FCW cameos in Cena video, post-Chamber Punk/Jericho vids, Batista talks PG WWE, Questions on Mania politics, Rock not wrestling, Divas' salaries, Cena/Ryder/Eve, and R-Truth imitating Guerrero, Mania celebrity match spoiler, what happened after Elimination Chamber, injury at PPV, Kofi and Trish interviews, pre- and post-Raw dark matches, and an update on Barrett

The training video shown on John Cena at the Elimination Chamber featured cameos from quite a few FCW competitors. If you like reading into things, that one's for you. Or, you know, it could mean nothing that those specific talents were interviewed/featured. That was a pretty good piece for getting over Cena's commitment to the business.

C.M. Punk and Chris Jericho were interviewed after the Elimination Chamber match.

Update: Sheamus was also interviewed then.

Batista talked about a number of wrestling topics while promoting his new movie. Batista being a trainer for Tough Enough over Austin wouldn't make sense in my book. Austin has a lot more experience and worked in more varied environments. He was a bigger star for longer. I like Batista, but I don't think he's at THAT level. I don't know how I'd feel about him coming back to face HHH or Taker, given neither of those guys are full-timers at this point. If I'm him, I'm holding out for a Rock-like return. He went out big, and there should be a big reason for him to come back.

Here's my take on PWInsider.com's questions from Monday:
1. I actually didn't really think to look at it from that perspective. I suppose that could have factored in with some states' decisions to pursue or not pursue WrestleMania, but I definitely don't think WWE would avoid a Democratic governor's bid if they felt they could make the most money out of it.

After the break, I go into the rest of Monday's news and questions. Up next, is The Rock not competing at WrestleMania?

2. Rock was talking about WrestleMania 29 in 2013, where he may or may not compete. He's definitely set for this year's event.

3. Nothing to add there fact-wise. I won't get into the intricacies of the "why that might be" unless someone specifically asks for it.

4. Once more, the "know-it-alls" are off the mark. It pays to wait for the story to play out more before jumping to conclusions. Even if it wasn't revealed to be a ploy by Eve, she could have been incredibly grateful that Cena had saved her from a homicidal maniac. Cena's a pretty sought-after guy, so it's not really a stretch that she'd fall for him. As for why Ryder was there, it was the day before Valentine's Day and he wanted to give gifts to his girlfriend. He was bound and determined to not let the injuries prevent him from doing that. Are WWE storylines really this complicated to comprehend?

5. If anything, I think Ziggler would fit that role better than R-Truth given the "show off" thing. I don't doubt Truth's abilities, but I'm not seeing the correlation between the two of them. I agree that WWE performers should have characters that are fun, stand out, and are given the chance to grow. Like this one guy who went crazy after a loss and has a fear of spiders, hears voices, thinks there are conspiracies in the company, calls himself a "good" version of himself, and calls fans Little Jimmy. He's rolled with that gimmick since the heel turn. It's been more serious at times, but I don't see how it's been a different character.

The next news story is a spoiler on celebrity involvement at WrestleMania: Shaquille O'Neal confirmed that he would be wrestling at the event. Plans are for him to face Big Show. That could end up a train wreck, but it will likely be a pretty profitable one. What does that do for WWE long-term? Other than publicity and a short-term business increase, not much. They better make the best of what they do get.

John Cena posed for fans after his Ambulance match victory. Nothing else went down after the PPV.

Kofi Kingston needed staples after an especially brutal Chamber match. They're getting way too "extreme" with some of the spots lately.

Speaking of Kofi, he had a Q&A ahead of Raw. Some good stories in there.

Trish Stratus gave an interview involving wrestling and more. She had the right attitude about approaching wrestling as a former model. She did have some great feuds with the names mentioned. I actually might be able to live with her facing Beth if it elevates the current Divas' Champion.

Ahead of Raw, Ryback ran through JTG. They're either setting him up for something big or they're treading water because they don't know what to do with him (and there are already so many people on-screen since we're headed into big Mania matches with some part-timers).

After Raw, C.M. Punk retained the WWE Championship against Dolph Ziggler, and John Cena beat Kane. No surprises there. Sold-out crowd.

WWE is reporting an injury on Wade Barrett's left arm after he was stretchered out during the Raw main event. People working more dates + more gimmick matches + bigger bumps = too many injuries. This is a very concerning issue in the company currently.