WrestleMania 22

Background

After failing to win the Royal Rumble match, Triple H took part in and won the 2006 Road to WrestleMania Tournament, defeating Rob Van Dam and The Big Show in a Triple Threat match in the finals, to face John Cena for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.

The Road to WrestleMania tournament to determine the number one contender for the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 22 was held between February 6 and February 20, 2006. The tournament brackets were:

Notes:
^ Due to their double countout in the second round, a triple threat match with Big Show, Rob Van Dam, and Triple H was booked for the final.

Rey Mysterio won the 2006 Royal Rumble match, lastly eliminating Randy Orton, to face World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 22. At No Way Out, Orton defeated Mysterio to win a WrestleMania 22 title match. On the February 24 episode of SmackDown!, SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long announced the title match at WrestleMania 22 to be a Triple Threat match involving Angle, Mysterio Orton.

On the December 26 episode of Raw, Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels had words ending with McMahon threatening that he could screw HBK just like he did Bret Hart anytime he wanted. During the next couple of weeks on Raw, Vince had inflicted some humiliation on Shawn Michaels on the January 23 episode of Raw when it was between Michaels and Shelton Benjamin with Mr. McMahon declaring that if Shawn Michaels loses, he'd also lose his spot in the Royal Rumble match. Shawn Michaels won the match and kept his spot in the Rumble but a few moments later, Vince met Shawn backstage then stated that lady luck was on his side. He also said that he wanted to turn back the clock to the days of sex, drugs, & rock n' roll, then asked Shawn to join him but got turned down, however, and Vince last stated that HBK's luck would run out at the Royal Rumble, where, during the Royal Rumble match, Vince distracted Michaels as his music began to play. During that time, Shane McMahon, who wasn't an official entrant in the match, eliminated Michaels after attacking him from behind. On the February 27 episode of Raw, Shane hit Michaels with a steel chair and forced him to "kiss" Vince's ass, thus joining Vince's "Kiss My Ass Club." Vince then announced that he and Michaels would fight at WrestleMania. Two weeks later on Raw, Vince forced Michaels to take a public drug test all due to Michaels being deceived and drugged by Vince's daughter, Stephanie McMahon on the March 6 episode of Raw. During the test, however, Michaels threw his urine on both Vince and Shane. Later that night, Michaels lost to the Spirit Squad in a Steel Cage The Spirit Squad after Shane interfered and slammed the cage door on Michaels. After the match, Shane continued to attack Michaels, bloodying him in the process, and executed a Coast 2 Coast. At Saturday Night's Main Event, Michaels faced Shane in a Street Fight. Near the end, Shane locked Michaels in the sharpshooter, and Vince ordered the match to end. Vince screwed Michaels, claiming he submitted to the move, and declared Shane the winner by submission. On the March 20 episode of Raw, Vince announced that his match against Michaels at WrestleMania would now be No Holds Barred.

On the March 3 episode of SmackDown!, The Undertaker challenged Kurt Angle for the World Heavyweight Championship. During the match, after Undertaker executed a Tombstone Piledriver, Mark Henry attacked Undertaker, causing the disqualification. Undertaker won the match, but not the championship since it can't change hands via countout or disqualification. The next week, on SmackDown!, Undertaker challenged Henry to a Casket match at WrestleMania. On the March 18 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event, Henry, along with his manager Daivari, called out The Undertaker. Undertaker came out, accompanied by Druids carrying a casket, and the two started attacking each other. Shortly after, Undertaker executed a chokeslam, before a Tombstone piledriver, on Daivari on the casket.

One of the main matches on the undercard was a singles match between Mickie James and Trish Stratus for the WWE Women's Championship. James debuted in WWE on the October 10, 2005 episode of Raw coming to the aid of then Women's Champion Trish Stratus from an attack from Victoria. She wrestled under the gimmick of Trish Stratus' biggest fan. The two competed in tag team action together frequently where James was becoming extremely obsessed with Trish. James became the number one contender for the Women's Title on December 12 by defeating Victoria in a match to determine who would face Stratus at New Year's Revolution. She was unable to win the title at the Pay Per View. The storyline between James and Stratus developed into a lesbian angle after James initiated an intimate kiss with Stratus under the mistletoe and complemented on the size of her breasts. At Royal Rumble 2006 James confessed to Stratus that she loved her. It finally became too much for Stratus as she then told James that they needed time apart. The two teamed together at Saturday Night's Main Event to defeat the team of Victoria and Candice Michelle. After the match James honored Stratus' wish for have time apart, but later attempted to kiss her, and attacked Stratus after she refused.

