Failing Promotion

When Floyd Mayweather burst onto the wrestling scene during WWE's No Way Out PPV and broke The Big Show's nose, it was a great wrestling moment. Here was the world's best pound-for-pound fighter in a WWE ring, squaring up to a guy who genuinely looks as if he could snap Floyd in half using only his thumb and forefinger. It was great TV and it promised a great angle building into Wrestlemania. A few weeks later and things aren't looking so good...

A big part of what made this whole stunt seem like such a great idea was that Mayweather has always promoted his fights well. He's a naturally charismatic guy who has never been short for words on the subject of himself or his opponents; he's practically made for wrestling. Yet on every appearance on WWE Raw (Sky Sports) so far, Mayweather has struggled mightily, looking as if he has no concept of what he's supposed to be doing. It's almost as if Dr. Evil has stolen his mojo.

Sadly I can only believe that such awful performances stem from Mayweather's complete disinterest in the job at hand, something that doesn't bode well for whatever's going to happen at Wrestlemania. If he can't be bothered to learn what he needs to do in his promos, after all, what effort could be put into what he's supposed to do in the ring? Expectations there may have always been low, admittedly, but without getting the build-up right - the one part that promised some entertainment - it's hard to see anything but disappointment on the big night, both for WWE in terms of buys and for the fans in terms of entertainment.

Whatever Mayweather is actually making out of the $20 million WWE say they're paying him, he certainly isn't earning it so far.