( L - R ) Vybz Kartel, Mavado

When Sting 25 was launched at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, on Tuesday night, nobody said that Vybz Kartel and Mavado will be clashing at Jamworld on Boxing Day. Nobody had to, because when the video retrospective on clashes over the years ended, the two were put side by side on the big screen. The crowd howled.

Extensive security arrangements were also hinted at for the show, billed as 'The Settlement of all Argument', including that no entourages will be allowed on stage (no one said anything about Ninja and Kartel five years ago. They did not have to).

Show-ender

However, while all the preparations are being put in place for a clash, I wonder just what will happen if there is none? I suspect it would be the same as when Beenie Man backed down when Bounty Killer attempted to get him on stage two years ago. The show came to an end.

And speaking of the two, while people are focused on Kartel and Mavado, I suspect there is a strong possibility the two will go at it on Sting 25. And with Ninja in the mix, at the place where he was roughed up five years ago, anything can happen.

We may just see more clashes than we bargained for in the closing 'Dancehall's Baddest' segment.

(I wonder though, how anyone decides the running order of a closing session like that.)

So, a word of caution all around. Don't hype up the people for a clash (even though it has not been said in so many words) and then not deliver. It would be very bad for the show on the night, as well as the future of the 'Greatest One Night Show on Earth'.