By Ryan Kester

Kane gives John Cena a lecture

While I was watching this segment, I went from being enthralled with Kane's improved and very impactful entrance to being let down by the promo the big man cut. Kane quickly went form the monster he was with his mask before to looking like Glen Jacobs in a silly costume. That's not the type of feeling I should have three weeks into his return, and WWE will do themselves a disservice if they continue to have Kane cut long-winded promos like he did last night. Preferably, they find someone else to speak for Kane and let him go back to the silent monster that he has proven capable of portraying.

Even with all of the above, I liked the content of Kane's promo even though I didn't care for the fact that it was him delivering it. WWE is actually making John Cena interesting heading into the Road to WrestleMania, which is desperately needed after how utterly stale his character felt over the past few months.

CM Punk and John Laurinaitis

WWE went a long way this week towards making Laurinaitis a legitimate heat magnet. He still stumbles over his words and look uncomfortable in front of the crowds, but he is really beginning to fit into the middle management stooge role that he has been given. Laurinaitis has yet to wow me, but he is steadily improving and gaining heat rather than getting buried under Punk's wit.

If I had to find a complaint in the Punk and Laurinaitis feud so far, it is in how matches like CM Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler are being used as tools to fuel the feud rather than saved for their own storylines. That is the type of match that could headline WrestleMania with the proper hype behind it, but it's going to be seen on TV next week for free with the entire focus being on the WWE Champion versus a heel authority figure. It just feels like we've been there and done that and it's not worth giving up potentially huge matchups that could be utilized for later.

R-Truth returns

Truth showed a great intensity in his return, but the live crowd simply didn't care. WWE buried both men with the build to Survivor Series, and I really don't think they are going to be capable of recovering from that by feuding with one another.

While Truth may get some pops with his crazy rants and antics, Miz feels like he's stuck in an upper midcard rut. He is in need of some evolution in some capacity, and he feels overdue for a new look to provide some visual representation of an evolution. If Miz continues to play the same character with the same look for much longer, he'll end up in the same spot as Jack Swagger.

Overall Show

Last night's Raw was another pleasant surprise during the holidays. WWE continued to provide some good in-ring action and simple storyline steps without giving away too much. Better yet, we were spared from the usual holiday camp and were treated to a solid and entertaining wrestling 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 at @TheRyanKester.

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