WrestleMania XXIV 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 . This was the first WrestleMania to be broadcast in HD . It was also the second WrestleMania event to be held at an outdoor venue , with the first being WrestleMania IX . 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 . WWE and the City of Orlando hosted festivities that spanned a five - day period within the central Florida region . 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 . The Central Florida Sports Commission reported that the event created jobs and brought approximately 60 , 000 visitors to the city . Over one million people ordered the event on pay - per - view , grossing $ 23 . 8 million in revenue . Background . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . The Undertaker won the match by last eliminating Batista . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . At No Way Out , The Big Show made a return to the company after taking time off for injuries beginning in December 2006 . 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 . The following night on " Raw " , the Big Show challenged Mayweather to a wrestling match , which Mayweather accepted . 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 . 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 . Flair said that " it would be an honor for [ him ] to retire at the hands of Shawn Michaels . " 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 . Event . Production . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . The final design had the lighting and video screens on the tarpaulin rig , as well as the sound system . 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 . 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 . The steel beams for the structure were custom built in Belgium and shipped over to Orlando . According to " WWE Magazine " , the amount of pyrotechnics used would be ten times that of the amount used on " Raw " . Without the restriction of a roof , the pyrotechnics for the show shot as high as 2 , 000 feet ( 610m ) as compared to WrestleMania 23 ' s height of 150 feet ( 46m ) . 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 . 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 , 700m2 ) mini - city outside the north end served as the show ' s backstage area and included air conditioning , trailers , VIP areas , showers and restrooms . As a consequence , the road next to the north end zone , W . Church Street , was closed down until a day after the event . Numerous other roads were also closed to allow trucks and fork lifts to move in mega equipment for the event . The ring itself was built on the 50 - yard line of the Citrus Bowl to give the best view for fans . Heavy - duty plastic flooring had been put over the field , to protect the turf , provide seating , and serve as the steel structures ' foundation . Development on the set design began in the middle of 2007 . 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 . 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 . 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 ) . Pre - 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 . The event officially began with John Legend singing a rendition of " America the Beautiful . " Preliminary matches . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . Kane instantly pinned Chavo after a chokeslam and won the ECW Championship in eight seconds . This was the only ECW match on the PPV . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 Diva s surrounded the ring and were able to interfere in the match without disqualifications . Due to some technical difficulties , the lights at Citrus Bowl temporarily went out during the match . 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 . Main event matches . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 other ' s maneuvers . During the match , Undertaker ran and lept over the top rope from the ring onto Edge on the outside . 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 . 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 . Aftermath . 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 . WWE ' s corporate website released a statement afterward stating that they would investigate the incident , though the results of the investigation were never released . 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 . 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 . 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 . Michaels won with a superkick . 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 . 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 . 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 . Beth Phoenix resumed her feud with Mickie James , which included James defeating Phoenix to win her fourth WWE Women ' s Championship on the April 14 edition of " Raw " . After James ' celebration with the babyface Divas was interrupted by Phoenix and the heel Divas , a 12 - Diva tag team match took place at Backlash , with Phoenix ' s team winning . Reception . 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 . 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 . DVD / Blu - ray release . 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 .