Kofi Kingston

Yes, you read that headline correctly. Kofi Kingston, a WWE Superstar who was hard-pressed to find a win on television in 2013, defeated a man in Antonio Cesaro who, weeks earlier, was taking on several challengers, showing impressive feats of strength. Then, Cesaro seemed to fall off the face of the earth around WrestleMania time. He didn't appear at WrestleMania. He didn't appear on Raw the next night. Then, he starts yodeling and loses the U.S. title. Is Antonio Cesaro in the dog house?

Two major developments unfolded on Monday's episode of WWE RAW. The first was a big one in many ways - Paul Heyman revealed a new client, Michael McGillicutty, now known as Curtis Axel (Curtis after his father "Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig, Axel after his grandfather Larry "The Axe" Hennig). Though many fans complained about it not being a bigger name (RVD was speculated throughout the day), this is a great move and an even greater opportunity for a superstar to not only have instant credibility being aligned with Paul Heyman (arguably the greatest mouthpiece in pro wrestling history)

Two major developments unfolded on Monday's episode of WWE RAW. The first was a big one in many ways - Paul Heyman revealed a new client, Michael McGillicutty, now known as Curtis Axel (Curtis after his father "Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig, Axel after his grandfather Larry "The Axe" Hennig). Though many fans complained about it not being a bigger name (RVD was speculated throughout the day), this is a great move and an even greater opportunity for a superstar to not only have instant credibility being aligned with Paul Heyman (arguably the greatest mouthpiece in pro wrestling history)

Yes, you read that headline correctly. Kofi Kingston, a WWE Superstar who was hard-pressed to find a win on television in 2013, defeated a man in Antonio Cesaro who, weeks earlier, was taking on several challengers, showing impressive feats of strength. Then, Cesaro seemed to fall off the face of the earth around WrestleMania time. He didn't appear at WrestleMania. He didn't appear on Raw the next night. Then, he starts yodeling and loses the U.S. title. Is Antonio Cesaro in the dog house?

Hell in a Cell is one of WWE's most prolific matches. In the past, it has been used as a capstone to end bitter rivalries. But, in recent years, it's become a standalone pay-per-view, an annual tradition. This year, the cell won't be used to settle a long-standing score, but rather to test an up-and-coming star against the WWE Champion clamoring for respect and a modern-day record title reign. Five of the six championships in WWE are scheduled to be defended, adding another layer of intrigue to Sunday's show, as it's rare that almost all the titles are defended on one pay-per-view.

The elements didn't work in WWE's favor Saturday. In a rare weather twist, Phoenix saw rain. Enough rain to need to move the Fan Axxess festivities indoors. This caused come confusion and delay, as was to be expected. After all, you had to not only move the ring inside, but logistically figure out how the entire event would be run with less space. The U.S. Airways Center and WWE did a good job of moving everything along as quickly as they could. Once fans were allowed inside, they were greeted with free bowls of Fruity Pebbles (no kidding)

Friday night's Smackdown left me with one major question: Why did I just watch Wade Barrett face Randy Orton? That's not necessarily a complaint, as I enjoy watching these two share the squared circle, but it's a match we've seen twice on television in the past two weeks. And it was nothing new. The ending of the match may have been the most disturbing part. In their first encounter, Barrett won because of interference from Alberto Del Rio. In the rematch, Orton got his win back.

On Monday's Raw, Daniel Bryan earned the right to face WWE Champion CM Punk at Over the Limit. On tonight's Smackdown, Bryan lost to World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus. Bryan has now lost to Sheamus in three consecutive singles title matches -- WrestleMania, Extreme Rules and Smackdown. That doesn't seem like the way to build a challenger for the company's top prize. Bryan and Punk have proven on multiple occasions they're capable of stealing any show, and that mindset will surely carry over to Over the Limit, when they'll focus on the story they're telling in the ring rather than the one playing out outside of it. But even so, in the eyes of the general viewing public, what chance does Bryan stand against Punk?

WrestleMania has grown to be more than just a pay-per-view. For years, the event has been the biggest of the year for not only WWE, but the world of professional wrestling. No event could come close to matching the magnitude of this spectacle. But, as the years have gone on, WrestleMania has become more than one show. It's become a week-long celebration of all things professional wrestling. Throughout this week, WWE superstars and officials have participated in a number of events, many of them supporting charity.

