CALDWELL'S TAKE CALDWELL'S SUNDAY BRUNCH: WrestleMania preview edition - WWE vs. TNA, pre-Mania thoughts, WM 25 prediction, TNA ratings story Mar 30, 2008 - 4:48:22 PM

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By James Caldwell, Torch columnist

It's been a while since I've published a Sunday Brunch. Long-time readers recall the Brunch from The Lounge era when times were simpler and the celebrity list at WrestleMania was a handful of retired sports folks, not over hyped celebrities. (couch, Kardashian, cough.)

Since WrestleMania happens only once a year, I thought I'd bring back to the Sunday Brunch just in time for WrestleMania. Some of you know the drill, and in the interest of ensuring my colleague in crime, Mike Roe, is able to read this edition, I'm keeping it short and sweet. This won't be your 10-pages-in-Word edition of the Brunch. After all, I only have an hour until company arrives for the big WrestleMania party at Torch South HQ, which will coincidentally be party central for WrestleMania 25 in Houston. Enough talk, let's talk.

Appetizer: Cold War

So, there's apparently a Cold War down in Orlando with WWE and TNA officials reportedly instructing their troops not to mingle. Certainly there are real elements to this edition of the Cold War, considering that Vince McMahon and Jeff Jarrett will probably never exchange Christmas cards as long as TNA is in business.

From the outside looking in, though, the war of words between WWE and TNA seemed to be more about hype rather than trying to prevent a West Side Story from breaking out in the Orlando hotel. If it gets people talking, then mission accomplished. But, with WWE and TNA higher-ups seen chatting together in the Orlando hotel this weekend, this appears to be about getting a buzz on the Internet more than anything else.

Protein shake replacement meal - the Wade Keller vegan special: TNA Ratings story

TNA went up against the NCAA Tournament two weeks ago. They went up against them this week for their first live show and there wasn't much difference between the ratings. Bottom line is that "being live" is over-rated. If anything, TNA should but an end to any talk of going live ever again. Not because of one week's rating, but because the production value in the first hour of that show was embarrassing.

Mike Roe said it best in our C&R audio update this weekend that he'd rather see a polished product with a few days of post-production to clean up the taping and present a good product. "Being live" is a Monday Night Wars era concept that no longer help defines the quality of the product. Considering TNA references something from the MNWars in every show, and they're still trying to hold onto those memories, it wouldn't surprise me to see TNA push for more live shows. I think that would be a mistake.

I'd rather see TNA put together a good two-hour show with a few days of work behind their TV product. That first hour of the live show generated poor ratings for many reason. One of the key reasons was due to the shoddy production. Keep it taped and clean it up three days later, not one hour later.

Pancakes and buttery syrup - WrestleMania 24

- With WWE wrestlers and personnel doing an unprecedented number of interviews with mainstream media for this year's Mania, they've been able to present a few red herrings and clues along the way.

WWE has hinted there will be a major twist or surprise in the Mayweather vs. Show match, while the story being floated around is that Oscar De La Hoya is watching the Mania PPV with Floyd Mayweather's parents. It wouldn't surprise me to see De La Hoya appear as a surprise in some capacity, ala John Cena doing interviews before the Rumble saying he wouldn't be at WrestleMania, then shocking everyone with the Rumble entry.

- Flair vs. Michaels is one of those matches where I've been playing it in my head the last few days trying to get a feel for how it's going to go. I honestly think Ric Flair wins this match. The hype has been that Flair is definitely losing and this is it for him; buy the PPV to see his final match. It's the reverse of the media interviews Jeff Hardy did before the Rumble when it seemed to be a foregone conclusion that Hardy would win the WWE Title, and people were buying the PPV to see Hardy win.

WWE might be employing a little reverse psychology in this situation, but it would not surprise me to see Flair win this match with a dirty trick, a handful of tights, or a good old fashioned figure four leg lock.

- The match order on the PPV is going to be interesting. I've mapped out all of scenarios in my head that if Undertaker and John Cena/Triple H are winning titles tonight, then it will be Taker vs. Edge in the second-to-last match, then a buffer match, then the WWE Title match. If it's only Taker winning, then I believe that match will go on last.

Based on Flair having the main event at the Hall of Fame, it would be nice to see Flair vs. Michaels go on last, but that probably won't be happening. WWE's hype on TV has been more for the Raw three-way and Show vs. Mayweather, but I don't expect Show vs. Mayweather to finish the show. After all, if that match is a disaster, WWE doesn't want it to be the final image of the show.

Dessert: WrestleMania 25

The Rock, Steve Austin, and John Cena did a little business last night at the Hall of Fame. Part of the business was Rock giving Cena what he had coming after Cena ripped on him for leaving the wrestling business to make movies. The other part of business at hand seemed to be planting seeds for a WrestleMania 25 main event.

During Rock's celebrity roast, he spared Austin the rod (at least from what the general public saw on TV), while giving Cena the treatment. I'm picturing Austin and Rock's main eventing the Hall of Fame next year in Houston, where they set box office records for WrestleMania 17. Austin and Rock would then team up in the Mania main event to face Cena and, say, Hogan or Hunter, whose is a natural opponent for Rock.

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