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.
WrestleMania XIV
The result of the main event heralded a changing of the guard in the World Wrestling Federation. Shawn Michaels, who had been a major superstar in the company for many years, having won his first WWF World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania two years previously, took a four-year hiatus from wrestling due to a severe back injury sustained during the casket match against Undertaker at the Royal Rumble. He made several ostensible one-off appearances as a guest commentator during episodes of "Raw Is War" in the summer of 1998, and eventually replacing Sgt. Slaughter as commissioner at the end of the year, holding onto the position for a year and a half. After what was supposed to be a one-time match four years later at SummerSlam, Michaels and the now renamed World Wrestling Entertainment realized that his injuries had healed, and he made a full-time return to wrestling, retiring in 2010 at WrestleMania XXVI, 12 years after this event.