On the December 26th edition of Raw, McMahon and Michaels had words ending with McMahon threatening that he could screw HBK just like he did Bret Hart anytime he wanted. Mysterio won the 2006 Royal Rumble match, last eliminating Orton, to earn a World Championship match at WrestleMania. At No Way Out, Orton defeated Mysterio to win his WrestleMania 22 world championship match. Five days later, on the February 24 edition of SmackDown!, SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long announced that the World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania 22 would be a Triple Threat match involving Mysterio, Orton, and champion Angle.Īnother primary feud from Raw was between Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon. The predominant feud on the SmackDown! brand was between Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio, and Randy Orton over the World Heavyweight Championship. Triple H won the match after pinning RVD following a Pedigree. In the final match of the tournament, held on the February 20 edition of Raw, Triple H faced Rob Van Dam (RVD) and Big Show in a Triple Threat match. After failing to win the Royal Rumble match, Triple H participated in the 2006 Road to WrestleMania Tournament, where the winner would become the number-one contender to the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. The main feud heading into WrestleMania on the Raw brand was between John Cena and Triple H over the WWE Championship. More than 17,155 people from 16 countries and 43 states attended, with millions more watching in more than 90 countries. WrestleMania 22 also marked the last WrestleMania to be held in a traditional arena, as every subsequent edition has been held in a NFL stadium. Tickets sold out in under two minutes, grossing US$2.5 million for the event, making it the highest grossing one-day event at the Allstate Arena.
WrestleMania 22 was the third WrestleMania to take place in the Chicago metropolitan area (following WrestleMania 2, and WrestleMania 13). Mysterio won the match and the World Heavyweight Championship after pinning Orton following a 619 and a West Coast Pop. Featured matches on the undercard included a No Holds Barred match between Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon, a Casket match between The Undertaker and Mark Henry, a WWE Women's Championship match between Mickie James and Trish Stratus, and an inter-promotional Money in the Bank ladder match featuring six participants.
The main match on the Raw brand was John Cena versus Triple H for the WWE Championship, which Cena won after forcing Triple H to submit to the STF. The predominant match on the SmackDown! brand was a Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship between champion Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio, and Randy Orton. There were two main events which were the main matches for each brand. The event was a joint-promotion pay-per-view (PPV) featuring performers from the Raw and SmackDown! brands. It took place on April 2, 2006, at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois. WrestleMania 22 was the twenty-second annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).