The main feud on the Raw brand going into the event was between John Cena, Bobby Lashley, King Booker, Mick Foley, and Randy Orton over the WWE Championship. The feud began when Lashley was drafted to the Raw brand and stripped of the ECW World Championship. After being stripped of the title, Lashley began to pursue the WWE Championship. On the June 18 episode of "Raw", Foley, Orton, Booker, and Lashley all said why they deserve to be the number-one contender to the WWE Championship. Cena also said who he believed deserved to be the number-one contender to the championship. Following this, Interim General Manager Jonathan Coachman announced that all five men would compete for the title in a match called the "WWE Championship Challenge" at Vengeance.