For the third consecutive year, WrestleMania broke the record for the highest-grossing pay-per-view in WWE history, grossing US$6.9 million in ticket sales, which included fans from all 50 U.S. states, 24 countries, and seven Canadian provinces.

[13] Tickets for WrestleMania 25 were originally scheduled to go on sale September 20, 2008, but had to be postponed out of concern for the residents near the Gulf of Mexico due to Hurricane Ike and the disaster area declaration by Texas Governor Rick Perry.

[14][15] The official theme songs for the event were AC/DC's "War Machine" and their live version of "Shoot to Thrill",[16] as well as "So Hott" by Kid Rock.

The campaign also saw WWE mail to previous purchasers of WrestleMania, professional boxing and mixed martial arts pay-per-views to order their show.

For the second consecutive year, WrestleManiArt, an art exhibition and auction featuring work by WWE wrestlers and local artists, was held at the Julia Ideson Building on April 1, with the proceeds going to Houston Public Library Foundation.

[26] John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) defeated CM Punk on the March 9 episode of Raw to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship.

Per the traditional stipulation of the match, Orton was given the opportunity to choose to wrestle for the WWE, World Heavyweight, or ECW Championship at WrestleMania.

During this conflict, Orton punted both Vince and Shane McMahon (father and son, respectively) in the head as well as RKO-ing Stephanie McMahon (Vince's daughter), which enraged the WWE Champion (and Stephanie's husband)[32] Triple H.[28] On the March 2 episode of Raw, Triple H convinced Orton to use his title opportunity in a match for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.

After the main event of the March 2 episode of Raw, SmackDown general manager Vickie Guerrero announced that her husband Edge would defend his World Heavyweight Championship against Big Show at WrestleMania.

It was soon revealed that the match would involve the new challenger based on Cena extorting Guerrero with footage of the general manager having adulterous relations with Big Show.

With all that misdirected hostility focused on Cena, who could not touch Vickie or he would sacrifice his World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania, a lopsided confrontation seemed inevitable.

The briefcase holds a symbolic contract which the holder would be able to exchange for a WWE, World Heavyweight, or ECW Championship match at any time or location of his choosing up until one year.

[41] After their loss, Miz and Morrison proceeded to harass their defeaters on their weekly Internet show, the Dirt Sheet, as well as profess the brothers' impotence towards their associates, The Bella Twins.

On the February 9 episode of Raw, Ric Flair appeared to protest Jericho's tirades, professing that the wrestlers should be respected, as they had paved the way for the future generations to make a living, leading to a heated exchange between the two.

Although Flair declined (honoring his retirement from active competition), he offered to be in the corner of Piper, Steamboat, and Snuka for their challenge against Jericho in a handicap match.

[50] The Money in the Bank ladder match was the start of the event as the participants: CM Punk, Kane, Mark Henry, MVP, Shelton Benjamin, Kofi Kingston, Christian, and Finlay, fought for the briefcase that was suspended over the ring.

Santino Marella, who portrayed a diva called "Santina", his twin sister, won the match and was crowned "Miss WrestleMania".

Mae Young acted as the special guest timekeeper of the match while Candice Michelle was the one who gave the sash and crown to Santina.

Jeff, seeking to end the match, attempted to set up a ladder for him to ascend while he would perform a maneuver similar to a leapfrog over the hurdle, and diving down in a seated position known as a leapfrog leg drop, ultimately missing his target, due to Matt's last-minute dodge, which resulted in Matt gaining the advantage over his brother.

But once the referee started the match, Mysterio surprised JBL by quickly executing the 619 before pinning him for a win via pinfall in twenty-two seconds.

Michaels made his entrance descending on a platform to symbolize the light; in sharp contrast, The Undertaker entered second, ascending from the floor with fire shooting up from the stage.

The World Heavyweight Championship was contested for in a Triple Threat match between the champion, Edge, Big Show, and John Cena, who entered through an aisle of look-alikes to start the match; Vickie Guerrero was brought out to ringside in a wheelchair by Chavo Guerrero Jr. due to her emotional investment in both Edge and Big Show.

[1] Next after that, the 2009 WWE Hall of Fame class was introduced in this order by Justin Roberts: Terry and Dory Funk Jr., "Cowboy" Bill Watts, Howard Finkel, Koko B. Ware, the Von Erich family (represented by Kevin Von Erich), Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, and Stone Cold Steve Austin.

[sic] He also criticized the 25-Divas Battle Royal which "was a bit of a mess, we didn't even get proper introductions for returning Divas like Sunny, Molly Holly, and Torrie Wilson.

[1] Wade Keller of the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter also criticized Kid Rock's performance, but praised the Undertaker vs. Michaels match.

Holmes of Comcast.net believes that the match "never seemed to click"[51] and Kevin Eck of The Baltimore Sun stated that he was "disappointed that it didn’t feel more special after some great angles on TV.

Wrestling wrote that it was "solid and had its share of drama, but the lack of outside interference or plot twists of any kind failed to spark the same feeling of energy Reliant Stadium had in it a few hours before.

[69] The rivalry between Triple H and Randy Orton continued after WrestleMania when both men would meet in a six-man tag team match at Backlash on the following episode of Raw.

[72] Two months later, Batista later suffered the same fate and was taken out of the building by security,[73] while Triple H made his return and continued his feud with Randy Orton.

As her first act, Guerrero announced that John Cena would defend his World Heavyweight Championship at Backlash against Edge in a Last Man Standing match.