. 1 Contender to the World Heavyweight Championship. The Undertaker won the Elimination Chamber to earn a title match against Edge at WrestleMania.

At No Way Out, The Big Show made a surprise return to the company. In his return promo, Big Show threatened to give Rey Mysterio a Chokeslam. Professional boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr., who was in attendance and a close friend of Mysterio's, came to his aid and confronted Big Show. Big Show then got on his knees to allow Mayweather to punch him, which Mayweather did, by hitting him with a combination of punches, which caused Big Show to bleed from the nose and mouth. The following night on RAW, The Big Show challenged Mayweather to a match, which Mayweather accepted.

On the February 25 edition of RAW, 2008 WWE Hall of Fame Inductee Ric Flair challenged Shawn Michaels to a match at WrestleMania, which the latter accepted after some reluctance, knowing that Flair's career will be on the line. Flair also said that "it would be an honor for him to retire at the hands of Shawn Michaels."

Also, on the February 25 edition of RAW, the RAW General Manager William Regal was "sent a letter" by the SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero, issuing a challenge to him for an interpromotional "RAW vs. SmackDown" match at WrestleMania XXIV, with each brand selecting one superstar to represent it. Regal accepted and chose Umaga to represent RAW at WrestleMania XXIV. On the February 29 edition of SmackDown, Batista was chosen as the SmackDown representative by Vickie Guerrero against Umaga at WrestleMania XXIV.

On February 18, WWE announced via its website that the fourth annual Money in the Bank ladder match would take place at WrestleMania XXIV, with superstars competing from RAW, SmackDown and ECW. The winner will 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) at anytime and any place over a one-year period. Qualifying matches occurred to determine the participants in the match.

On the March 11 edition of ECW, ECW General Manager Armando Estrada announced a twenty-four man battle royal at WrestleMania XXIV with the winner going on to face ECW Champion Chavo Guerrero for the ECW Championship following the battle royal. The first announced participant is The Great Khali

Celebrities appearing at the event will include Kim Kardashian, Snoop Dogg, John Legend and Raven-Symone. Kardashian will serve as the show's guest hostess, Legend will sing "America the Beautiful" at the start of the show, while Snoop Dogg will serve as the Master of Ceremonies for the Playboy BunnyMania match.

"Money in the Bank" qualifying matches

• Jeff Hardy defeated Snitsky on the February 18 edition of RAW.
  • Hardy was later removed from the match after being legitimately suspended by WWE for violation of the company's wellness policy.
• Mr. Kennedy defeated Val Venis on the February 18 edition of RAW.^[
• Shelton Benjamin defeated Jimmy Wang Yang on the February 22 edition of SmackDown.
• Chris Jericho defeated Jeff Hardy on the February 25 edition of RAW.^[
• Carlito defeated Cody Rhodes on the March 3 edition of RAW.
• Montel Vontavious Porter defeated Jamie Noble at the March 8 SmackDown/ECW house show.
• CM Punk defeated Big Daddy V on the March 11 edition of ECW.
• John Morrison vs. The Miz - Scheduled for the March 14 edition of SmackDown.