WrestleMania X8
WrestleMania X8 was the eighteenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It took place on March 17, 2002 at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario.
The event marked the final WrestleMania event under the WWF name. The event was the second WrestleMania to take place in the Toronto metropolitan area (following WrestleMania VI). The record-breaking attendance for the SkyDome of 68,237 resulted in gross receipts of approximately $6.1 million CAD ($3.9 million USD). WrestleMania weekend also included WWF Fan Axxess at the Canadian National Exhibition's Automotive Building.
The main event was between Chris Jericho and Triple H for the WWF Undisputed Championship, which Triple H won after a Pedigree. The main matches on the undercard featured The Rock versus Hollywood Hulk Hogan in a match dubbed "Icon vs. Icon", Steve Austin versus Scott Hall, and Ric Flair versus The Undertaker in a No Disqualification match.
After WrestleMania, the WWF board of directors made their final decision over the control of the company. Due to the conflicts between Vince McMahon and Ric Flair making bad business, Linda McMahon proposed a brand extension, essentially splitting the entire WWF roster into two separate entities. Vince took control of the SmackDown! brand while Flair controlled the Raw brand. A draft was held with each owner would get a total of thirty picks between the wrestlers. The draft was held on the March 25 edition of Raw, while the brand extension officially began on April 1.
Triple H's feud with Stephanie would conclude on the March 25 episode of Raw when he defeated her and Jericho in a Triple Threat match for the Undisputed Championship. By pinning her, Stephanie was forced to leave the WWF by accordance to the match stipulations. Triple H's feud with Jericho would continue with Jericho interfering with Triple H's championship match at Backlash against Hollywood Hulk Hogan. Their feud would finish with a Hell in a Cell match at Judgment Day.
Until the brand extension separated both parties, The Rock and Hulk Hogan feuded with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. On the final SmackDown! before the brand extension, the team of Rock, Hogan and Kane defeated Nash, Hall and new nWo member X-Pac in a six-man tag match. The Rock left shortly after the WWF draft for three months to go on a media tour to promote his movie, The Scorpion King.
After being drafted to the Raw brand, Steve Austin would get himself involved in the feud between The Undertaker and Ric Flair, fighting Undertaker at Backlash for an Undisputed Championship shot. The storyline itself evolved into a feud between Austin and Flair, with the nWo's involvement on Flair's behalf.
