Queries on Rob Naylor and WWE going TV-14, Ryder Q&A, Rock update, Daivari interview, Kharma's return, Impact Wrestling preview, Smackdown rating, Cena vs. Kane set for Elimination Chamber, Questions on the Rockers, house shows on the WWE Network, the Cena/Kane angle, and a rant on smarks, Helms, Layla,and Roode interviews, more on HHH/Taker, X-Pac/Jannetty interview, new important WWE Creative hire and the Raw rating

A few queries to start the day's news:
1. I haven't seen anything about FCW's Rob Naylor being moved up to NXT. As often as commentary teams change on that show (often without warning), though, I wouldn't rule it out. Just this season, we've had NINE different teams calling the action, including a number involving two commentators who've since left the company. If you want proof that WWE plans things in the short-term, look no further.

2. There hasn't been anything new on WWE changing from TV-PG, and there likely won't be in the near future. They're happy with the advertisers and business deals they've gotten with this direction that they wouldn't have gotten otherwise.

Zack Ryder talked wrestling and baseball. If he doesn't make Mania this year, the fans should riot. He's busted his ass in and outside of the ring to get over, and the crowd responded by supporting him and buying his merchandise. If Santino can make the card, he can.

Once The Rock finishes with his current film commitments, he'll be making a ton of WWE-related appearances to promote WrestleMania (including talk shows). See, here's a name from the past that can actually affect business in a huge positive way by getting a lot of older fans and attention for the show.

Daivari (formerly Sheik Abdul Bashir in TNA) was interviewed on WWE, TNA, Ring Ka King, and more. At least he's honest in his feelings! I always thought he played his roles particularly well.

After the break, I go into the rest of the day's news, and PWInsider.com's questions. Next up, how Kharma was able to return to the ring.

Kharma gave birth on 12/31 to a healthy boy, giving her enough time to get back into wrestling shape. That's all good news, as more than a few fans were worried about the short time frame between her announcement and return.

Here's the preview for Thursday's Impact Wrestling. I'm sure everyone else is as excited as I am that it focuses on Hulk Hogan. On the bright side, it shows the goofy Valentine's commercial as well.

Smackdown did a 2.14 rating last Friday. Not bad at all, though I had hoped for higher with Orton's return.

John Cena vs. Kane is being advertised for the Elimination Chamber PPV as the end of their feud. No shock there. I'm curious as to where Kane fits in as far as the WrestleMania picture. He's clearly one of the top heels in the company right now, and I don't think Zack Ryder could convincingly be a threat unless The Big O, Chiappetta, Curt Hawkins, and his dad get to be on his side. Or fellow Long Island resident Mick Foley, though I'd be less thrilled with that one.

As for my take on the questions I mentioned earlier:
1. I haven't seen anything about Jannetty trashing Shawn or anything, so I don't know where this comes from. I don't think Shawn has hard feelings for anyone these days. Also, a Simon and Garfunkel reference? And I thought MY allusions were dated.

2. MAYBE. They run the risk of overexposing talent by having them on TV so much. When you can see John Cena wrestle at least twice a week, why pay to see him wrestle every month? Even if the PPVs move to the network, it makes them less "must-see". There's a reason most shows only come on once a week. Fans would get their fill a lot quicker if they weren't.

3. It's quite campy and I'm definitely not crazy about it as a serious wrestling storyline getting performers over and all of that important stuff. Hopefully it at least benefits Ryder in the long run to be in an angle with Cena and Kane.

4. I think I have to respond to this one with question and answer together. While I appreciate the general sentiment, there are some places where I differ:
-I would also be changing some things if in Creative. I'm not 100% behind the company and their decisions, even if I do play "devil's advocate" and try to see where they're coming from.
-There's the (good, thoughtful) argument that it's Creative's jobs to satisfy the fans, but I would agree that some fans really jump to conclusions and attack angles and characters before they've had a chance to play out; and sometimes want unrealistic things. The self-proclaimed smarks (those who follow the behind-the-scene things) can be REALLY hard to please, and contradictory. Which is why WWE shouldn't market to them.
-I've heard a number of explanations of why fans went sour on Punk. Some wanted the guy doing "shoots" and making inside remarks that only a certain group of fans understand (interestingly these are the same fans who hated WCW in 2000 for doing angles involving performers "going off script" and swerving them). Some do feel that he's been pushed to the background by the HHHs, Nashes (formerly), Cenas, and Laurinaitises that they don't want to see. I'm in this group, and ticked to some degree that they dropped the ball on his push somewhat, dropping him from being the most talked-about guy in wrestling.
-No argument here. Some are complaining that they didn't get all the answers in Week 1 and all that because they're so used to (some would say spoiled by) that being the case due to online news.
-They've already got Kane and Mark Henry as top heels in that vein. I REALLY don't think fans would accept Brodus at that level so soon. Not to mention that they'd be pushing a fairly inexperienced performer at the top of the card before knowing how viable he is in the ring. There's nothing saying he can't break out of the role down the line and be someone taken seriously, as I've pointed out in the past.
-It's very rare that hypercritical fans cheer much of anything as vehemently as they boo Cena. I see some clapping and appreciation, but not raucous pops from that crowd.
-Pure bollocks. Just yesterday they broke a story about swerving fans who believed Jericho was going to win the Rumble. They do, unfortunately, pay attention to what internet fans think, especially when some websites go out of their way to say "THIS is why people are upset" as if they know all the answers. They KNOW people in WWE see what they write. Vince might set the general direction, but he doesn't decide every little thing that happens. That's what Creative's there for. And quite a few smarks do things like stream PPVs and pirate DVDs, even when things are good. WWE should rarely if ever do something "for the smart fans" unless they think it can draw money outside of that contingent (like pushing Ryder, Punk, Bryan, and Ziggler).

PHEW. Now that that's out of the way, and 5 was pretty straight-forward, I'll move on:
Road Dogg attended a recent DGUSA event in Los Angeles. Note that he's a Producer in WWE, so he could have been (unofficially or otherwise) scouting talent.

The former Hurricane gave an interview on WWE, WCW, and more. I don't think we'll see him back in WWE given what he's gone through outside of the ring the past couple of years.

Layla gave a video game-centric interview. She seems pretty nice.

Bobby Roode also gave a brief interview promoting a live event.

Triple H is being advertised for all the Raws between now and WrestleMania. The Undertaker, curiously, is only presently advertised for the night after Elimination Chamber. HHH didn't answer any questions after Raw.

X-Pac and Marty Jannetty were interviewed. Nice trip down memory lane.

WWE has hired a former Warner Bros. executive as the senior VP of Creative and Development. BIG move given his new responsibilities. Obviously he's not a "wrestling name" but he does know TV, so hopefully that will be a good fit as they continue to march towards the launch of the WWE Network.

Raw did a very impressive 3.6 on Monday, with hours of 3.6 and 3.5. I'm guessing some people wanted more of those Rumble cameos and tuned out when they didn't get them. The Rumble was a buzz-worthy event. Combine that with hyping the job evaluation angle and you get a nice boost in ratings. Hopefully those extra fans liked what they saw of guys like Punk, Bryan, Ziggler, and Sheamus since they're being positioned as the future of the company.

That's it for Tuesday's news. More to come tomorrow. Thanks for reading!