WrestleMania 22
| WrestleMania 22 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | World Wrestling Entertainment | ||
| Brand(s) | Raw SmackDown! | ||
| Date | April 2, 2006 | ||
| City | Rosemont, Illinois | ||
| Venue | Allstate Arena | ||
| Attendance | 17,155 | ||
| Buy rate | 975,000 | ||
| Tagline | Big Time! | ||
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WrestleMania 22 was a 2006 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the 22nd annual WrestleMania and took place on April 2, 2006, at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois, held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions.
There were two main events, which were the main matches for each brand. The final match, which was the main match from the Raw brand, was John Cena versus Triple H for the WWE Championship, which Cena won after forcing Triple H to submit to the STFU. 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. Mysterio won the match and the World Heavyweight Championship after pinning Orton following a 619 and a West Coast Pop—during Mysterio's reign, the championship was simply called the World Championship due to Mysterio not being a heavyweight wrestler.
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 interpromotional Money in the Bank ladder match featuring Bobby Lashley, Finlay, Matt Hardy, Ric Flair, Shelton Benjamin and Rob Van Dam.
WrestleMania 22 was the third WrestleMania to take place at the Allstate Arena, after the middle portion of WrestleMania 2 in 1986 and WrestleMania 13 in 1997; both were held at the venue when it was still known as the Rosemont Horizon (renamed in 1999). Coincidentally, all three of the aforementioned WrestleManias did not have Roman numerals in their names. 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. 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 stadium, excluding WrestleMania 36 in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.