10 Fascinating WWE WrestleMania 24 Facts

4. WWE Attempted To Get Oscar De La Hoya For WrestleMania 24

Shawn Michaels Ric Flair Wrestlemania
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On May 5, 2007, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. narrowly defeated Oscar De La Hoya by split decision to win the WBC Light Middleweight Championship. The highly-anticipated fight was the first pay-per-view to surpass two million buys, ending up with 2.4 million when all was said and done.

WWE wanted to bring in both men for WrestleMania 24, figuring they could be key to an attempt to surpass the impressive WrestleMania 23 buyrate of 1.2 million (WWE's then-record). The original plan was for Mayweather to team with Shane McMahon (the primary backstage shot-caller of Mayweather's WWE run) against De La Hoya and Rey Mysterio.

However, De La Hoya had no interest in doing pro wrestling, so the plan shifted to Mysterio teaming with Mayweather against Shane and partner Big Show, who was nearing a return from one year away. That was shelved when Mysterio tore his bicep, putting him out of action for more than four months. Ultimately, Mayweather vs. Show was what we got.

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Justin has been a wrestling fan since 1989, and has been writing about it since 2009. Since 2014, Justin has been a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine. Justin also writes for History of Wrestling, and is a contributing author to James Dixon's Titan series.