By Jon Cudo, PWTorch specialist

TRUE - JOHN CENA'S ACTING IS GETTING IN THE WAY

Monday night on Raw, Triple H left the ring after patting The Undertaker on the shoulder. It wasn't clear what exactly that meant, and that was the intent.

Earlier that night, John Cena fought off Kane in what might be considered a rage, and ended the segment with a broad smile as if his feud had concluded and he had kept Kane and his plea to "embrace the hate" at bay. There are a few ways to interpret this, but, unlike with Hunter, it did not seem like that was the goal.

The next day, I read reviews suggesting that Cena had "lost it" and he was smiling because he finally felt relieved that he had let his anger take over. So, I watched again, and that is possible. When I watched, I thought it was the blow-off to the Kane feud and he was moving on. It seemed to me that the rage was less than what he showed with Swagger and the smile was more genuine and he was more filled with relief from overcoming Kane.

In the end, it wasn't clear if he lost control, if he was happy to have won, or relieved that he had finally "let go." Other clues like the annoucing and Kane running off made me think that the intent to show that Cena had won and this feud was over.

Recently, Cena has left people hanging based on his acting. Fans can't get the whole story, since he's not showing the range and nuance to tell it. With Rock and WrestleMania looming, Cena's limited acting range is making this storyline sputter.

What makes this angle worse is that Eve and Zack Ryder are much worse actors. So, while the story is unfolding, it may or may not be working. Viewers also may never know since it's being told through such poor acting.

ALSO TRUE: THE ONLY THING THAT LOOKED BETTER THAN WEMBLEY WAS BULLY RAY

While the overall look of Wembley Arena was outstanding, what really caught my eye on Thursday's Impact Wrestling episode was the continued evolution of Bully Ray from fat tag wrestler to fit singles star. The physical transformation is complete, he now looks the part of a top-tier player. His mic work and in-ring work are already at that level, so the question becomes when does Impact Wrestling capitalize on this breakout-ready talent. Holding the mic and playing second fiddle to Bobby Roode is vastly under-selling his place on the card.

FALSE - THIS IS HOW I THOUGHT THE END OF THE WORLD WOULD LOOK LIKE

A month ago, signs pointed towards some long-term planning on the Road to WrestleMania. Now, that road appears to be under construction. Connecting the dots of a storyline were at one point a highlight for wrestling fans. Now, it seems anything beyond two weeks of TV won't be referenced again. I noted in this column in the fall that three months after WrestleMania 27 last year, no storyline had a direct connection to the outcome. Currently, it feels like nothing that happened in December will directly impact WrestleMania four months hence.

It's easy to be wrong when you feel this way, as fans are just one great promo away from someone connecting storyline points and clue and weaving back a compelling story out of a mess. However, the days of long-winding stories unfolding like Tatanka joining the Million Dollar Man or the Rockers's break-up appear to be over.

When Chris Jericho returned, it seemed he brought a long-considered storyline arc back with him. Seeded with cryptic vignettes, the mystery was hard to resist. A month later, the mystery of the mystery seems like a mystery...and not in a mysteriously good way. Four weeks into the "end of the world as you know it," it appears the end of the world comes when a forgotten, smiling, upper-mid-carder like Sheamus is the main event of WrestleMania 28.

I deeply believe that Jericho had something in mind for his return and I also deeply believe this isn't it. As noted, that could all change next week with a great promo.

TO BE DETERMINED - DANIEL BRYAN WILL REMAIN A TOP-TIER FIXTURE

A lot can be said about Daniel Bryan's push. It has been interesting, disappointing, confusing, and moderately successful. For all his ups and downs, I think he has proven to be more than a one-trick workrate talent. He has carried his end of long promos and has been believable as the underdog champion while taking fans on his long journey to a heel.

WWE had reasons not to push him; he was undersized, unproven on the mic, lacked a larger than life charisma or character, and didn't fit their typical mold of a Superstar. After three months of a significant top-tier push with a lot of mic time, what's left is that he's small. It's hard to make the case he hasn't shown the ability to talk, be credible in the ring, and present a unique charisma and
character out of the ring. He's become top-tier in everything outside of height.

The question now is if WWE will see him that way and build on what is interesting, different, and compelling. That remains to be determined.

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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