The Royal Rumble is the match I look forward to most in WWE, not just because it begins the "Road To WrestleMania" and shapes a lot of those cards and rivalries, but because it feeds your ADD cravings as a pro wrestling fan. Every two minutes, about the time you secretly want something new or exciting to happen in a match, a new person joins in and makes the match interesting again. This happens 28 times. By the time No. 30 hits the ring, your "fan ADD" has been fed enough that you can calmly sit through the remaining minutes (usually 6-to-10)

The elements didn't work in WWE's favor Saturday. In a rare weather twist, Phoenix saw rain. Enough rain to need to move the Fan Axxess festivities indoors. This caused come confusion and delay, as was to be expected. After all, you had to not only move the ring inside, but logistically figure out how the entire event would be run with less space. The U.S. Airways Center and WWE did a good job of moving everything along as quickly as they could. Once fans were allowed inside, they were greeted with free bowls of Fruity Pebbles (no kidding)

The Royal Rumble is the match I look forward to most in WWE, not just because it begins the "Road To WrestleMania" and shapes a lot of those cards and rivalries, but because it feeds your ADD cravings as a pro wrestling fan. Every two minutes, about the time you secretly want something new or exciting to happen in a match, a new person joins in and makes the match interesting again. This happens 28 times. By the time No. 30 hits the ring, your "fan ADD" has been fed enough that you can calmly sit through the remaining minutes (usually 6-to-10)

This week's episode of WWE Raw seemed ... crowded. I don't just mean in personnel, though there were many -- aside from the regular plethora of WWE superstars (including some still on the roster you don't regularly see), Raw saw returns from "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, the New Age Outlaws and the trio of "Mean" Gene Okerlund, Ricky Steamboat and Jim Ross (who all presented Slammy Awards), Tommy Dreamer (who competed in a match) and The Boogeyman (who seemed like he was there just to provide a random "tell me I didn't just see that" moment before a commercial break)

Let me start by saying this -- I want more WWE televised events to happen outside the U.S. Maybe that's not entirely true. Let me rephrase -- I want more WWE televised events where we hear reactions like the ones we heard this week. Both Raw (Monday) and Smackdown (Tuesday) were in Birmingham, England this week. The crowd was so good, that even on the second consecutive night of WWE action, the crowd reaction and party atmosphere rivalled many WWE crowds stateside. Many segments and matches felt even more special just because the Birmingham crowd was so vocal.

Friday night's Smackdown left me with one major question: Why did I just watch Wade Barrett face Randy Orton? That's not necessarily a complaint, as I enjoy watching these two share the squared circle, but it's a match we've seen twice on television in the past two weeks. And it was nothing new. The ending of the match may have been the most disturbing part. In their first encounter, Barrett won because of interference from Alberto Del Rio. In the rematch, Orton got his win back.

Hell in a Cell is one of WWE's most prolific matches. In the past, it has been used as a capstone to end bitter rivalries. But, in recent years, it's become a standalone pay-per-view, an annual tradition. This year, the cell won't be used to settle a long-standing score, but rather to test an up-and-coming star against the WWE Champion clamoring for respect and a modern-day record title reign. Five of the six championships in WWE are scheduled to be defended, adding another layer of intrigue to Sunday's show, as it's rare that almost all the titles are defended on one pay-per-view.

This week's episode of WWE Raw seemed ... crowded. I don't just mean in personnel, though there were many -- aside from the regular plethora of WWE superstars (including some still on the roster you don't regularly see), Raw saw returns from "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, the New Age Outlaws and the trio of "Mean" Gene Okerlund, Ricky Steamboat and Jim Ross (who all presented Slammy Awards), Tommy Dreamer (who competed in a match) and The Boogeyman (who seemed like he was there just to provide a random "tell me I didn't just see that" moment before a commercial break)

Let me start by saying this -- I want more WWE televised events to happen outside the U.S. Maybe that's not entirely true. Let me rephrase -- I want more WWE televised events where we hear reactions like the ones we heard this week. Both Raw (Monday) and Smackdown (Tuesday) were in Birmingham, England this week. The crowd was so good, that even on the second consecutive night of WWE action, the crowd reaction and party atmosphere rivalled many WWE crowds stateside. Many segments and matches felt even more special just because the Birmingham crowd was so vocal.

Anyone who thinks WWE officials don't view Daniel Bryan and Kane as key players in the company obviously didn't watch Friday night's Smackdown. The Tag Team Champions were featured on the show from top to bottom and brought some humor and light-hearted fun to the show. Many have questioned the decision to hot-shot this team to the titles ahead of other teams who were being built up, ala the Prime Time Players, but I personally applaud WWE for striking when the iron was hot. A comedy-based gimmick like the one Bryan and Kane are doing could just as easily flop as succeed, but these two have embraced the situation and created gold -- as well as bronze.

Tag-team wrestling has become a lost art in the WWE. There was a period where tag-team wrestling dominated the landscape, and duos like the Hardy brothers, the Dudleys and Edge and Christian would steal any show they were on. Those days are long gone. Now, fans just ask for there to be some semblance of attention and focus given to the tag-team division. And in recent weeks, there has been some sense of promise on the horizon, as WWE has been reminding fans there are more than two tag teams on the roster.