CHEAP HEAT: MAYWEATHER'S PRICE TAG HAS THE BACKSTAGE TALKING

by Matt Loede, Let's Wrestle

The WWE released a bombshell this past week as it became public that boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. is going to pull in an estimated $20 million for his "fight" with the Big Show at this years WrestleMania. The story came out on the same day that the company held a press conference for Mania at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where Mayweather acted more like a heel than a face when he got into a verbal sparring match with fans that ended up with him throwing money into the crowd to basically mock the jeers.

The story all along with Mayweather is that he is supposed to be the face in this war with Show, and in the end, win the match at Mania. Problem is Mayweather has that type of personality that makes him a much better bad guy, and the crowd sees that and seems to want to push him that way. No way the company is paying $20 mil for a middle of the road guy, who goes between heel and face. There has been some backstage tension from up top as to how this angle is all going to play out, and how Mayweather is received by the fans in the end.

Then there is the dynamic of the rest of the WWE talent, who sees an outsider come in, rake in $20 mil for one match, and take away a lot of the hype that they felt they would be getting for the event. There were some rumblings this past week that backstage a lot of the talent was a little more than upset when word came out about the $20 mil price tag for Mayweather. Having Donald Trump involved last year at Mania was not that big of a deal, as even though he got a handsome payday as well, it wasn't $20 mil, and Trump never got into the ring to try the sport that the current wrestlers have poured their life into.

The driving force behind the whole Mayweather angle was Shane McMahon, who has sort of taken the bull by the horns in being the spokesperson for the event. Shane was the one that pushed hard for Mayweather, and also tried to get Oscar De La Hoya, but he turned down an invite to be at the event. There has also been word that Shane will take over even more creative when his sister Stephanie leaves the company to have her second child. It will be interesting to see the creative changes when that all comes down. Bottom line, the Mayweather angle is only going to get more tricker as the event gets closer.

* The first three inductees for the WWE Hall of Fame have been announced, with Ric Flair coming last week, and this week the duel announcement of Peter Mavia and Rocky Johnson, the grandfather and father of The Rock - Dwayne Johnson. The two were tapped to go in together as Johnson as agreed to be the one to induct both his grandfather and Dad. With Flair and the Rock being a part of the show, this years ceremony already has more star power than last years yawner.

* A few more Mania matches are either on the books or close to happening. First the Ric Flair vs Shawn Michaels match is official, which has to be a blow to Hulk Hogan, who had been pushing for he and Flair. We also added Chris Jericho to the Money in the Bank Match this past Monday, putting he, Jeff Hardy, Shelton Benjamin, and Mr.Kennedy in the match. They also announced that Umaga will take down a SmackDown star, that wrestler almost for sure is going to be announced as Batista.