The Steel Cage

Here's some video I took from this year's annual Bacon, Bagels and Biceps Brunch. As I wrote before, it may be hard to justify charging fans $125 for some orange juice and the opportunity to ask a panel of WWE mid carders some questions, but seeing as how proceeds go to the Make a Wish Foundation, I don't have a problem with it. Regardless, the crowd of mostly children seemed to eat everything up - the food and the superstar banter.
Incidentally, to me, the biggest star in attendance didn't appear on stage. I'm talking about none other than Tonga Fifita, who you may know as "King Haku." As a local businessman, he helped organize the event. I tried to catch up with him after the event, but lost him in the crowd. I'd ask him if he has any extra of his big rubber LJN action figures. Those are worth some serious loot.

ORLANDO: It's 2 a.m. and I'm back in my hotel room, about to head out to the balcony to enjoy a cheap cigar and an adult beverage with my brother in law to celebrate a historic night.

If watching Ric Flair's final match was the greatest wrestling moment I ever witnessed in person, tonight was at the very least a close second. Being in the Amway Arena for Ric Flair's farewell ceremony was an absolutely surreal experience, even in the comic book world of pro wrestling.

You saw what I saw - the reunited Four Horsemen, Rick Steamboat, and nearly the entire WWE locker room coming out to salute the Nature Boy one last time. But here's some of what you didn't see.

Almost immediately after the show went off the air, the familiar tolling of a bell sounded, the lights went dark, and the wrestlers parted the aisle to let the Undertaker through. He did his full entrance, stepped into the ring, took off his coat and hat, then shook Flair's hand and embraced him, while whispering in his ear. Undertaker then took his signature pose on one knee and saluted the Nature Boy.

The magic didn't end there. Next out was Vince McMahon, who rushed to the ring with a gigantic smile on his face and then absorbed Flair in a big, enthusiastic hug. He held up Flair's hand in victory and posed for the arena.

Flair shook hands with Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross, who gave Flair an affectionate slap of the cheek. Flair then brought his family back into the ring, and did his strut, took off his jacket, and dropped an elbow and a knee on it, to the crowd's delight. He had the camera zoom in on a gold watch that he said McMahon had just given him.

After taking the microphone and giving the fans one last, emotional, "Thank you," Flair stepped out of the ring, and made his way down the ramp. Fans responded with a rousing, "Thank you, Ric" chant.

Then in absolutely awesome moment, the gathering of wrestlers and WWE officials parted, in unison with 16,000 fans, bowed to the greatest wrestler who ever lived.

Flair shook several hands, and hugged several tearful admirers - including Bob Holly, Chuck Palumbo, John Laurinities and a tearful Stephanie McMahon - before blowing a final kiss to the audience, and disappearing behind the curtain.

Incidentally, local ads had promoted a dark match main event of Finlay and John Cena vs. Randy Orton and JBL. The match never took place. I can't remember a time when I was so pleased with a main event not being delivered as promised.

Nothing could have followed what I was lucky enough to witness in person. I have to give it to WWE - There was a lot of faltering along the way in the storyline of Flair's impending retirement. But in the end, Ric Flair received a send off unlike wrestling world has ever seen, or will likely see again. In an industry in which great careers so often end with a whimper, or even worse, with a tragedy, it's so gratifying to see the greatest of all time go out on the highest of notes. Flair seemed truly, deeply happy, and more importantly, at peace.

Leaving the show, there was traffic on the I-4 headed westbound just outside the arena, as two lanes were closed for construction. But with my car window cracked open, the sound I heard was not the frustration of beeping horns, but rather a constant chorus of "Whoo!" from the cars around me.

Never in my life have I been so grateful to be able to say, "I was there."

The pyrotechnics company used by World Wrestling Entertainment for last night's WrestleMania event is based in Deer Park, Newsday has learned.

Zenith Pyrotechnology is being investigated after last night's incident in Orlando, in which a cable snapped as fireworks were going off, sending them into the stands and leaving 30 to 35 wrestling fans injured.

More to come tonight on newsday.com.

Just click here.

Time for some predictions for Wrestlemania XXIV. And what with this being the digital age and all, words don't seem fair. So let's predict some matches in video.

Alfonso and Seth differ on the Triple Threat champ.

Alfonso and Seth both agree on this "Money" Mayweather vs. the Big Show nightmare waiting to happen.

Alfonso has a special surprise for the Bunny Mania match

Alfonso and Seth fight it out over who will win the Money in the Bank match.

Seth breaks down the undercard, including Ric Flair vs. HBK.

The Steel Cage battles The Neutral Corner over this boxer vs. wrestler debate.

