WrestleMania XXVI
Global Spectrum, the University of Phoenix Stadium's operator, had worked in previous years with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) to recruit the event to its venue. On January 18, 2008, Global Spectrum publicly announced its intention to host WrestleMania in 2010. The event gained media attention in the weeks prior when a photo of Wayne Gretzky, then head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, wearing a shirt promoting the event surfaced in the Swedish newspaper "Expressen". A press conference, held on February 24, 2009 at the University of Phoenix Stadium, formally announced the event for Glendale, Arizona at the University of Phoenix Stadium; this event marked the first time a WrestleMania had taken place in the state of Arizona. Tickets for the event went on sale November 7, 2009 at 10:00am MST.
Money in the Bank ladder match
On the February 22 episode of "Raw", it was announced that the sixth annual Money in the Bank ladder match would take place at WrestleMania XXVI. The first qualifying match was held later that night, where Christian defeated Carlito to qualify. Three more qualifying matches were held on the February 26 episode of "SmackDown", with Dolph Ziggler defeating John Morrison and R-Truth in a Triple Threat match, Kane defeating Drew McIntyre, and Shelton Benjamin defeating CM Punk to qualify. The March 1 episode of "Raw" saw both Jack Swagger and Montel Vontavious Porter qualify by defeating Santino Marella and Zack Ryder respectively. Matt Hardy was the next to qualify for the match when he defeated Drew McIntyre on the March 5 episode of "SmackDown". In what was initially declared as the final qualifying match, Evan Bourne defeated William Regal on the March 8 episode of "Raw" to become the eighth competitor. Due to his favorable association with WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon, McIntyre was given a third chance on the March 12 episode of "SmackDown" to qualify for the match. In what would also be made a WWE Intercontinental Championship defense by SmackDown general manager Theodore Long, McIntyre defeated local competitor Aaron Bolo to qualify. 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.