By Ryan Kester

John Cena and The Rock

For anyone that was wondering what I wanted out of John Cena's solo performance form last week, this was it. Cena was calm, cocky, and direct with his desire to defeat the Rock. He showed that The Rock was under his skin and he was determined to defeat the Rock at WrestleMania. There was an authenticity to Cena's intensity last night that his promo last week was devoid of, and I was able to suspend my disbelief and invest in the segment.

The Rock's promo, both before and after Cena, was lacking in comparison. I'm not going to take the role of many and declare who did or didn't win the promo exchange because I believe the dichotomy between the two was by design. Cena needed to be built up after his disastrous feud with Kane, and The Rock needed to be given a reason to abandon the silly jokes about Cena's clothing and genitalia.

The follow-up to last night's exchange will be a lot of fun. Cena went for the throat last night and established that he is in this feud to win, and The Rock is going to have to respond in kind. I am finally getting excited by the prospect of this build, and that makes this entire segment a resounding success.

CM Punk and Chris Jericho

I enjoyed this promo exchange immensely. While the "best in the world" tag line will eventually get played to death with this feud, I love how Punk and Jericho slowly but surely boiled the match down to what was important, the WWE Championship and proving who was the better wrestler. It's rare that we get that type of hype in this day and age, and I could not be happier with the end of that promo.

Jericho's post-match attack on Punk was very well done. The body slam on the steel was so simple but Punk sold it like he'd been shot. Jericho circling Punk and locking in the Liontamer-version of the Walls of Jericho made for a great visual, and it garnered Jericho plenty of solid heat.

Power Struggle

Sandwiched between the Punk and Jericho promo and the post-match attack was a good wrestling match that was overshadowed by the latest installment of the Teddy Long/John Laurinaitis power struggle. This feud is getting far too much attention for what will ultimately become a midcard 'Mania match, and it really needs to be kept away from the two main titles going forward. Daniel Bryan and CM Punk have precious little time to build towards their title defenses; they do not need to be treated as background noise to this year's "get everybody on the card match."

Triple Threat Tag Team Match

I enjoyed this match and it got a lot more time than I was expecting. The WWE tag titles mean so little these days and that really isn't going to be corrected by an unannounced match such as this, but the action was fun while it lasted.

One things this match did highlight for me is the need for Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston to be elevated. They both contain a unique talent and an ability to connect with the crowd. I know a sudden push won't occur during the build to a 'Mania with so many marquee matches, but I would love to see WWE give these guys more attention in the coming year. With the work rate they have produced recently, they have certainly earned a shot.

Kane

It will always amaze me how one night of showcasing a wrestler correctly can erase the damage that weeks of poor storytelling produce. Last night Kane returned with a simple role of walking down, chokeslamming a few men, and setting off his pyro. That's all it takes to make him look like a monster that he can easily be pushed as. I'm not holding my breath on WWE abandoning the talking monster version of Kane, but I was reminded how easily that option is available to WWE if they would simply choose to utilize it.

Eve

Am I happy to see a woman walk to the ring amidst chants of "hoeski"? No. Am I happy to see a female wrestler playing a stereotypical bitchy man-eater? No. Was I entertained by Eve's promo last night? Yes.

Much like the recent incarnation of Brodus Clay, Eve managed to make a gimmick that would normally cause me to roll my eyes and groan brilliant simply by her commitment to the character. Eve has really begun to show a great deal of range, and she seemed right at home with the character she portrayed last night. I'm not sure where WWE is going with this concept, but Eve now has more depth than any other Diva on the roster because she actually has a story. If nothing else, I am interested to see what happens next with Eve, which is so much more than I could say about any other Diva storyline over the past year.

Overall Show

Top-to-bottom, last night's show was solid. Plenty of ancillary build got lost in the shuffle, but enough focus was given to the WWE Championship feud and the marquee Rock/Cena feud right when both feuds needed a jolt of energy. WWE is settling well into their build for WrestleMania and they have certainly got me looking forward to next week's 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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