Those boxing fans among you may be wondering how there could even be debate about what will happen when Floyd Mayweather Jr. faces off with the Big Show this Sunday at WrestleMania XXIV. After all, pro wrestling is fake, so there's no real competition right?
Wrong. In one way, the competition between wrestler and boxer is very real going into this Sunday's spectacle. The battle worth weighing in on is not who the better fighter is, but rather, who is the better showman.

For my money, it's no contest. In the boxing world, "Money" Mayweather may be the most colorful, flamboyant, and exciting performer there is. But, as has already been evidenced, in the world of pro wrestling, Mayweather is grossly outclassed.

I'll give Mayweather credit for playing his part to perfection in the angle that kicked off this match - the impromptu scuffle at WWE's February pay per view, No Way Out, where Mayweather hopped out of his ringside seat to defend his friend, Rey Mysterio, and ended up legitimately breaking the Big Show's nose with a couple of punches.

But ever since that night, whenever Mayweather has gotten behind a microphone to promote the event, he has come up short. The lowlight was an embarassing exchange on Monday Night Raw where the Big Show tore into Mayweather, and all the boxer could repeat was, "Last time I broke your nose. The next time I'll break your jaw." Over and over again. It was cringe-inducing.
So disappointing have Mayweather's performances been that WWE writers shifted course in the middle of the storyline, and recast Mayweather as the bad guy in the match, and the Big Show as the good guy. Heck, Mayweather's been getting booed out of the building at every opportunity, so why not take advantage of it?

The problem is, in the world of legitimate sports, it doesn't take much to be outrageous. It's easy to earn a reputation as a showman when so your peers are relatively bland.
But in pro wrestling, it's all about the show. Quite literally, when pro wrestlers receive their training, they are taught not only how to execute a proper hip toss, but how to come up with a compelling character, and how to "cut a money promo" - deliver an interview that sells tickets.
In fact, as far as promo guys go, the Big Show is far from the best, but even a slightly above average pro wrestler can usually out perform a boxer. There are exceptions, of course.
Muhammad Ali could probably hang with the best promo guys the squared circle has ever seen.
But Mayweather has benefited from being a big fish in a tiny pond of dull performers. Sharing the stage with a 7-foot-tall, 500-pound giant, whose been honing his craft for 13 years, he has been completely schooled.

As far as comparing their athletic skills, I'll take nothing away from Mayweather. I don't know much about boxing, but I know Mayweather is a world class talent, who has beaten some of the best.

But inevitably, whenever pro wrestling is mentioned among legitimate sports, the elitists always thumb their nose at my favorite past time. So there are a few things you should know about Paul "The Big Show" Wight. At just 24 years old, and wrestling professionally for less than a year, he won his first world title - an honor that most wrestlers never achieve, and those who do usually take several years to do so. Yes, such distinctions are decided by wrestling bookers, but they are not taken lightly, and reflect a performer's worth in a company.

After headlining for Ted Turner's defunct WCW for four years, Wight came to WWE, and again, was wearing the world title within months. Months later, he headlined WrestleMania 2000.
And while most wrestlers' performances usually decline over time, Show has only gotten better with age - improving his skills not only in the ring, but on the microphone. When WWE took the risky moving of launching a third brand in 2006, bookers chose Show to wear the ECW world championship and anchor the fledgling brand in its formative months. He did an exceptional job.
Since returning last month after year-long hiatus, the Big Show is arguably in the greatest shape of his career, having shed more than 100 pounds, and having trained as a boxer.

For my money, Paul Wight is the greatest "giant" ever to step into a wrestling ring. Some have been taller, such as the Great Khali or El Gigante. Some have been heavier, such as Yokozuna or Haystacks Calhoun. And some have been more famous, such as the legendary Andre the Giant. But as a total package of size, strength, and charisma, the Big Show stands head and shoulders above the rest.

So, yes, this Sunday's WrestleMania showdown will be scripted. And Floyd Mayweather should thank his lucky stars that it is.

Read The Neutral Corner's take on the match

The answer to yesterday's question: Gennifer Flowers' guest at WrestleMania XIV was The Rock, who unveiled his "Smell what The Rock is cooking" for the first time. One newsday.com reader says this was also the first time he referred to himself in some way as the People's Champion -- can anyone confirm that?

Anyway, today's question is about your friend and mine, Triple H, who this Sunday will be in the Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship. He seems to do that a lot at WrestleMania. So when was the last time that Triple H was in a WrestleMania match that wasn't for the WWE or World Title?

The answer to yesterday's question: Mr. Bob Backlund is the former WWE Champion who was scheduled to be in Kurt Angle's corner at WrestleMania 2000, but was instead choked out by Angle on Heat prior to the show.

