The Citrus Bowl in Orlando, FL was decked to the nines for WM 24. There was an almost block long entrance ramp that led to a fully covered ring area complete with lights and video screens. There had been some rain in the area but when the show started everyone seemed to be drying off.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The "Bo's Prediction" part of the review below was posted on Friday Night (032808).

BELFAST BRAWL:
Finlay vs. JBL
BO'S PREDICTION:
Do not expect much of a match here but this will get more mainstream coverage than anything else on the card. This can be booked as a shoot match and have the two look like they are really going at one another or have Mayweather dance around for a while, get thrown around a bit then knock Show out with a series of punches. Of course Show is going to lose because this match follows the same formula as the Bam Bam Bigelow/Lawrence Taylor match years back. The WWE isn’t paying Mayweather that much money to lose. The shelf life on this match up is ticking.

BO'S REVIEW: 
After a fine performance of America the Beautiful from John Legend the show began with the Belfast Brawl and when Finlay came out he was with his storyline son, Hornswoggle. JBL began the match before the bell and the two peppered each other with weapons galore. The major high spot was Finlay (in his shiny new trunks) doing the Undertaker leap through the ropes but he took a garbage can shot to the head for his troubles. JBL threw a garbage can at Hornswoggle and clipped him in the leg with it. JBL got thrown thru a table but after hitting Finlay in the leg with a kendo stick he finished him off with a hard clothesline from Hell.

We then saw the first appearance of Kim Kardashian backstage that set up the Money in the Bank match with a faulty mike. Kennedy entered and told everyone that he was going to win the match.

RAW vs. SMACKDOWN:
Umaga vs. Batista
BO'S PREDICTION:
It has already been rumored that one way or the other Umaga is going to be moved onto the Smackdown roster since there really isn’t anyone left on the Raw side for him to fight. The move will either be made the Smackdown after WM or when the rumored draft takes place on 4/21’s 3 hour Raw. This means we are going to get a knock down drag out fight that ends in a draw or someone will get involved and cause the match to be stopped.

BO'S REVIEW: 
The match began with Teddy Long and William Regal introducing Umaga and Batista. The match consisted of Umaga and Batista taking turns beating on each other. Umaga got tossed to the top of the ring so that he could get kicked in the stomach and set up him losing. Batista got him up for the Batista bomb and something was off because he dropped him as he was supposed to but Batista went sideways.

ECW CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Chavo Guerrero vs. Battle Royal Winner
BO'S PREDICTION:
It is a sure bet that Chavo already knows who he is facing so this match will have to look like he is facing someone he isn’t prepared for even though he isn’t. If he is going up against a smaller wrestler then this could be a good match but if he is facing someone like Khali or Henry then I wouldn’t expect much. I can’t say that Chavo is over as ECW champion so he is going to either lose the strap here or at the next PPV.

BO'S REVIEW: 
The walk to the ring took longer than the match since Chavo was pinned in eight seconds making Kane the new ECW champion.

The now semi-chunky Raven-Simone was in the ring to introduce the 50 Make-A-Wish kids who were flown in for the show. The lighting in their area sucked at first but we did get to see them as she gushed about being there. For some reason she was showing a lot of cleavage.

CAREER ENDING MATCH:
Ric Flair vs. Sean Michales
BO'S PREDICTION:
The great promo delivered by Flair Monday night set up this match in the vest way possible. It’s fairly obvious that Michaels is going to go over here and reports have Michael feeling the pressure a bit. He would go down in history as the man who retired Ric Flair so that is understandable. I don’t know how long this match will be but expect some blood since both bleed rather easily. However long the match is I would expect a long ovation for Flair when it is over. This would be one of those situations in which the rosters would come out and carry Flair off but if that does happen then it will happen in a backstage segment and definitely a DVD extra.

