John Cena Going Away?

At Extreme Rules, John Cena avenged that loss he took against Brock Lesnar almost a decade ago. Many people might say it was your typical Cena match. Nevertheless, did Brock actually win the war?

Cena did a little speech after the match. It looks like he will be taking some time off. Injury? Whether real or fake, it looks like he will be gone for a while. The centerpiece of the entire company will be going away. Unless the deal between Lesnar and the WWE has changed, I don't think this means you will be seeing a lot more of Lesnar for months and months to come. Then again, it could also be that sites misinterpreted how many appearances Brock would have to make within a year.

Even if Brock is the new top guy of the company, what a way to welcome him? He lists all these ridiculous demands last week, like he is pretty much taking over Raw, then loses to the current top guy? And then the current top guy still gets injured and has to go away, so you might still have to count on Brock? If all this was planned beforehand, it is a pretty crazy plot. If Cena really did get injured by accident, this messes things up.

Assuming this isn't about Brock being featured more on Raw, who is the centerpiece while Cena is away? Obviously, it should be CM Punk. Thanks to Smackdown stars appearing on Raw so regularly, Sheamus and Orton can be used more on Raw to cover the lack of top faces on the Raw roster. How will ratings do without Cena? They were technically slipping even with Cena, but it will be interesting to see how they do when the centerpiece is not around to tower over whoever has the WWE Championship. CM Punk did not do very well last year in the ratings, but let's just see how he and the WWE can do without Cena.

Rey Mysterio Suspended Again

Rey Mysterio will not be coming for at least another 60 days now. He violated the WWE Wellness Policy for the second time. He was already out with an injury for several months.

Strike 2. As it goes, the WWE will release someone who violates the policy three times. However, I don't think Rey Mysterio will be one of those guys who messes up so bad that he is the first guy to be fired for three strikes. And the WWE would definitely not like to lose this guy. Even at his age and with all the injuries he gets, he is a good worker in the ring, popular around the world, and can sell merchandise. I mentioned a while ago that the WWE seems to have too many top heels around at the moment. Aside from turning certain people face, getting back faces like Rey Mysterio would have helped things. And what about Sin Cara? He was not at the level of Rey Mysterio in terms of his position on the card, but he was a popular face as well.

Obviously, the WWE is not in huge trouble. They have been going on for months without certain superstars, whether due to injury or suspension. They have had a lot of debuts and returns recently. They very much can move on without Rey Mysterio. Some people are always saying that Rey Mysterio should retire. The ball is in his court. He is a legend and will be in the Hall of Fame one day, but I don't think the WWE is in too desperate a need for him. How much does he want to come back? He'll have to try to stay clean even harder now.

Extreme Rules: Miz & Orton/Kane

Miz didn't get featured on this week's Raw in the manner I expected him, but he got something just as good. It was announced that he would get a shot at the United States Championship in the pre-show match at Extreme Rules. That's not too horrible. They could have worked it so Jack Swagger or Dolph Ziggler got the title shot against Santino. Letting Miz have this match also furthers the fact that it was Miz who won it for Laurinaitis at Wrestlemania. This is Miz's reward.

The negative of all this? It is technically off the PPV. Moreover, they definitely could have done something more on Raw to hype this match than just advertise it. They definitely could have involved Miz more. It makes me think that the WWE probably will work this into some angle or Miz will bring it up in a promo. Why else would they pass up an easy opportunity to involve Miz in the show to hype a title match? It would be stupid.

Speaking of stupid, I should learn not to have confidence in the WWE for anything. I had confidence that they would make up a good stipulation for Randy Orton vs. Kane. What is it going to be? Falls Count Anywhere? Really? These two had a No DQ match on Smackdown just a few weeks ago. Falls Count Anywhere is different, but it still is not anything too special. I was hoping for something more creative than that. I like how the feud has developed, but if this does end up being the final encounter, this is a mediocre way to end it. If I was wrong in having confidence for the WWE to deliver here, should I even really have confidence for them to deliver with their use of Miz?

The Other Bella Wins The Diva's Championship

The Diva's Championship changed hands last night on Raw. If you saw the match, you saw the awkward finish. Beth Phoenix hopped off the apron and landed awkwardly. Looks like an ankle injury. Reminded me of how Orton got injured a few weeks ago. Hopefully, nothing too serious. Beth has had bad luck with injuries. She was out for about a month while still holding the Diva's Championship.

And the new Champion? Nikki Bella. Did they toss her the title to convince the Bellas to stay? Were they never leaving? Giving them the title so they can drop it to Kharma, assuming she is ready to return? Whatever the case may be, will the WWE even do anything good with this title run? What did giving the title to Brie really accomplish for her last year? Aside from that little boost in credibility, it didn't make her more over or do too much for the diva division. I can say the same thing will happen with Nikki. And this is all definitely not a reward for getting very over.

How was Beth's title run? Aside from the month she was injured? They pretty much just built up various opponents for her to work with and go over. They created this partnership with Natalya, but that dissolved rather easily. People can talk about how great it is that her reign lasted so long, and she did come close to breaking Maryse's record as longest-reigning Diva's Champion, but so what? Being realistic, did it actually help her get over, entertain, or do anything to really draw for the WWE? I don't think so. It was a long reign, but the WWE did not invest good creative interest in it. That is exactly what you would expect in how they treat a credible jobber.

Does that make Nikki a centerpiece? Beth Phoenix is a credible jobber, which is one of those women whom the WWE has around for their wrestling ability, not to develop them to be over, and she lost the title to a woman who was obviously hired more for looks than wrestling ability. But Nikki is not a centerpiece. Just like the WWE did not do a proper job of wrapping the division around Brie a year ago, they are not going to do it with Nikki. The build to Nikki's title match was poor. She beat Beth a few weeks ago in a non-title match, didn't really do much since then to further the feud, and got the title shot. That's not how you treat a centerpiece.

The WWE diva division is still a mess. But you probably know that. They are still in this dark age. More interesting stuff is going on in the periphery than in the actual wrestling division. Eve is the Executive Assistant to John Laurinaitis. They are doing more for her than they had been doing for Beth Phoenix. They are developing Eve. If Eve should succeed in becoming over from this, they can insert her back into the diva division as the centerpiece. Go back to the first dark age of the diva division. That would be after Sable left. Sable was their first centerpiece of the diva division. After she left, it took a few months to get Trish Stratus, then it took even more time to develop her, but they eventually did get the division revolving around her. Remember one of the major things they did to develop her? Put her in a storyline with the McMahons. Eve is going in the same direction. I would be paying more attention to what they do with Eve in the coming months than Nikki.

Daniel Bryan: Hate This Man!

The WWE is just trying way too hard to get people to hate Daniel Bryan. Are the "Yes!" chants really that annoying? Maybe, but "What?" chants have annoyed me at times in recent years. And so what if Daniel Bryan is supposed to be a heel? If he gets cheered, and your attempts to keep him a heel are not working, turn the guy face. When Christian officially returns to an on-screen role, that will be one more main-event heel in the mix. Daniel Bryan turning face would not mess things up horribly.

Let me go back and talk about what I really don't like in the recent developments with the wrestling world's most popular vegan. Didn't he break up with AJ? The kiss from AJ led to his downfall at Wrestlemania. Breaking up with her made sense. And yet, the WWE still has this guy go out of his way to be a jerk to her? They still insert her into his segments? Now would have been a good time to either branch AJ off on her own or pair her with a face wrestler. Have her stand up for herself and move on after Daniel Bryan. As for Bryan himself, now would be the perfect time to revitalize his feud with Sheamus. People can blame AJ for the loss a few weeks ago, but who would win between Sheamus and Daniel Bryan when it is just between them? I didn't like how they were handling this feud before Wrestlemania, and I still don't really like it. Let it be more between just the two guys now.

One of the reasons they are doing this is definitely to get the fans to hate Daniel Bryan. They want to sell shirts, but they want to get him booed. They seem to really think they can control everything. Some people can say that another reason for continuing to push AJ in this feud is to build up to the payoff for AJ. They already could have had the payoff and did a better job in developing the feud between the two men. And they are just trying too hard. If they wanted this thing to payoff for AJ, give her the mic more and give it less to Bryan. Luckily, it should all be ending soon, since the PPV is coming up. AJ will either get back with Daniel Bryan or have that moment where she slaps him in the face, whether literally or figuratively. But what about Sheamus/Bryan? How about a good title feud between just them?

Miz: From Loser To Winner To Nothing

Some people might have thought I was crazy when I said that Miz might have been better off with that losing streak he had before Wrestlemania. What has Miz been up to since I said that? On the first Raw after that, he had only a quick backstage bit with Laurinaitis. The Raw after that, he was not featured at all. Brock Lesnar was not actually on Raw, but there was still a lot of hype for him. Not even a meaningful mention about Miz.

So how would you compare his current treatment to that losing streak last month? I think a losing streak getting hyped and potentially leading to something is better than not getting any attention at all because there are too many other priorities on the card. Miz is currently an afterthought, which is nothing new for him. But when he had that losing streak, at least he was being featured regularly and had a storyline.

Of course, fans are still talking about Miz. I have seen some fans laughing at him for how far he has still sunk. Some people say that the reason this week's Raw had more viewers than last week is because there was no Miz. No Miz equals ratings! And then you have some people who think this should turn into a storyline for Miz. Seeing how the WWE frequently brings in what fans are talking about these days, I wouldn't be surprised if Miz mentions this in a promo at the very least, if this treatment continues much longer.

But why should it continue? Next week, Raw will be 3 hours. If they can't at least book Miz in a match or give him time to speak, something is wrong. It isn't like they have a ton of stars to fill an extra hour. How much can Brock and Cena do? I'm not saying they will shoot Miz into a big storyline right away, but they can plant the seeds for something that will really grow after Extreme Rules. Face turn? Become more involved in Smackdown? Pair him with another heel? If they are not going to do anything at all with the guy, they might as well release him. I doubt they want to do that. But even losing would be better than nothing.

Tensai Beats Cena

First, you had CM Punk vs. Mark Henry for the WWE Championship open the show, while John Cena vs. Lord Tensai closed the show. Ridiculous. I could understand the WWE allowing Cena to still get the top spot when The Rock or Brock were around, but Lesnar was not even on the show this week. This week, moreover, you had a title match that had been getting developed for a few weeks now. You have the fact that this title match is part of an even bigger feud between Punk and Jericho. And yet, for just one week, they could not let things shift so your top Champion on the show gets the top spot over the top face? I'll admit, the second hour of Raw saw more viewers than the first, but I still dislike booking like that. They should do a better job of getting their priorities straight.

Lord Tensai is a priority? He not only main-evented a Raw that included a WWE Championship match on the card, he beat the top guy of the company. Of course, it wasn't clean. Just look at Cena's face. There was also a lot of interference. And yet, it is big for this guy to be pushed this hard. This is probably the kind of push some people thought Brodus Clay would get, before he danced on down the aisle. But Tensai was just a supporting player in the bigger feud between Cena and Lesnar this week. As the storyline goes, Laurinaitis has had enough with Cena. Tensai is pretty much his Umaga. That is where this character will probably go.

Unlike Brodus Clay, it didn't take Tensai long to get off the jobber circuit and have a serious match. I wasn't impressed with this guy before. Has my opinion changed? No. He's not as horrible as The Great Khali, but I just don't find him too impressive. They are hyping him hard. If the fans buy into him, it all got the job done. And I mean beyond chanting "Albert" to annoy him. I actually liked Umaga. I can't really tell yet what I really dislike about Tensai.

Monster Kane Vs. Randy Orton

When I started talking about this feud between Kane and Randy Orton a month ago, I didn't like how weak Kane was looking. More focus was on Orton than Kane. In a Wrestlemania match a lot of people, including myself, thought would go to Orton, the build was actually pointing to Kane. And Kane won. Of course, it did not end there. Randy Orton picked up a win on Smackdown since then against Kane.

And now? Monster Kane is back. He destroyed Ryder on Raw this week. It wasn't even a match. And his promo after was good. Last week, he got Randy Orton and his dad. If this were the Kane I saw heading into Wrestlemania, it would be clear they were building him up for Orton's birthday win. The fact that it is happening now seems to say they are building Kane up to lose to Orton in the final encounter.

I like how this feud has progressed. Originally, I would have liked for this just to be a Wrestlemania feud, then have Orton enter a feud with Daniel Bryan and Kane do whatever it is the WWE may have had for him. Since that did not happen, having the feud go like this is fine. So far, both men have picked up big wins over the other. The storyline has been good. I just hope they come up with a special gimmick match to end this. Extreme Rules matches and street fights are already being used. Steel cage would be boring. Boiler Room match? I would still like to see an Inferno match again. This feud is definitely building to something that needs a big match, just like with Kane vs. Cena. I actually have confidence that the WWE will pick something good.

Bully Ray: Future World Champion?

It has been over a year since Team 3D split in TNA and Bully Ray was born. A lot of people thought that nothing great would really come of it. The gimmick is so simple. Bubba turned heel and is now a bully. Nothing too grand about that. But TNA has pushed him well, despite never having him win a title during this heel run so far, and Bully Ray has handled the role well enough to win over a lot of critics.

Does he deserve to be World Champion? He is definitely a major heel in the company. How horrible a job could he possibly do? No offense to Roode at all, but Impact hasn't exactly shot up in recent months. Given how TNA is about rotating people in and out, why not give Bully Ray the shot? Let him have a run as the top heel for a while. Am I saying that the company will improve under him? No. TNA still has issues that are holding it back, but Bully Ray is a fresh option that I believe a lot of fans will be fine seeing get the push. He has a good character. He can be a refreshing change from the typical cocky heels in a suit.

Since I have an excuse to talk about TNA, how about the ratings recently? Last week, it dropped below 1.0. That's depressing. After TNA had such a good year in 2011, which definitely got my hopes up that they may follow up right, they dropped the ball. That is probably the story of TNA. It applies to so many of the pushes and storylines. The average for the first four months in 2011 was around 1.21. The average for 2012 so far is 1.09. And I don't see anything on the horizon that may improve things for TNA. They are failing to create good hype and build real stars who can draw. I don't think they will be sinking to lows never seen by human eyes, but it is a shame they have dropped so much, considering the direction they were going just last year.

Eve Eying Laurinaitis

It looks like the WWE are going down the direction of having Eve use her female assets to get in good with the GM of Raw and Smackdown, John Laurinaitis. Of course, it helps that she also had a hand in helping Laurinaitis win at Wrestlemania. When Eve gave her promo right after Wrestlemania, this was definitely one of the possibilities laid out that the WWE could have followed up with Eve. However, this is not a direction I am loving.

Is it necessary? I still don't think the storyline between Eve and Zack Ryder got a good finish. Ryder looks like an idiot after Eve manipulated him again after revealing she was using him in the first place. If you were going to put Ryder back with Eve, and then even bring Kelly Kelly into the story, you would have had a very interesting storyline right there. And what about Miz? He is the guy who beat Ryder. Seeing as how he is somewhat lost in the shuffle, teaming him with Eve to feud with Ryder and Kelly Kelly for a while would not have been horrible. It would have given more individuals some interesting focus.

Eve can potentially get a major rub from working with Laurinaitis, the top heel authority figure. Does she really deserve it? I am all for Eve being used right, but I already gave how I would have done things right now. I have no problems with the WWE pairing her with Ryder, getting her involved in the feud between Cena and Kane, turning her heel by using Cena in the storyline, and most of whatever followed for her after that, but they just seem to be pushing her up that kayfabe ladder. Too much? I understand every diva they pushed to be a success since Trish left has failed in one way or another, but will investing all this really lead to a success? I know Eve has gotten some good heel reactions in the past few months at times, but that does not necessarily mean her overness is solidified. That is to say, is she a hated heel outside of fans just chanting insults at her? Is the WWE really getting her over with this?

Just to switch things slightly, I just want to end with how the WWE is pushing Eve's gimmick. She is a woman who uses her body to get what she wants. Is this really PG? Don't get me wrong, I'm not a PG guy. I'm 26. I can spend hours on Youtube looking at hot women in their lingerie or spandex. I'm no rapist or sexist, or anything like that. I'm not a parent. I let my 5-year old nephew watch wrestling with me, but he doesn't understand storylines. Point is, this isn't an issue for me because I take it personally offensive. I just find it annoying. On the one hand, the product is toned down to attract a younger audience. On the other hand, you have slutty storylines going on. I think this might be one of the sluttiest storylines on Raw in the diva division in some time. The Bellas being prostitutes for guest hosts was more of a joke a lot of fans made up, not really the idea the WWE was pushing. And I can't think of anything else near to this present diva angle since then. They used this idea to turn Eve heel. Then they used it again to hook Eve back up with Ryder, which then led to Ryder getting humiliated again. And now, they keep it up so they can sell the idea that Eve wants to use her looks to get in good with the GM? How long do they plan to keep pushing this gimmick? I would say parents would have a right to put their foot down and not let their children watch this stuff. I'm not looking to get into a debate with anyone about the difference between the various ratings, but when I see little kids in the audience, I know the WWE is attracting an audience that this kind of storyline may push the boundaries for. I just hope the WWE doesn't push this too much harder.

Brock Didn't Bring It

The night The Rock said his farewell, for the moment, the WWE brought in Brock Lesnar to try to keep the momentum rolling. It was smart. Brock brought some hype with him. Problem is, it didn't seem to really work.

This week's Raw rating? 3.1. Last week was much higher, but that was to be expected for the Raw after Wrestlemania. In comparison to last year, the Raw after the Raw after Wrestlemania got a 3.45. I don't think the WWE will be seeing a 3.4 or better in the near future. When they go on their international tour, Raw will be taped. Even if Raw does not drop below that 3.1, it would be crazy to expect it to do much better.

Can you blame Brock? Obviously, he is not The Rock. If The Rock could not get ratings up to a 3.8 this year, what hope did Brock Lesnar really have? You hear all these numbers on how much the WWE is paying Brock and how little he will have to do over the course of the next year. Was it really a smart investment? Don't get me wrong, I am excited to see Brock back, but who cares about what I'm excited for? Brock Lesnar came back to cause buzz. Buzz was caused. Will this end up like the buzz CM Punk caused last summer? He sold a lot of shirts, but ratings were still poor. Will Lesnar lead to an increase in PPV buys? Will he sell a lot of merchandise? As far as ratings go, it does not seem he will deliver enough to save this year from being the worst for Raw's ratings in over a decade. Yes, even worse than last year.

CM Punk: 2012 Midcard WWE Champion

I'm going to sing the same old song about CM Punk I know I have sung before. This guy is no stranger to holding the top title of Raw, yet not holding the top spot on Raw's card. And it is happening again.

Last time I talked about this, I believe the cause of CM Punk being in the title scene not getting top hype was The Rock. The Rock and John Cena was obviously more important than CM Punk and Alberto Del Rio or Chris Jericho. John Cena, unlike Randy Orton, is still being pushed as a centerpiece. More importantly, Brock Lesnar has come back to take the spot The Rock left as the guy working with Cena. Brock getting this push is not surprising. This guy used to be the centerpiece of Smackdown. For almost 2 years, Brock was being built up as something great. He had the ball. This was a period on Smackdown that a lot of wrestling fans still view as great years, due in part to Brock Lesner, Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, and other great workers. But Brock was the top guy. Just for the sake of mentioning it, the top guy on Raw during this time was Triple H. Yeah, Jinder Mahal probably could have done a better job. No, not really. Point is, you once again have the centerpiece of the company feuding with one of the top names of the past. It was bound to eclipse Punk, much like Cena/Rock did.

But does Punk/Jericho deserve to be eclipsed? Punk is not the centerpiece. Jericho has never really been pushed as a true centerpiece. Nevertheless, both are great workers and are over. They are equals. They are not completely out of the spotlight. CM Punk came out there around the start of the second hour. That is one of the hot spots of the show. He also got a lot of time out there, including his promo, match against Mark Henry, and the aftermath with Jericho. Mark Henry has been getting title shots recently. I can understand not putting those matches in the main event, since they ended so indecisively. But the next encounter? Next week's match will have to decide it. I would hope that gets in the main event. It has build to it. Not only that, Jericho will likely be a part of the story in some way. This is a good feud. It has been going on for months now. It definitely deserves to share the top spot better. This week, the WWE sold John Cena vs. Otunga as the main event, not the title match. Can they pull something similar next week? It would be good if the WWE shifted the focus better, especially in these situations where the centerpiece and top Champion of the show are not the same person.

Brodus Finally Has A Purpose?

Last week on Raw, Brodus Clay was not featured in his regular squash match. Instead, he came out to help Santino when Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger were going after him. Two comedy faces look like they are teaming up. It finally gives Brodus some direction. For that, I am happy about this. It might even freshen up the tag division, if this team remains together for a while. So far, Epico and Primo have not really feuded with a lot of good teams. Kofi Kingston and R-Truth look like they may not continue as a team. The Usos are used poorly. All the other random pairings that can pop up won't heat up the division properly. What I like about a team like Santino and Brodus is that they have something in common, slightly. As I said before, they are both comedy guys. They can entertain the fans. I really think this can be a productive team, and a good chance for Brodus to do more.

I just have one slight issue. Will they eventually win the tag titles? If they do, why should Santino be loaded with that and the U.S. Championship? I would hope they get the title off Santino before really pushing him in the tag division. Give it to a heel who could use it and defend it more regularly. I know Santino is popular, but he does not need so many titles to build his credibility.

The "Yes!" Generation?

People do not seem to be happy with how Daniel Bryan lost the title. Having him lose to Sheamus at Wrestlemania is one thing. The real issue was having him lose like he did. Even before that, it was obvious he is still popular. Those "Yes!" chants are running wild. How long will that last?

Daniel Bryan is hot right now. How should the WWE take advantage? Making new shirts for him is one thing, but I am talking about in terms of pushes. If you look at the recent heel title reign he had, it is somewhere between what heel Christian had last year and Mark Henry had last year. Christian's reign was pathetic. Mark Henry got good build for his reign, won it clean, and had a good reign. Thing is, neither were pushed as the actual centerpiece of Smackdown. Both got depushed back down the card. The same can be said for Daniel Bryan. He did not get a true centerpiece push, and it is likely that he will be depushed as Sheamus gets his run, or was likely, since a lot depends on how the WWE now reacts to the fans liking Bryan and how long that lasts.

What this all boils down to, should the WWE really consider developing Daniel Bryan as a top guy? I mentioned just a few days ago that they seem to be losing some drive in Orton as centerpiece. Can Bryan deliver better? Does he have that ability to connect with more than just wrestling nerds? I don't consider myself a fan of this guy, but I think it is worth a try. I mean, if the fans do end up going sour on Sheamus, due in some part to how the WWE had him beat Bryan, why push that envelope too much? If the fans are connecting well with Bryan, why not give him a better try? Really try developing the show around him. I would understand if the WWE wanted to wait until the next PPV to see how things develop, but if things continue to be pro-Bryan, they might as well run with it. This is definitely one of those guys they never counted on being that popular, but they have to treat this as something to develop for the good of the fans and business, not try to kill it off for what they would rather work.

As for Alberto Del Rio going after Sheamus, that will most likely just be a chapter in the bigger feud between Sheamus and Daniel Bryan. It could also be the case that the rematch between Sheamus and Bryan will be just a chapter in the bigger feud between Sheamus and Del Rio, but given how the fans are connecting with Bryan, keeping him as the major rival for Sheamus seems the best idea. As far as Del Rio himself goes, it is good to see this guy back. I still think he has good potential and has already been developed to be a star by the WWE.

The Miz: From Losing Streak To...

The Miz is no longer on that big losing streak. He won it at Wrestlemania. Night after that, he beat Zack Ryder.

Was it worth it? In terms of the storyline, Miz's frustration in not being able to make it onto the Wrestlemania card, after winning the main event last year, motivated him to find a way to get into a match. Granted, saving John Laurinaitis was nothing too fancy. But it got him the spot. After that, he came through for his team. Most of the guys in the tag match to crown one GM did not even have that much of a storyline build in getting selected. Drew McIntyre was a random substitution for Christian. Booker T was a surprise final choice for Long. Point is, as I have said before, that losing streak Miz had for him was not necessarily a bad thing. It was a storyline that paid off in the end. It put some interest in this guy.

But where does he go from here? There is still a small amount of hype from him being the guy who got the job done for the heel team. But will they follow up properly? He beat Zack Ryder, but who can he really feud with now? Or enter a good storyline with? Remember that losing streak Sheamus had last year? It ended with him winning the U.S. Championship. The title reign was not too awesome, but he went on to be involved in Orton/Christian, turned face, went on a big winning streak, won the Royal Rumble, and look at him now. The whole world hates him for squashing Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania to win the World's Heavyweight Championship. Doesn't get any better than that. Will Miz go down a similar path? Miz, much like Sheamus last year, has held a World title before. I would not be surprised if he wins one again one day. Right now, however, I am having a tough time thinking of a good position for this guy. There are no top faces to work with him who are free. That leaves the midcard, but what midcarders can he enter a legitimate feud with? Kofi Kingston? Over what? Booker T might be a nice choice, but they may not head in that direction. In the end, unless the WWE really has a good plan for the guy, he might have been better off with that losing streak.

I talked about the guy who got the job done for the heel team, but what about the woman who got the job done for them? Eve screwed Ryder. Who really didn't see that coming? Ryder would look like a giant idiot if the WWE did not have him continue in the storyline against Eve, even if just to tell her off. The night after Eve cost the face team the match, she did another heel promo. Reminded me of how this kind of started. When she first turned heel, she would do these promos to put over that new heel character. Aside from putting over John Laurinaitis, this new promo did nothing new. It reset the same heel character people already knew she had. Unless they plan on formally aligning Eve with Laurinaitis, there was no real development here. I guess they can now go back all the way to when they were building a feud between Eve and Kelly Kelly. Will they put the title on Kelly Kelly first? Whatever they do, it would be best not to mess things up with celebrities for a while.

Albert's Back!

Before Brock returned at the end of Raw, the debut of Lord Tensai (return of Albert or A-Train) was what I was really interested in talking about. They had been hyping this guy for weeks. He has this Japanese gimmick working for him. Even has a sidekick.

They debuted him by having him squash Alex Riley. Just when it looks like Brodus Clay may finally be elevated out of random squash matches, they bring in Lord Tensai to run through some jobbers? Anyway, what did I think of his debut? I didn't like it. It didn't help that the squash match lasted way too long. Brodus Clay has never had a squash match on Raw last that long. How many times can Daniel Bryan job to Sheamus in the time Lord Tensai took to demolish Riley? I'm sure they could have squeezed in a diva match on Raw, if this match was shorter. The hot Miami crowd didn't get killed off in the match, but is that due to how into the show they were or the quality of what was going on? As for his moves, I really was not that impressed. Just like some people were eager for Brodus to enter a real feud so he can get some real matches going, I guess I will have to wait until Tensai gets some serious matches.

If the fans connect well with his gimmick, this guy may have a good chance. Other than that, I don't see him working out. Even if the WWE does intend to push him hard, they still have other top heels, like Alberto Del Rio and Miz, who will need attention. Then you have heels who are currently injured, like Wade Barrett and Christian. Why is Lord Tensai here then? For the midcard? WWE has not been good with the midcard, especially on Raw. Just giving my initial reaction, I don't see him making it.

Brock Lesnar Returns To The WWE

Brock Lesnar did indeed return to the WWE tonight on Raw, taking out John Cena with an F5. Huge! Brock left the same year The Rock last appeared before his return. He went on to make a big name for himself in MMA. Not only does the WWE bring the guy back, they shoot him straight to the top with John Cena. Very good move by the WWE. They kept the ball rolling for Cena right after The Rock, without putting him back in the title hunt, and in a big way. But will Brock Lesnar create enough hype to draw? That will be seen in time, but this will definitely help the WWE.

No Birthday Win For Orton

On the one hand, it is surprising that the WWE would not let one of their top guys look good on his birthday with a win. On the other hand, the signs were there for weeks. Kane defeated Randy Orton at Wrestlemania. Orton had most of the momentum during the feud. Kane looked better on the Raw before the event, but not by much. Overall, it still seemed like Kane needed a big win since making his return. He got it.

It would be crazy for the feud between Orton and Kane to end now. I would have rather the WWE spent those weeks making Kane look strong, have Orton win at Wrestlemania, and then have Orton branch off into a feud with Daniel Bryan, while the fact that Bryan gave him a kayfabe injury to cost him a title shot is still fresh, while Kane can feud with someone like Zack Ryder, and win that feud. With the way the WWE did handle things, however, I am glad Kane won. Just like they raised the bar with Kane's feud with John Cena, they can now make a gimmick match for the next PPV between Orton and Kane. A triple threat between Sheamus, Orton, and Bryan would have been nice, but I'm having a tough time seeing the WWE have Orton end a feud with Kane like that.

One last thought on Randy Orton. Is he done as Smackdown's centerpiece? Over the past few months, he would still get in the main event of the show, despite not being involved in title matters. They were still treating him as a top guy. It is not unusual to give a centerpiece a rest out of major matters now and then. What makes them a centerpiece is that the WWE knows they want to go back to them to give them that major spotlight in due time. What reason would they have for giving up on Orton? Those low ratings Smackdown got last year around the time Orton took the title come to mind. Ratings went back up around the time Mark Henry got his push. Ratings have still remained pretty strong since then, as compared to the numbers with Orton last year. Now, were those low numbers really due to Orton, or was it just something to be expected during that time of year? That is, did some other popular show spring up on Fridays around that same time to draw viewers away? One thing for sure, the WWE is not in too much of a rush to get Orton back the title. Sheamus won it at Wrestlemania. Nevertheless, even if the WWE is trying to develop a new centerpiece or run something where they pass the ball around better on Smackdown, Orton is not being screwed and is still being used well.