Of course, I, like many others, was watching "WrestleMania All Day Long" that day and never actually saw Heat; the two aired head-to-head.

Anyhow, today's question is ripped right from the headlines -- sort of. What with all the talk about Eliot Spitzer's "lady friend," I'll ask about another political scandal -- Bill Clinton and Gennifer Flowers.

Flowers' appearance at WrestleMania XIV (10 years ago this week) was a watershed moment for the superstar she interviewed, as the segment featured the debut of one of the greatest catchphrases in sports-entertainment history. Name the superstar and the catchphrase.

The answer to yesterday's question -- the only wrestler ever to fight for the World Title, IC Title, Euro Title, Tag Title and U.S. Title, and to have a Money in the Bank match at WrestleMania -- is indeed Chris Benoit. Congrats to all who got it right, but don't hold your breath waiting for the special on WWE 24-7.

Today's question goes back to that Intercontinental and European Title match in question -- the Triple Threat at WrestleMania 2000 with Benoit, Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho. What former WWE Champion was supposed to be in Angle's corner for that bout, but never made it because Angle choked him out on Heat before the show?

Post your answers on the comment board. I'll be back tomorrow with the official answer.

The answer to yesterday's question -- the only heel ever to win the World Title at WrestleMania -- is of course Yokozuna, who beat Bret Hart at WM 9, only to lose it to Hulk Hogan mere seconds later.

Congrats to all who got it right, including the one reader who noted that I'd basically given the answer away days before in an earlier trivia post. Oh well.

Today's question is also title-related: Who is the only wrestler in history to have had matches for the World Title, IC Title, European Title, U.S. Title AND Tag Team Title at WrestleMania, and has ALSO competed in a Money in the Bank match?

Post your answers on the comment board; I'll be back tomorrow with the official answer.

Let's get the requisite stuff out of the way first -- Ric Flair's a legend, the greatest of all time, and was a perfect gentleman to work with, I have to say.

But let me ask you -- as much as you might want to, as much as you might have been led to believe so, do you really believe this retirement stuff for even one second?

Because I don't.

Let's try trivia a little differently from now on ... we'll ask the question, and you can post your answers in the comment section ... and then we'll be back the following day with the correct answer and a new question for you ...

The other day we asked you who was the only heel ever to RETAIN the WWE Championship at a WrestleMania. Now for today's question: Who is the only heel ever to WIN the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania?

And Stone Cold's win over The Rock at X7 (where he turned heel during the match) is NOT the answer.

It's better to lose the main event than to win the opening match, and for longer than you'd probably think at WrestleMania, Triple H has been doing just that. In fact, The Game has been riding quite a losing streak as of late at the Granddaddy Of Them All ...

Today's trivia question is simply: When was the last time Triple H won a match at WrestleMania?

Click for pics from the Wrestlemania XXIV press conference with "Money" Mayweather and The Big Show.

So while we're on the subject of WrestleMania 2000, here's the trivia question du jour ...

That event featured just one traditional one-on-one match. Name it. The answer will surprise you.

Ric Flair's a legend. The best ever. If this really is his retirement storyline, then he deserves a fitting sendoff.

But having him cleanly defeat your up-and-coming stars cleanly -- including WWE Champion Randy Orton -- is as stupid as it gets from a business standpoint.

Sure, the fans cheer for it, and it's a feel-good story for Flair. But guys like MVP, Kennedy and Orton are the guys working all the house shows. They're the guys who will be around five, 10, 20 years from now to carry the load. You could say you're having them lose to a legend; I'd say they're losing to a 60-year-old man who won't be in the ring past this month.

How would I have done the storyline? I would have turned it around 180 degrees.

Being that today is 3/16, I figured that rather than write a snarky post about how every one of Stone Cold Steve Austin's appearances the past six years has been like watching a bad cover band, I'd instead point out an impressive bit of Stone Cold history -- that the Rattlesnake is the only man to have won the WWE Championship in three consecutive WrestleMania appearances -- at WM 14 over Shawn Michaels, and at WM 15 and 17 over The Rock.

Which brings me to today's trivia question.

The one WrestleMania missing in that equation is 16, when Austin was still recovering from his neck surgery. At that show, the WWE Title match featured Triple H retaining the title in a Fatal Fourway against Rock, Mick Foley and Big Show -- one of only two times in the pre-split title era (i.e., before we created separate world titles for Raw and SmackDown in 2002) that a heel successfully retained the title at a WrestleMania.

Besides Triple H in 2000, who is the only other heel champion to ever successfully RETAIN the championship in a WrestleMania match, prior to the split-title era?

