CHEAP HEAT: TENSIONS CONTINUE TO MOUNT IN MAYWEATHER-BIG SHOW SAGA

by Matt Loede, Let's Wrestle

Following last weeks near brawl that took place between the posse for Floyd Mayweather and WWE wrestlers following the weigh-in for the Mayweather-Big Show match for WrestleMania XXIV, tensions will for sure be running high tonight for RAW. I would expect Mayweather to not be on the show tonight, or if he is only to be on and have little or no contact with Show after last week. The angle can only be protected so much, and with two live TV's left before Mania, they really have to watch how this thing goes or it could be a disaster.

A lot of people will be holding their breath when the bell rings at Mania between Mayweather and Show. There is no question that anytime you put a non-wrestler in a match with this much exposure, there is cause for concern. In the past the company has been somewhat lucky that others have been able to pull it off, but with Mayweather, there has been this underlying tone since the start that this thing could explode, and if it does, the company will have major egg on its face.

The biggest "non-wrestler" that ever headlined a Mania was NFL Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor, who was in the main event at WM XI. The big difference between where Taylor is and where Mayweather is comes from the stance that Taylor was a total team player in the feud, working with his opponent, the late Bam Bam Bigelow, in the weeks leading up to the match to make it as good as it can be. Of course Taylor blew out in about 4 minutes, but overall it was a good enough match to seem real and get over with the fans.

The stakes now are so much higher, that the company cannot afford for this thing to bust. They have sold an estimated 65,000 for the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, will have millions more watching on PPV, and with Mayweather involved, there is more mainstream coverage of the even that otherwise would not garner it. There has been talk of having the match on last as the true "main event," but I feel that would be a mistake just in case it IS a total bomb. You put the WWE triple threat title match on last as a protection so that fans can still walk away happy.

* Things are going from bad to worse for now suspended WWE star Jeff Hardy, as his home was destroyed in a fire on Friday night. His brother Matt saw the fire break out, but by the time he made it to the home nothing could be saved. TMZ.com reports that they have no cause for the blaze, and while Jeff lost everything, he also lost his dog in the fire.

* With two live TV's before Mania, expect to see Gordon Solie and Eddie Graham announced as the final two for the WWE Hall of Fame. There have been some rumblings that Hulk Hogan may intro Graham into the Hall, with Jim Ross being the presenter for Gordon Solie. Other than the Rock, no other presenters have been announced, including who is going to induct headliner Ric Flair.

* I realize that you can't have 20 wrestlers go into the Hall every year, but there are still many names out there that clearly deserve to go in. Among them are: Randy Savage, Ricky Steamboat, Jake Roberts, Rick Rude, The British Bulldogs, Honkey Tonk Man, Steve Austin, The Rock, and Ted Dibiase are just a few that come to mind. I realize there is some underlying bad blood with Savage and the company (or Vince McMahon), but if you consider he was in the main or co-main events for WrestleMania's IV, V, and VIII, he is the most deserved to be in there.