The secondary Divas feud entering the event was between Torrie Wilson and Candice Michelle. Torrie and Candice turned heel when they were traded to the Raw roster on August 22, 2005, and later aligned with Victoria to form the stable known as Vince's Devils. On the February 27, 2006 episode of Raw, Candice couldn't defeat Trish Stratus for Stratus' WWE Women's Championship, and slapped Torrie in a backstage segment after the match; showing signs of tension between the two. On the March 6, 2006 episode of Raw, the evil Candice unveiled her Playboy cover and then attempted to force Torrie to admit that her cover was hotter than both of Torrie's Playboy covers. When Torrie refused, Candice and Victoria both attacked her in the ring, resulting in Torrie turning face. It was later announced that Torrie and Candice would face each other in a Playboy Pillow Fight at WrestleMania 22.

Event

Before the event went live on pay-per-view, an 18-man interpromotional battle royal was held. Viscera won by last eliminating Snitsky. Michelle Williams sang "America the Beautiful" before the show.

The opening match was for the World Tag Team Championship between champions Big Show and Kane and Carlito and Chris Masters. Kane executed a big boot on Masters, then chokeslammed Carlito to get the victory and to retain the title.

The second match was the Money in the Bank ladder match between Rob Van Dam, Shelton Benjamin, Ric Flair, Finlay, Bobby Lashley and Matt Hardy. Van Dam climbed the ladder, but was stopped when Benjamin springboarded onto the ladder Van Dam and the two fought. Hardy came out with a second ladder and joined the two. Van Dam pushed Hardy and Benjamin's ladder, sending them both smashing on the floor. Van Dam grabbed the briefcase and won the match.

Howard Finkel introduced the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2006: "Mean" Gene Okerlund, "Sensational" Sherri Martel, Tony Atlas, Verne Gagne, William "The Refrigerator" Perry and The Blackjacks (Blackjack Mulligan and Blackjack Lanza) attended the event while Eddie Guerrero was represented by his wife Vickie Guerrero and Eddie's nephew Chavo Guerrero. Bret Hart did not attend the event as he was not comfortable.

The third match was between John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Chris Benoit for the WWE United States Championship. During JBL's entrance, the entrance ramp was raised and JBL's limousine drove out from underneath. JBL attempted a Clothesline From Hell on Benoit, who avoided the move and applied in the Crippler Crossface. JBL countered and used the ropes for leverage to win the match.

The fourth match was a hardcore match between Edge and Mick Foley. In the end, Foley pulled out a table but Lita hit Foley in between the legs with a barbed wire bat and lit the table, allowing Edge to perform a spear on Foley through the flaming table on the outside for the victory.

Next, Booker T and Sharmell faced The Boogeyman in a handicap match. Boogeyman executed a Falling Chokebomb on Booker for the victory.

The sixth match was a Divas match between Trish Stratus and Mickie James for the WWE Women's Championship. Mickie executed a Mick Kick on Trish to win the match and the WWE Women's Championship. Despite portraying a psychotic heel, Mickie James was audibly cheered by the crowd during the match.

Next, The Undertaker faced Mark Henry in a casket match. Undertaker took the advantage and executed a Last Ride on Henry. While Henry was out of the ring, Undertaker executed a suicide dive over the top rope. Undertaker then performed a Tombstone Piledriver on Henry and pushed him into the casket to win the match and improve his WrestleMania record to 14–0.

The eighth match was a No Holds Barred match between Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon. Michaels put McMahon on a table and put a trashcan over McMahon's head. Michaels then climbed on the top of a ladder and executed a diving elbow drop on McMahon through the table. Michaels then executed Sweet Chin Music on McMahon to win the match.

Next, Kurt Angle defended his World Heavyweight Championship against Rey Mysterio and Randy Orton in a Triple Threat match. During Mysterio's entrance, P.O.D. performed Mysterio's music entrance live. In the end, Mysterio performed a 619 on Orton followed by a West Coast Pop to win the title. After the match, Mysterio celebrated with Chavo and Vickie Guerrero.

The tenth match was a Playboy pillow fight between Torrie Wilson and Candice Michelle. Wilson pulled Candice's dress and pinned her with a roll-up for the win.

In the main event, John Cena defended his WWE Championship against Triple H. Triple H came out to the ring on a throne dressed as a Conan-type king, while Cena came out with a tommy gun and was accompanied by a group of "gangsters" (one of which was future WWE Champion and Chicago native CM Punk, who had recently signed with WWE and, at the time, was performing with Ohio Valley Wrestling) in a 1940s Chicago-era vehicle. The match was evenly matched with both men getting the advantage over each other. Triple H tried a Pedigree, but Cena countered with an FU for a near-fall. Cena applied the STF but Triple H reached the ropes. Triple H trued another Pedigree, but was countered into the STF again by Cena, to which Triple H submitted, meaning Cena retained the WWE Championship. Cena posed in the ring to a chorus of jeers from the crowd.

