In the main match from the SmackDown brand, World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho defeated the 2010 Royal Rumble winner Edge to retain the title.

[19] "Ain't No Grave (Gonna Hold My Body Down)" by Johnny Cash was also used to promote the Undertaker-Michaels match.

[22] To begin promotion for the event in Glendale, a "Kick-off Party" was held at the Westgate City Center on March 19, which included appearances from WWE wrestlers, autograph signings and live entertainment along with a giant LED screen viewing of that night's episode of SmackDown.

[29] Their partnership was short lived as Edge suffered a torn achilles tendon and had to vacate his half of the championship.

[38] On the February 22 episode of Raw, Cena asked for a rematch for the title at WrestleMania, which McMahon gave him the opportunity to as long as he defeated Batista that night.

[40] A month later, The Undertaker, then the World Heavyweight Champion, made his reply and denied a rematch, stating that he had nothing to prove to Michaels.

[43] On the February 22 episode of Raw, the sixth annual Money in the Bank ladder match was set for WrestleMania XXVI.

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

[45] The March 1 episode of Raw saw both Jack Swagger and Montel Vontavious Porter qualify by defeating Santino Marella and Zack Ryder respectively.

[47] In what was initially declared as the final qualifying match, Evan Bourne defeated William Regal on the March 9 episode of Raw to become the eighth competitor.

[43] Due to his favorable association with Vince McMahon, McIntyre 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 an Intercontinental Championship defense by Theodore Long, McIntyre defeated local competitor Aaron Bolo to qualify.

[48] On the March 22 episode of Raw, the number of participants was once again increased to a record ten, when Kofi Kingston defeated Vladimir Kozlov to qualify.

[46] A contract signing was held two weeks later, moderated by guest host Stone Cold Steve Austin, who reversed McMahon's decision on Stu Hart's induction into the Hall of Fame.

Afterward, Hart revealed that his leg was perfectly fine and that his car accident was a setup created by Cena and himself to force a match out of McMahon.

[52] On the March 5 episode of SmackDown, ShoMiz (Big Show and The Miz) were scheduled to defend their Unified WWE Tag Team Championship at the event against a team who won a triple threat match between Cryme Tyme (Shad Gaspard and JTG), The Hart Dynasty (Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Tyson Kidd), and the pairing of The Miz's former partner John Morrison and R-Truth.

[43] In early 2009, Randy Orton had formed a contingency known as The Legacy, also featuring Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes.

And on the following night of Raw, Orton turned on his associates, leading to a Triple Threat match between the three men at WrestleMania.

[38][52] Since the beginning of 2010, CM Punk and his storyline disciples Luke Gallows and Serena 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.

[57] The animosity would escalate between the two on the March 12 episode of SmackDown, when Mysterio brought his family into the ring to commemorate his daughter, Aaliyah's, 9th birthday.

Following Mysterio'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.

[1] The second bout was a triple threat match between Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase, and Cody Rhodes, all formerly of the stable known as Legacy.

[1] The annual Money in the Bank ladder match took place next, with Jack Swagger, Christian, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Evan Bourne, Kane, Kofi Kingston, Montel Vontavious Porter, Shelton Benjamin, and Matt Hardy as the participants.

The match ended when Jericho hit Edge with the championship belt and executed a second Codebreaker to win and retain his title.

After taking The Undertaker back in the ring again, Michaels then executed his third Sweet Chin Music for a dramatic near-fall.

Michaels then attempted Sweet Chin Music again but The Undertaker countered into a Chokeslam, and quickly followed up by executing a second Tombstone Piledriver for a near fall.

Canadian Online Explorer's professional wrestling section gave the entire event 6.5 out of 10, down from its WrestleMania 25 rating of 9 out of 10.

[62] Drew McIntyre, who was originally supposed to face The Undertaker at the event, called the bout "a phenomenal match".

The episode was a tribute to Michaels, with many vignettes airing periodically before commercials, highlighting his accomplishments and his greatest matches.

In his address, Michaels thanked all the fans and specifically Vince McMahon, Bret Hart and Triple H on supporting him throughout his career.