I figured I would empty out my notebook as I reflect on a fantastic three days in Orlando, Fla.

One of the many highlights of the weekend was the WWE Circle of Champions event that took place Saturday at Universal Studios. As part of WWE’s partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, 50 children with life-threatening medical conditions and their families attended a pizza party hosted by John Cena. Chris Jericho, Mick Foley and Mickie James also were on hand.

“It knocks me over and completely humbles me that these children’s one wish is to come to a WrestleMania, or their one wish is to meet John Cena. Anything that Make-A-Wish has ever asked for, I’ve dropped what I’m doing,” said Cena, who recently was honored by Make-A-Wish for granting his 100th wish.

Added Foley: “I would much rather be at this event than appearing at an auto parts store in Kissimmee as part of WrestleMania weekend. They have a choice of doing anything in the world, and for kids who have been through so much to want to come spend time with us is flattering beyond my ability to describe it.”

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WWE champion Randy Orton was asked at the WWE Hall of Fame news conference Saturday if he was concerned that he might lose the title because “normally a face is the winner in the main event at WrestleMania.” Orton gave a great deadpan response. “That’s interesting,” he said. “I can’t confirm that if that’s true, so I really don’t know how to answer that. A face, uh, babyface I guess is what you’re referring to.” The reporter then used Hulk Hogan as an example. “Oh, like a good guy,” Orton replied. “So basically what you’re saying is that generally good guys go over in the main event at WrestleMania. I guess if that’s the case then it’s time for a change. And you’ll see tomorrow.”

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For those keeping score, Triple H has not won at WrestleMania since 2003 after coming up short in the triple threat match for the WWE title Sunday. He receives a lot of criticism – some of it justified – for trying to keep certain wrestlers down, but the undeniable fact is that he hasn’t had the world title around his waist – except for a couple hours last October – since 2005. We all know he’s going to have several more title reigns eventually, but he deserves credit for allowing Chris Benoit, Batista, Cena and Orton to shine at WrestleMania.

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Mae Young, 85, said at the news conference that she plans to wrestle when she’s 100 and that Stephanie McMahon said she could wrestle her daughter, Aurora Rose Levesque, who would be 17 then. Young, by the way, was so excited when she was introduced at the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony that she began wildly flailing her arms, and she nailed Kelly Kelly, who was accompanying her to the podium, in the face.

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Some more observations from the induction ceremony: Any mention of Hulk Hogan’s name during the night was greeted by a chorus of boos. That’s quite a different reaction from the one Hogan received when he was inducted in 2005. … Whenever anyone mentioned North Carolina in their speech, even if it had nothing to do with Ric Flair, the crowd shouted “Wooo!” … The crowd gave Flair a four-minute standing ovation when he was introduced. I have no doubt that it would have gone on longer had an emotional Flair not asked the crowd to “please sit down.” … I thought Cena was unintentionally set up for failure when he came out to speak at the point in the ceremony when everyone was expecting Flair to be out next. The crowd had booed Cena all night, but it really got on him for that. …

What is it with JBL’s constant referencing of the Simpson brothers? When inducting the Brisco brothers, he brought up other great brother tag teams such as the Funks, Von Erichs, Steiners, Harlem Heat and the Simpsons. Shaun and Steve Simpson were a couple of Bon Jovi look-alikes who had limited success in World Class Championship Wrestling in the late 1980s, and they certainly weren’t anywhere near the caliber of the others JBL talked about. It seems odd that they got mentioned, yet the Hardys did not. ... JBL was very funny during his speech. In reference to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s monologue going long, he said: “He talked so long that the Brisco brothers and Ric Flair have already sobered up.” When discussing the Briscos’ Native American heritage, JBL said: “I saw the Briscos standing around outside. I told them, ‘This isn’t a cigar store. Go on inside.’ ” JBL also cut a promo on Christopher Columbus. Really. …

Speaking of good lines from the Hall of Fame ceremony, here’s a couple more. When the fans booed Cena, Johnson said to him, “You haven’t made it in this business until you have people chanting ‘you suck.’ Trust me, I know.” Jim Ross, when inducting the late Gordon Solie, said that “Gordon is the greatest wrestling announcer of all time. All of us other yahoos are fighting for No. 2.”

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I was very impressed with Floyd Mayweather’s performance in the ring Sunday night and the way he handled himself at the Hall of Fame news conference. Say what you want about him, but the guy is a natural entertainer. How can you not like a guy who dropped $20 million bills with his face on them to the crowd at the Citrus Bowl?

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There was a lot of talk during the weekend about WWE stars getting heat with management for associating with TNA talent, but Gregory “I Still Call Him Shane” Helms was in a unique situation. His girlfriend is TNA’s Velvet Sky, and she accompanied him to the Hall of Fame induction ceremony and WrestleMania XXIV. I ran into the couple heading into the Citrus Bowl Sunday. He was one of the really good guys that I knew from the old WCW days. Helms, who underwent neck surgery last May, said he is feeling good but that his return still is a few months away.

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Jimmy Hart is another good guy I was fortunate to cross paths with at WCW. He hosted the Hall of Fame news conference and did a great job of introducing the guests and keeping things entertaining during the breaks between guests. I don’t know of anyone who has a bad thing to say about Hart, which he once told me is the secret to his longevity – not having heat with anybody.

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I got an opportunity to interview Mickie James at the WWE Circle of Champions event. When I asked her how she felt about not having a match at WrestleMania, she said: “I’m disappointed. It’s the biggest show of the year and you want to be a part of it.” When I brought up her win over Trish Stratus for the WWE women’s title at WrestleMania 22 and the fact that the crowd cheered James even though she was a heel, she said: “It was insane, but it felt really good. I got chill bumps in the middle of it. I get chill bumps now just thinking about it.” I can verify that James did indeed have chill bumps on her arm.

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I also caught up with Jericho at the Circle of Champions affair. He told me that he had read the interview that I conducted with Rob Van Dam in January in which Van Dam said that he was frustrated by Jericho’s backstage politics when they both were in WWE. “I remember things a little differently,” Jericho said.

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I spoke briefly with former WWE star Hillbilly Jim at WWE Fan Axxess. In addition to hosting the Fan Axxess tour for five years, he also has a show on Sirius Satellite Radio called Hillbilly Jim’s Moonshine Matinee, which he described as “a four-hour outlaw country show.” During our conversation, I informed him that he and I had a mutual acquaintance. Vivienne Shub, the elderly woman who portrayed his grandmother, Granny Kim, back in the mid-1980s, also was my drama teacher at Towson State University. ...

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In closing, I want to thank the people whose professionalism and courtesy helped to make the trip a pleasant experience: WWE’s Gary Davis, Kevin Hennessy, Adam Hopkins and Joe Villa; TNA’s Ross Forman; and Universal Studios' Kristen Clark and Jennifer Kron.