Aftermath

The next night on Raw, Triple H said to John Cena that he underestimated the champ, because he lost at WrestleMania 22. Edge then came out and said to Triple H that he deserved another WWE Championship match because he defeated Mick Foley in a Hardcore match. Over the next few weeks, all three men faced each other in Handicap matches, which all three men won over the three-week period by pinning and making each other submit, respectively. It was then announced that the main event at Backlash would be a Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship between Cena, Edge and Triple H. At Backlash, Cena won the match and retained the WWE Championship via pinfall on Triple H with a jackknife roll-up, but after the match, Triple H attacked Cena, Edge and the referee with a sledgehammer.

After WrestleMania, Shawn Michaels continued to feud with Vince McMahon. At Backlash, Michaels teamed up with "God" to face Vince and Shane McMahon. At Backlash, Michaels suffered a loss when the Spirit Squad interfered on behalf of The McMahons. Triple H became involved in the feud as well, initially on Vince and Shane's side, but on May 22, 2006 he attacked the Spirit Squad after being ordered to the ring by McMahon to "finish off" Michaels. On the June 12, 2006 edition of Raw, Vince announced that Triple H would face the Spirit Squad in a 5 on 1 Handicap Gauntlet match. Vince called Mitch out last, as throughout the match he had called out the other four members one-by-one, instead Mitch was thrown out from the curtain by Michaels. Michaels ran down the ramp and started attacking the Spirit Squad with Triple H, marking the return of D-Generation X. At Vengeance, DX faced the Spirit Squad in a 5 on 2 Handicap match, which DX won after both Michaels and Triple H pinned Kenny and Mikey, respectively.

Mickie James continued to feud with Trish Stratus. At Backlash, Stratus won the match by a disqualification, legitimately dislocating her shoulder in the process. Due to regulations by the WWE, a title cannot change hands via a disqualification. As a result, James was still champion. Whilst injured, Stratus still appeared on-screen and during the storyline, Beth Phoenix made her debut as Stratus' ally, claiming that James had wronged Phoenix in the past. She returned to the ring on the June 26 episode of Raw, where she cleanly lost a Women's Championship match against James, thus ending the feud.

Rey Mysterio went on to feud with John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) over the World Heavyweight Championship. On the May 5 edition of SmackDown!, after Mysterio expressed his feelings about being World Heavyweight Champion, JBL came out and declared himself the number one contender. Mysterio reacted by saying that he would fight anyone at any time. In turn, JBL announced that Mysterio would face off against Mark Henry later that night. Henry won the match via pinfall. The next week on SmackDown!, JBL announced that Mysterio would take on The Great Khali. Khali won the match via pinfall. At Judgment Day, Mysterio defeated JBL by pinfall after performing a Frog Splash. After the pay-per view, the feud ended between the two when JBL's rematch against Mysterio turned into his last match if he failed to win the World's Championship.

The next night on Raw, saw the debut of Umaga as he attacked Ric Flair. The two would go on to wrestle at Backlash.

The Undertaker's feud with Mark Henry would come to an end after the two faced off on SmackDown, only to be interrupted by the debuting The Great Khali who attacked The Undertaker.

RVD would announce that he would cash in his Money in the Bank against John Cena at One Night Stand. Van Dam would go on to win the match capturing his first WWE Championship.

Reception

WrestleMania 22 received mostly positive reviews from various wrestling publications and websites. Writing for SLAM! Wrestling, Dale Plummer and Nick Tylwalk stated that "With more wrestling, less interviews, and more pageantry than the last several editions, this year's 'Mania had a "Big Time" feel to it." He rated the overall event 8 out of 10 stars, which was a higher rating than the previous year's event. The main event between Triple H and John Cena for the WWE Championship was rated 8.5 out of 10 stars, the Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship between Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio and Randy Orton was rated 8.5 out of 10 stars, the No Holds Barred match between Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon received a perfect 10 out of 10 stars, the Casket match between Mark Henry and The Undertaker was rated 7 out of 10 stars, the Hardcore match between Edge and Mick Foley was rated 8.5 out of 10 stars and the Money in the Bank ladder match was rated 7 out of 10 stars. Robert Leighty Jr of 411mania gave the event an overall score of 8.0 out of 10.0 commented on how "This is a pretty solid show as both title matches deliver in one aspect or another. Shawn tries to steal the show again, but Edge and Foley take that honor in a crazy ass brawl. This was the last Mania held in an arena and it's a fun atmosphere because of the jacked up crowd. Throw in another solid Money in the Bank Match, and a memorable Women's Title match, and you have a fun show all around!"

Battle royal eliminations

Red ██ and "Raw" indicates a Raw superstar and blue ██ and "SD" indicates a SmackDown superstar.