Reported by Mike Siciliano of WrestleView.com
On Monday, March 17, 2008 at 3:30 AM EST

There are certain times when you're able to be in the right place at the right time, and get a stroke of luck to get some fire burning back in your belly, and get your juices flowing for another round of chair swingin', hair pullin', and violence laden chit chat here from your somewhat friendly neighborhood palace dweller, and I got one of those nice little power boosts this past weekend.

A formal thank you to the Adam and the rest of the big bosses at Wrestleview for the chance, and for my new pal, Andy Knowles from the "Pro Wrestling Rewind" radio show for allowing me not one, but two hours to spew my guts, and attempt to entertain you in my own, my one and only way.

The real truth of the matter is, someone needs to go to 99hits.com, and find out if Andy actually survived the two hours with me.

Anyway, the podcasts are being archived at Wrestleview, and my fellow combatants in wrestling, the dude is entertaining, he's knowledgeable, and he's funny, too. He's a fan, just like you and me, and I think you oughta check him out. I know I'll be the vain dope that I am, and re-listen to my own podcast about twenty more times before I get another chance, hopefully, to spew my guts on the 'net one more time.

Ok, enough with the Mick Foley cheap pops, ladies and gents, let's get down to brass tacks. It's under two weeks to go to Wrestlemania. Where do we stand?

Lets go pros and cons, ok?

Big Show vs. Floyd Mayweather. On paper, it should be one of the marquis matches on the card, but from what we've all seen on television, and what's transpired backstage according to reports, this has to be the biggest potential black eye for WWE ever. If there's any truth to Mayweather acting bigger than the company, the show, or the match, then this deal is in trouble, and I mean, thug style trouble in a big, big way. Let's not take in to consideration the fact that we've got a mismatch of epic proportions the likes of David vs. Goliath. Let's not take in to consideration the fact that a man who is Mayweather's size, who is trained to fight guys like Big Show, hasn't even made a dent in him in the times he's been pitted against the monster ( Rey Mysterio ). So, now, tell me, how is WWE actually going to be able to sell this match to the general public if Mayweather does come out with his hand in the air? Because, I believe in my heart of hearts,

The true test here will be whether or not Mayweather's posse actually remains in check, and doesn't try to one up the wrestlers. Because, if the posse does try to trump the locker room, I can tell you this, the scene from last week's Raw will intensify 100 fold at Wrestlemania, and someone's going to get hurt on a national stage, and hurt bad. I cannot believe WWE is thinking this is a good move for business now, and I would bet, if they had a choice, they'd pull this match in a New York minute.

Batista vs. Umaga for brand supremacy. I read somewhere where the basic thought that WWE has now, obviously by this match, is ECW has basically turned in to the bastard child of Smackdown. And it's pretty much true. I guess with this "talent sharing" deal, they can say that this match is really Raw vs. ECW & Smackdown, but if the brand extension was truly in full effect, you'd have guys like Striker, Big Daddy V, Richards, Dreamer, or someone else screaming like mad to get them involved in this match, make it a triple threat, and make it a full blown match for brand supremacy. With it being strictly Raw vs. Smackdown, the idea of billing this match as which brand is better is just plain silly.

But, let's turn it back for a second. This match has all the chances to be brutal with a capital B. Batista and Umaga are evenly matched from all vantage points, and to see these two colossus collide in competitive combat, (how's that for an alliteration, ladies and gentlemen?), will be down right enjoyable. So, while I may say WWE creative dropped the ball on some aspects of this match, the bottom line is, we got two guys here who are gonna kill each other on the grand stage, and frankly, I look forward to it.

The Flair vs. Michaels match, bar none, will be the one true lock of this card. Why? Simple. Both men have practically over a quarter century of experience, and both men know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the meaning of this match, and its probable eventual conclusion. I will not be the least bit surprised if Shawn Michaels' prediction comes true, and both he and Ric Flair truly do "steal" the show in Orlando.

