Raw thoughts- 2/21/11

Tonight WWE gets on the highway on the Road to WrestleMania. John Cena is the new #1 Contender after last night's Elimination Chamber, and he's on a collision course with The Miz. Also the 2/21/11 mystery will finally be solved.

Well, obviously something important's happening at 10 p.m. tonight.

Talk about your mixed reactions. Though some of this has to do with The Rock being the more popular babyface.

I wonder how much of Rock's speech was designed to get back the cynical anti-Cena fans for Mania? That wouldn't look out-of-place on a "smart mark" message board or chat room.

Where's this John Cena been the past few years? That was unexpected from Mr. PG.

We've got that "big show feel" tonight for 2/21/11 and The Rock hype.

That Morrison spot was insane. Hopefully he doesn't just become known as someone who does big spots.

For those who haven't seen the after-effects of the Chamber match on C.M. Punk, find him on Twitter. It's not pretty.

I marked a bit for the Venom reference, even though Venom isn't really "Spider-Man enhanced" but the symbiote (alien life form latched on to his body) that briefly took him over before finding other hosts over its history.

Anyway, I don't think Punk should have wrestled tonight. Send a New Nexus member there. Of course, right after I say that we're told that they aren't there. Then have him run-in on or after a less-important match.

Yes, that's Randy's real name. I was wondering why Punk was referring to facing him next week, thinking Orton had the night off or something. But no, not only is he there, so are the New Nexus members.

Did anyone else catch the old Undertaker symbol near the roof? They quickly moved away from it thankfully. (As if anyone should be surprised that it's Taker at this point)

The Del Rio-Kingston segment was money.

The Miz can work a crowd for sure. Nice main-event promo.

WWE All-Stars looks pretty interesting. It's supposed to be cartoony and over-the-top looking for the record. The big bumps aren't glitches. It's part of the "arcade" feel they're going for.

A divas match before the 2 21 11 reveal? Interesting. Better than something else big I suppose. They're certainly treating that as a big deal.

I wonder if the 2 21 11 stuff means that Taker's character will be slightly different this go round? It could use something to freshen it up a bit.

Wait, what? Why are they doing HHH-Taker? That really seems thrown together just to get a big match on the card. Playing all their cards at one time like this is foolish. They should have hyped HHH's return for a while to get his big revenge on Sheamus in the summer, and had Undertaker face the man who helped take him out in the Buried Alive match, Wade Barrett. Instead we get both big draws in the same match, which doesn't help get over those two future main eventers at all. It's a massive matchup and I really enjoy both talents, but building new talent's much more important right now.

I wonder where Henry-Sheamus is going from here. This could be a big battle if built right. Another idea for Diesel at Mania is a match with Sheamus if/when he disposes of Henry.

Anyone have any suggestions for a Cena-Miz team name? The Rock and Mankind did make a heck of a team back in the day.

I actually would of assumed that Duggan was in the Hall of Fame already. That one's pretty much a no-brainer.

I wonder how many Fresno fans (and fans at home) knew who Gordon Solie and Gorilla Monsoon were.

WWE's doing a good job of keeping momentum going tonight.

Bringing up Lawler's mother crossed the line I think, but overall this segment was pretty solid. An announcer with no wrestling experience vs. a 61-year-old man is getting over much more than it sounds like it would on paper. This will get over big unless they royally screw up.

I figured that Cena would break up Miz's pinfall so he wouldn't have to be champion with him, but I guess it's against his morals to purposefully lose a match.

Pretty solid reaction for Cena and Miz here. The tag title switches seemed a bit out of the blue for tonight, but it worked in getting those two over. Hopefully The Corre brags about beating Cena and Miz, two WrestleMania headliners. That's a pretty big accomplishment for them.

Overall, a pretty darn good show. I enjoyed it. I'll be back tomorrow for another elimination on NXT.