BO'S REVIEW: 
The match began as a chop fest that blistered each man’s chest. HBK did a moonsault out of the ring and landed hard on one of the announce tables and we all winced when he did. HBK hit Flair with a flying elbow but hesitated to deliver a superkick and got put into the figure four for his troubles. After HBK got out he was clipped and put in the move again but got out a second time. He got Flair with a superkick right under the chin but Flair kicked out of the pin. When the two hooked up Flair hit HBK with a kick in the nuts while the ref wasn’t watching (I was getting something at the time because I knew the move was coming). HBK put Flair in the figure four but Flair got out and rolled HBK up but no pin here either. We get some more chops and HBK sets up another superkick as Flair is on the ground. HBK milked the moment for all it was worth and mouthed ‘I’m sorry’ which doesn’t turn him heel as Flair tells him to bring it. HBK superkicked Flair into retirement and got out of the ring as soon as he could to give Flair the spotlight. Flair got up, kissed and hugged his family and took that long slow walk down the massive ramp as the fans gave him a standing ovation.
 
Grisham interviewed Edge who told of attending the WrestleMania in which Hulk Hogan lost to the Ultimate Warrior. He sold that this was when he lost his innocence and that he planned on ending the Undertaker’s winning streak.

PLAYBOY BUNNY MATCH:
Maria and Ashley vs. Beth Phoenix and Melina
BO'S PREDICTION:
Last week on Raw Candice Michelle re-injured her left clavicle and had surgery Monday. This left Maria without a partner and due to the nature of the match her partner had to have appeared in Playboy. This left out Mickie James and anyone on the present roster since no one active had appeared in the magazine. Torrie Wilson is out with a back injury and there was no chance that the company was going to bring anyone back just to work the match. That meant that a doctor had to give Ashley medical clearance to return from a hand injury and due to her being rusty as hell expect Maria to do the bulk of the work here. Snoop Dogg is the MC for the match and Kim Kardashian will be around as well to hang outside as the remaining Divas toss anyone back into the ring that gets tossed out. The Playboy girls will go over here and due to a company edict Jerry Lawler won’t be allowed to say the word ‘puppies’.

BO'S REVIEW: 
Snoop came down the long ramp on a tricked out golf cart that looked like a Mercedes. Ashley and Maria came out first then Beth Phoenix and Melina came out with Santino. Snoop watched the match from a king’s throne. There was some action with the lumberjacks but most of the action took place in the ring. During the match the lights inside the ring went out but the action continued until temp lights came on. Maria was about to get the pin but Santino pulled her out of the ring. Jerry Lawler got up and punched Santino out but Phoenix got the pin with her cradle move. As Maria protested Santino’s actions he got clotheslined hard by Snoop who then laid lips on Maria to console her. I would have expected the Bunnies to go over here but Vince changed his mind.

WWE CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE MATCH:
Randy Orton(c) vs. HHH vs. John Cena
Early word is that Orton loses the belt to HHH and Cena and HHH begin a program that keeps Cena in the hunt until SummerSlam. This makes HHH the ‘cool heel’ against Cena and keeps the sales of his new shirt up. Because that is the early word there is a chance that Vince will swerve us and have Cena take the belt from Orton by pinning HHH or Orton keeping the belt by pinning HHH. I would expect a nice 30 minute match with the advantage going from one to the other before a sudden pin and fireworks celebration. In all actuality Orton has been a damn good champion and he has curtailed all of the negative behavior that he once displayed. Now if the point is to make HHH the main player on the brand (even though it is clearly Cena) then he will have to pedigree one person for the win and the other for good measure. The release of the HHH collection this week sort of makes you think that he will go over but if HHH is so damn good then why does he have a 2-disc set while Austin, Cena, HBK and Rey Mysterio got 3-disc sets and the Rock is getting one as well?