While I suspect Money in the Bank will be insane, I'm still intermittent about it with my support due to the lack of title matches in this card, but athleticism will probably dominate my feelings once this match goes down, and I would suspect some major league spots to occur throughout this contest. I went through this one piece by piece in an earlier chapter, and I think it's still a pick 'em. I'll put my rep on the line when it's time, but not yet.

The battle royal for a shot at the ECW Champion is WWE's token way to get most of the mid card wrestlers a shot to compete in the Wrestlemania ring. While I may not like it from that perspective, and the reports being that they're not planning on a lot of time for this segment to come to a final conclusion, I do like it because there's hopefully going to be a new contender for ECW gold when the smoke clears, and that's beneficial to two programs instead of one, and that cannot be a bad thing for WWE's overall product when we come to the true brass tax. If I had to guess who would come out of this, I'd put my money on two potentials. Shelton Benjamin, or Stevie Richards. Why? Benjamin because he's been close to the title when Punk was champion, and Richards, as the emotional original returning from near tragic conditions that would've resulted in the end of his career. But, I won't confirm those picks until I know for sure who's competing, if we will even find out who is competing before the bell actually rings.

Bunnymania bothers me for this reason. I don't need Kim Kardashian on my television during a wrestling show. Snoop I can live with, because Snoop is entertaining. I watched Kardashian's reality show. She's not entertaining. She's not funny. She's not cool. She's not even that attractive, when push comes to shove, and I don't want her near my wrestling. Keep her away from the divas, because she's just, as Carlito would say, not cool. The match, well, yawn. It should be either Beth vs. Candice for the belt, or Beth vs. Candice vs. Mickie for the belt, but hey, this is WWE, which means you don't have to defend your belt on a pay per view all the time, obviously.

Sore topic, I know. It's a sore one for me, these lack of title matches.

Finlay vs. JBL will be as brutal, if not more so, than the Cena vs. JBL I quit match from Judgment Day a while back. Why? Simple. Finlay is a BRAWLER. He knows how to fight these fights. Cena was just coming in to his own when he did that I Quit Match. Finlay's done this for years. I would not be the least bit surprised to see both men wearing crimson masks early in this match, and this match being by far the most violent of the matches all night under the stars. I can't wait to see it.

Edge vs. The Undertaker. How to say this, and still keep my column?

I hope Undertaker tombstones Edge so hard that he forgets this whole obnoxious angle with the Smackdown General Manager.

It's another sore topic of mine, so let's move on, ok?

This match will be a classic. I expect not one thing less. Edge may be a pompous ass on camera, but he's a historian. He knows the value of this match, and what's at stake. He'll do the right thing for business, and I suspect the match will follow suit. I hope this time out, the chips fall properly for the victor, and the scenario that was expected last year, can happen this year.

Randy Orton vs. John Cena vs. Triple H for the WWE Championship.

Last time it was a 3 way was H vs. HBK vs. Benoit. We all know how good Wrestlemania 20 was. We all had our own heroes in that match. Mine was Benoit. A lot of people probably were routing for HBK. H was playing the classic heel. Here we have the dominant heel champion, the wanna be heel face that can't find the way to turn heel, and the face who everyone cannot stand. The emotion throughout this match in the Citrus Bowl will be intense to experience. I kind of wish that WWE Films hadn't sunk their fingers in to Cena, virtually guaranteeing him no chance to win this match. I would've liked this match to be more of a flip a coin type deal. But, the bottom line here is, expect the King to return, and it's definitely time. Question will remain, will this be the birth of the true King of Kings, or is there a coronation of sorts to come in the near future?

I'd be very interested to hear your opinions on Wrestlemania. I offer you the chance to share yours with me, and I'll publish them at the Palace Project Blog. I have one already to go, and I suspect more will come soon, well, I hope.

Click here to check out the blog, and see some of the content there for yourself.

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Thanks very much for taking the time to read my column.

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