A quick WrestleMania trivia question for you -- when was the last time the Intercontinental Title was defended at WrestleMania?

In the past 24 years, WWE has done an outstanding job of building the "WrestleMania" brand into an event that basically can sell itself (and if you've seen the card for this year's show, you know that's a good thing; otherwise they'd be in big trouble).

Still, in addition to the big matches, the company likes to pepper the show with celebrity cameos to try and hook in the mainstream audience as well -- such as Donald Trump's successful appearance last year, or the car wreck waiting to happen with Floyd Mayweather this year (and by the way, if that $20 million figure is legit, I'll eat my own foot. Ain't no way, I guarantee you). And then there's the celebrity appearance by which all others are judged -- Mike Tyson's appearance at WM 14 in 1998, when the hugely controversial boxer appeared side-by-side with Stone Cold Steve Austin for Austin's first coronation as WWE Champion.

WWE is already getting the celebrities together for this year's show -- including Kim Kardashian and Raven Symone, neither of whom make me want to spend 50 bucks to see them, or in Mayweather's case, someone who might convince me to change my mind about even ordering the show.

But there's one celebrity who wasn't even on the public's radar at this time last week that if WWE had any sense whatsoever, they'd reach out to and pay any price to secure for the show.

Kristen.

Yes, Kristen -- Eliot Spitzer's "Kristen." Think about it. Has there been a bigger celebrity in the country over the past week? Isn't there a ton of intrigue about what she'll do first, what she'll say?

Let's say, totally hypothetically speaking, that WWE reached out to her and said listen -- we'll give you a million bucks to come to WrestleMania and perform one of your songs in front of 60,000 people, and millions more on Pay-Per-View. You don't have to discuss the Spitzer thing at all -- just be there and sing your song. Maybe do a backstage vignette with Edge or something, just say hi.

Talk about a win-win: She'd get a ton of cash money and the chance to plug her music (which it seems is what she really wants out of all this anyway). And she'd still be able to sell her story for a ton of money afterwards. WWE would get her first public appearance, live and in living color, at their biggest show of the year. They get to show the best of their product to a brand new audience on a grand stage. Imagine the hype. Imagine the coverage.

What Tyson was to mainstream celebrity media then, Kristen is right now. Mania's only two weeks away -- if they strike while the iron is hot, they can back up the Brinks truck.

If you don't think people would plunk down 50 bucks for that, you're nuts.

Eliot Spitzer's not the only one leaving money on the table these days. The WWE has made a habit of it for a while.

Look at the way they've booked John Cena's return. To their credit, it actually started out great -- his unannounced appearance and win at the Royal Rumble was absolutely fantastic. There are those who'd make the argument that they should have announced he'd be there to pop the buyrate, but just starting a buzz once again that "Anything can happen on Pay-Per-View" is good enough for me.

They dropped the ball just 24 hours later.

After Cena's return at the Rumble, fans were buzzing. They wanted to see him, hear what he had to say, see him back in action. There was intrigue around him -- what he'd do next, why he'd come back the way he did, whether he could still handle himself physically.

So instead of milking this for all it was worth (and at its heart, the wrestling business is about one thing, making money), we get a long promo segment the very next night on RAW and his first match back also on free TV not too long after.

No!

Here's what you do: Randy Orton comes to the ring the next night on RAW and cuts a promo about how he beat Jeff Hardy the night before at the Rumble, yet all anyone could talk about was John Cena. Orton says he's the one who put Cena out of action and he knows Cena won't have the guts to face him at WrestleMania, and would probably instead face the SmackDown champion.

Then you put Cena on the TitanTron for 10 seconds (he doesn't even appear in the area, and no entrance -- just 10 seconds on the TitanTron). Says very simply, "Randy Orton -- I'll see you at WrestleMania." Then he disappears, and we don't see him again until WrestleMania. When you have to pay for it.

There. That's it. That's all you have to do. The back story is built in -- Orton puts Cena out of action, Cena returns for revenge. You get the intrigue -- what will happen when they finally come face to face? Will Cena be able to handle himself physically? You get the thrill of waiting for the big moment to happen. Let Orton tell me the story, balancing his cockiness against Cena's mind game of making him wait.

Make people pay to see what they most want to see!

But no. Instead, the WrestleMania main event is a Triple Threat with three guys who have no real defined story behind the usual "I want the title!" "No, I want the title!" bull that they always use.

You've already seen Cena wrestle since his return. Heck, you've already seen Cena wrestle ORTON since his return! And you get Triple H in there for no good reason except the fact that Triple H wanted to be in there.

Where's the intrigue? Where's the emotion? Why do I care?

The answer: There is none. And I don't.