BO'S REVIEW: 
This was the match that was a shock. We saw a color guard lining the ramp and they played My Country ‘Tis of Thee and then John Cena came out. HHH came out next and he got green fireworks from the top of the Citrus Bowl. Randy Orton came out to just his entrance theme and nothing special at all. Since the match was anything goes Orton clocked HHH with the belt and it was on. While HHH had Orton in a sleeper hold Cena picked up both men in a fireman’s carry but Triple H hops off and gets Cena in the nuts. (BTW, the move of the night was the crotch shot) Cena showed how strong he is by getting Orton in a fall away slam position and putting him on his shoulders for an FU. The three went back and forth before Orton hit HHH with an RKO and knocked him out of the ring. As Cena has Orton in the STFU HHH pulls Orton to the ropes. Cena tosses HHH from the ring (in the Flair move) and puts the STFU on Orton again in the middle of the ring but HHH climbs back in and applies the Crippler Crossface on Cena. The three went back and forth before Cena applied the STFU onto Orton again but then HHH put him in the crossface. Orton gets out and when we think that HHH is going to get Cena to tap Orton kicks HHH dead in the head and falls onto Cena for the pin. Now the plan was for HHH to win the match and have a long program with Cena as the chaser but while the three were working on the match in the ring before the show they learned that Orton was keeping the belt. The internet changed the finish and now Orton has a program with JBL.

Floyd "Money" Mayweather vs. The Big Show
BO'S PREDICTION:
Since this is an anything goes match we can expect anything during it. I would figure on seeing lots of weapons, camera wires being wrapped around someone’s throat, if the weather holds out some action outside the protective ring area and a surprise appearance by Hornswoggle so that he can get revenge on JBL. The first feud with JBL was with Jericho and for the most part it had JBL getting over for the most part but eventually losing to end the feud. I don’t know if this will be the end of this angle since there don’t seem to be programs for the two to get into after the show is over.

BO'S REVIEW: 
The stipulations for this match were finally announced on Friday and it was more or less an anything goes match that had to have a winner. Mayweather came in and once again money was dropped onto the crowd. As expected there was liberal interference from Mayweather’s entourage and his manager protested loudly if Show did something like try to step on Mayweather’s hand and such. I will say that Mayweather took more than I thought he would because he let Show do anything we wanted. The match ended when Show got tagged with some brass knuckles that one of Mayweather’s people had around their neck. I don’t know if this was worth paying Mayweather $20 million bucks but you can’t beat mainstream publicity.

WrestleMania 25 will be 4/5 in Reliant Arena in Houston, TX. Kim Kardashian was back and she announced an attendance figure of 74, 635, a new Citrus Bowl record.

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Edge(c) vs. Undertaker
BO'S PREDICTION:
Is there anyone in the world that expects Taker to lose this match? He is 15-0 in a worked storyline and he was supposed to have the belt for a year after last years’ WrestleMania before he injured himself. This means that Edge has to do ‘what’s good for the business’ and let Taker go over but the duo have to work a good match. I would expect liberal interference from Ryder, Hawkins and Vickie Guerrrero but Taker will put Edge in his UFC submission finisher and Edge will tap out for the clean loss. Edge losing doesn’t really hurt him because he can go for a rematch at the following PPV. Storyline wise, this also can cement him as a total heel when he reveals that the only reason he has been with Vickie was to get his title back after he loses to Taker again. This puts her back into the face mode and makes him Smackdown’s main heel for quite a while.

BO'S REVIEW: 
Taker was first out and it was then that the pyro accident happened in the back seating area of the Citrus Bowl. At the start of the match Taker dove into Edge and went out of the ring so that Edge could spend the match working on his back. You could tell that Taker likes Edge because he let him get most of the offense in. Edge returned the respect by letting Taker do his flying plancha move out of the ring onto him and leg drop him from the apron. The two went back and forth but Taker took a few finishers and had the last ride countered many times. Taker then kicked Edge in the head and hit him with ‘old school’ before accidentally knocking out the ref. As the ref was out of the picture Edge hit Taker in the nuts then clocked him with a camera. Taker put Edge in the tombstone but there was no ref so Charles Robinson did a full sprint down the long ass ramp but Edge kicked out as he got there. Hawkins and Ryder came out but Taker took them down in a hurry. Edge speared Taker but he kicked out. He got speared again but Taker got him with his unnamed MMA finisher to make him 16-0. Taker got the big fireworks finish and another WrestleMania is in the books.

This was a damn good card without a lot of backstage stuff and no matches that really insulted your intelligence. I would say that as WM’s go this was one of the best but not as good as the classic WrestleMania 10.

Photo © 2008 WWE/World Wrestling Entertainment
Article © 2008 Alternate Reality, Inc.