Well, there's good news and bad news here in Orlando, Fla. The good news is that the Internet at my hotel came back this morning, so I am actually sitting in my room typing this. The bad news is that the weather forecast calls for isolated thunderstorms throughout the evening. I have been told that a structure has been built over the ring at the Citrus Bowl, so the wrestlers will be nice and dry tonight. The rest of us, however, won't be so lucky. And umbrellas are not permitted in the stadium. Oh well.

With some time to kill before heading over to WrestleMania XXIV, I figured I would recap some of yesterday's WWE Hall of Fame news conference, which took place prior to the induction ceremony. A number of current and former WWE stars took part in the event, as well as Floyd Mayweather and Shane McMahon.

As I wrote yesterday, Flair's emotional comments to the media about his induction into the Hall of Fame and his career possibly coming to an end this weekend are something that I will never forget. I was less than 10 feet away from Flair when I asked him the first question, which was what his thoughts were on perhaps wrestling his final match Sunday. With tears in his eyes, he looked at me and said, "Well, it's the biggest match of my life, because if I don't win ... " At that point, he broke down before continuing. "If I don't win, I won't be able to do this anymore. This is what I love. It's what I've been trained to do my whole life."

He then lightened the mood when a reporter asked how he was managing his emotions. "I don't think I'm doing a very good job," he said with a laugh.

While Flair's comments were the most emotional, Carlito's were the most entertaining. Unlike every other performer who participated in the news conference, Carlito seemed to be totally in character. Either that or the guy is just brutally honest and perhaps disgruntled. There have been rumblings about Carlito regretting his decision to stay with WWE rather than let his contract expire.

When asked if he would consider turning over his title shot to Flair if he wins the Money in the Bank ladder match, Carlito said: "No, that's a stupid idea. Ric Flair, don't get me wrong, he is a legend. He did a great thing for sports entertainment and the world of wrestling, but it's time for him to retire. I'm not crazy about Shawn Michaels. It should have been a retirement match for both of them. Whoever wins or loses, please get the [heck] out of the ring."

Carlito was then asked what it was like for him to work a program with Flair. "Whatever," he said. "You know, he's a legend, he's great. I didn't really have anything to learn from him. I've been in the wrestling business my whole life, so I kind of know the ins and outs and how to act inside the ring. It's like when your parents try to give you advice on how to be cool or something. It's just stupid advice. It makes no sense. It's just a complete waste of time."

Carlito seemed like he was biting his tongue when he was asked what it will take for him to get to the next level in WWE. "Uh, that's a good question but I'm going to keep my mouth shut on that one. I don't want to get myself in trouble again this year," he said, referring to landing in the WWE's doghouse at last year's WrestleMania after he voiced his frustration publicly about being left off the card.

Floyd Mayweather was pretty entertaining, too. The way he rattled off the names of WWE wrestlers from the past and knew wrestling trivia -- such as what year Flair began his career and when Flair's birthday is (the day after Mayweather's) -- proved that he definitely is a big wrestling fan. He also knows how to give a good quote. He made a bold prediction that tonight's pay-per-view, featuring his match against The Big Show, will do more buys than last year's WrestleMania, which did a company-record 1.2 million buys (Mayweather mistakenly said 1.4 million), thanks in large part to Donald Trump's involvement.

"Donald Trump, you're good at what you do," he said. "He's the best at building hotels and condominiums. ... But when it comes to pay-per-view, this is something I do.This is something that I understand. He did 1.4 last year. This year, we'll break it. We'll break it, don't worry. Just sit back, relax and strap on your seat belts, because I'm gonna take you on a long ride. It's possible I could be here to stay."

WWE champion Randy Orton had an interesting response when asked about how he has matured. "I've definitely matured a lot in the course of my career here in WWE," he said. "When I started out ... I had a lot of issues with maturity. I was 19, just breaking in, we're traveling the world. There's a lot of things going on out there. The last few years, I've been able to ground myself. I got married. I really feel like my career's just blossoming now."