WrestleMania XXVI
Along with WrestleMania XXVI, a series of events grouped as "WrestleMania Week" were held in the week preceding the event. 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". The third annual "WrestleMania Art" (formerly "WrestleManiArt"), an art exhibition and auction featuring work by WWE superstars, was held on March 24 at the Make-A-Wish Foundation National Headquarters. WrestleMania's annual fan convention, WrestleMania Axxess, was held from March 25 through March 28 at the Phoenix Convention Center. On March 27, WWE hosted its annual WWE Hall of Fame ceremony at the Dodge Theater, where the Class of 2010 were inducted.
WrestleMania XXVI
At WrestleMania XXV, Shawn Michaels was unsuccessful in defeating The Undertaker and ending Undertaker's undefeated streak at the event. When the match won the 2009 Slammy Award for Match of the Year, Michaels stated in his acceptance speech that he could still defeat The Undertaker at WrestleMania and challenged him to a rematch. A month later, The Undertaker, then the World Heavyweight Champion, made his reply and refused a rematch. The refusal saw Michaels obsess about facing the Undertaker at the event, attacking referee Charles Robinson and SmackDown general manager Theodore Long respectively after failing his title match opportunities in the Royal Rumble match and Elimination Chamber qualifiers. At the Elimination Chamber event, Michaels snuck into Undertaker's Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship and performed a Sweet Chin Music on The Undertaker, enabling Chris Jericho to defeat The Undertaker and win the World Heavyweight Championship. On the following night, The Undertaker changed his mind and accepted the rematch but with the stipulation that if Michaels loses, he would have to retire. Michaels accepted, noting that if he could not end the streak, there was no reason why his career should continue. Two weeks later, Michaels and The Undertaker agreed on another additional stipulation; that the match would have no disqualifications and no count-outs.