Powell Editorials WWE WrestleMania 24 preview and predictions: Ric Flair's final night? Floyd Mayweather, Triple H, Randy Orton, Undertaker, MVP By Jason Powell Mar 28, 2008 - 01:39 PM CLICK FOR BIO Email This Article | Printer Friendly Page Send Us News & Results | Back to Main Listing This is it. After weeks and even months of buildup the big event is finally here. Triple H claims it has more drama than any Super Bowl, more pageantry than the Academy Awards, and more performers jacked up on performance enhancing drugs than the Kentucky Derby. Wait, scratch that. He didn't say that last part. He mentioned something about the Kentucky Derby during the "Larry King Live" appearance, but that wasn't it. Let's just get to the predictions. Remember, these are predictions. If you want to know how I would book these matches, click here. Randy Orton vs. John Cena vs. Triple H for the WWE Title: Most people assume Hunter is going over because, well, he's Hunter. This is a case where the match order could tell us a lot. If they have this match anywhere other than the main event slot, then I think there's a good chance they'll keep the title on Orton, which makes the most sense to me. I think there's more money in Hunter and/or Cena chasing Orton for the title. Of course, making money and catering to Hunter's ego haven't always meshed. Vince loves his babyface champions and Hunter is family. Despite all this, I'm going against the grain and picking Orton to retain in an upset. Maybe it's more wishful thinking than anything, but they've made him look so vulnerable lately that it seems like they're setting everyone up for a swerve. Edge vs. Undertaker for the World Hvt. Title: All signs point to Taker winning the match and extending his streak. Edge always delivers on pay-per-view and Taker rises to the occasion when he has a good opponent to work with. The buildup to the match has been disappointing for the most part and I really hope they give Edge enough of the match so that he somehow gains credibility even after he takes the Tombstone piledriver and loses the match. Big Show vs. Floyd Mayweather: I don't care what anyone says, I'm really looking forward to this match. I don't care if they're both being portrayed as heels. It's a spectacle match and I think Mayweather is going to surprise people. He seems to be taking his involvement more seriously than most celebrities and I think he's going to do more in the ring than most people expect. It won't be a five-star match by any stretch of the imagination, but Show's basic big man moves should pop the crowd and a few flurries of punches from Mayweather should get the people out of their seats (as long as the punches look good). I'm expecting some type of outside interference to factor into the finish. Perhaps WWE will make good on their promise to Rey Mysterio by having him side with his fellow wrestler as opposed to his boxing buddy. Again, that's probably wishful thinking because Mysterio deserves a pay-per-view payoff given the sacrifices he made by working two matches with a torn biceps muscle. Either way, I expect Show to go over in manner that doesn't make Mayweather look bad. Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels: I really hope WWE surprises everyone by putting this show in the main event slot, but I'm not holding my breath. Both wrestlers have indicated in media interviews that they're out to have a great match and I believe they'll pull it off. I'm trying to keep my expectations in check since Flair is 59 years old, but I really believe he and Michaels can produce an incredibly memorable match for Flair's swan song as an active wrestler. Chris Jericho vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. Carlito vs. MVP vs. C.M. Punk vs. John Morrison in a Money in the Bank ladder match: This match looked so much more appealing before Jeff Hardy's suspension. Speaking of Hardys, why is Matt nowhere to be found in the lineup? I really expected him to be added to this match, but he didn't even make an appearance on Smackdown. Shouldn't the guy at least be in the battle royal? I'm sure everyone involved will go all out, but I think Jericho, MVP, and Punk are the favorites with Kennedy as a dark horse who fans will take seriously. On the other hand, I don't think fans will buy into Carlito or Morrison when they climb the ladder. Jericho doesn't need the win. He has the Intercontinental Title and he's finally on a roll following that lame feud with JBL. Punk seems like a logical pick to fans, but I'm not sure whether WWE is ready to put him in position to be a World Champion outside of ECW. Meanwhile, I've been hearing so many positive things about MVP's ability and attitude from people within the company that I see him winning the match and getting a huge heel push. I guess that would also explain why they went out of their way to give him in-ring credibility in those long matches with Batista on recent editions of Smackdown. No complaints from me. I think MVP is the real deal and I'll be satisfied if he or Punk win the match. Batista vs. Umaga: This match could surprise people since both guys should be motivated to prove they deserved a better spot on the card. Batista came closer than people realize to being in a high profile match. I was told by someone close to the situation earlier this week that one of the original ideas that was pitched once Mayweather signed on was to have Batista team with Rey Mysterio against Mayweather and Big Show in a tag match. My money is on Batista scoring the clean pin unless they're setting up a long-term feud for after the draft. Raw fans everywhere will rejoice in their favorite brand's victory over the big rival known as Smackdown. Or something like that. Seriously, couldn't they have come up with a story line for this match that people might actually care about? Finlay vs. JBL: A big brawl that will probably be fought in the aisle and at ringside more than in the ring. JBL is another guy who should be motivated to prove he deserved a better spot on the card even though he hasn't done anything since he's come back to justify it. Hornswoggle interferes and Finlay gets the win. Maria and Ashley Massaro vs. Beth Phoenix and Melina. Take the Playboy bunnies since the match is named after them. I'm guessing Maria will pin Melina and Snoop Dogg will punch out Santino Marella. 24-man battle royal: It's an outdoor show and the production team really wants to show off Kane's pyro. This match will be aired on the free preview on WWE.com, meaning the only way to get a live shot of Kane's pyro on the actual broadcast is for Kane to win and challenge Chavo Guerrero. Chavo Guerrero defends the ECW Title against the winner of the battle royal: They've been building up Chavo by giving him clean wins in recent weeks so I don't see why they'd pull the plug now. Well, unless they've reached the same conclusion I have, which is that Chavo doesn't have enough charisma to be a champion even on the third show. I'll take Chavo beating Kane with some type of cheap finish. BOOKMARK DOT NET AND ADD US TO YOUR RSS • HELP DOT NET: TAKE OUR ADVERTISER DEMO SURVEY CLICK TO RETURN TO MAIN LISTING OR SELECT A LINK BELOW FROM THIS CATEGORY Powell Editorials Latest Twelve Articles WWE Smackdown Hitlist: Jeff Hardy, Triple H, Vickie Guerrero, Brian Kendrick, Undertaker, R-Truth, Shelton Benjamin, MVP TNA Impact Hitlist: Sting, Kurt Angle, Booker T, Awesome Kong, ODB, Christian Cage, A.J. Styles, Sheik Abdul Bashir ECW Hitlist: Eight-man tag main event, Super Crazy, John Morrison and The Miz, Ricky Ortiz, Gavin Spears, Matt Striker WWE Raw Hitlist: Randy Orton returns to bicker with C.M. Punk, Rey Mysterio and Candice Michelle back in action, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Honk-A-Meter WWE Smackdown Hitlist: Triple H vs. Shelton Benjamin, Jeff Hardy vs. MVP, The Brian Kendrick, Vickie Guerrero, R-Truth, Natalya, Maryse, Michelle McCool, Maria TNA Impact Hitlist: Sting promo, Samoa Joe, Kevin Nash vs. Kurt Angle, Karen Angle, Kip James, Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt