Kester's WWE Raw Rundown: CM Punk and The Rock prepare for their showdown, Dolph Ziggler beats the clock, and John Cena jokes about skidmarks

By Ryan Kester

CM Punk and The Rock

This build was well done. CM Punk continued his solid work as a heel, and The Rock showed a great deal of passion with his delivery. Best of all, The Shield got some great exposure and gave The Rock a storyline injury, adding doubt to the outcome of the match. From top to bottom, the build for this showdown was solid.

While I always look forward to the Rumble simply because of the Rumble itself, I am pleased to see such a high profile match taking place at the PPV. The build for this showdown has been short, but Punk and Rock managed to pack a lot into their build and I can't wait to see what happens.

Beat the Clock Challenge

I'm not normally a fan of the BTCC, but WWE shook up the formula last night with longer matches and participants that seemed like they actually have a chance to win the Rumble. It was a minor thing, but it helped make the show not so much of a marathon to get through.

I'm not crazy about Dolph Ziggler getting tricked into one of the early slots by Vickie Guererro. It made sense for storyline purposes, but Ziggler is in need of some heat. He's lost a lot recently in far too lopsided fashion, so I question the wisdom in having Vickie get one over on him now.

John Cena's promo

What was this? John Cena can be a great talker when he wants to be, but he was trying to be way too cute last night and it was at the expense of the Royal Rumble PPV. The Rumble needed a final hard sell, and all we got from Cena was lame jokes.

I'm sure the above comes across as yet another online fan complaining about Cena, but that is not the case. I was excited going into the promo as Cena can usually pull a convincing and impressive promo out for big events. He simply chose not to utilize his capabilities and he gave a fairly pedestrian promo.

Overall Show

Last night's show was merely ok. I would be more forgiving if it wasn't the go home show for WWE's second biggest PPV of the year. They didn't do enough to sell the PPV on this show.

If you have any questions or comments or just wish to chat with a fellow wrestling fan about whatever, then feel free to email me at ryan.kester@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter.