Road To WWE WrestleMania 28 - Kane vs Randy Orton Added

*SPOILERS* With the Smackdown tapings recorded on a Tuesday (this is a secondary, subtle Spoiler alert, with Smackdown not being broadcast until Friday), another week passes on the Road to Wrestlemania 28, and as such, here is another rundown of the latest developments leading up to the big show. Of course, the big news once again focused on the match-up between The Rock and John Cena, with The Rock returning to Raw to respond to Cena's comments last week. But there was also interesting developments in the CM Punk and Chris Jericho feud, a breakthrough in the heat between Cody Rhodes and Big Show, plus a tantalising hint of Kane's Wrestlemania opponent. John Cena v The Rock Following Cena's excellent promo the week before, calling out The Rock for his continuous disappearance act from the WWE, the Brahma Bull himself returned to Portland for the Raw SuperShow. The Rock's promo was very much what you would expect: lots of chanting, lots of looking all emotional about coming back, lots of naughty words. The one moment which seemed to actually add some depth to his promo was his comment that the fans are sick of Cena being shoved down their fronts and refusing to ever change, and he was going to stop that. Eventually after a chant concerning Cena's "missing balls", the man himself came out to the ring. At this point the entire perspective changed. Believe it or not, I would say Cena was the one to walk away looking the bigger man. A biting remark about The Rock needing to write his promo notes on his wrist seemed to particularly hit a nerve, before Cena got in his opponents face to tell him it was Dwayne Johnson he didn't like, and that was who he was going to beat the hell out of at Wrestlemania. When Cena then walked out, leaving Rock two minutes to fill, however much The Great One ran his mouth, it seemed Cena had truly got one over on him. An interesting development, and of course while this could all mean nothing come April 1st, this was an indication that WWE want their two superstars to go into Wrestlemania on a par. Current prediction: for now I'll stick with Cena to take the win. WWE Championship - CM Punk v Chris Jericho Before another excellent match-up between CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, Chris Jericho came out to the ring to confront Punk. Anticipation has been building for the first verbal spa between the two, and the following promo delivered the biting jibes and provoking oratory all had hoped for, at least to some extent. Jericho kicked things off talking about how he overcame adversity and toured the world to get to his elevated status in the WWE, and that he never had to call himself the best in the world because the fans did it for him. Then he reverted back to his favoured jibe, that Punk is just another Jericho wannabe. Punk seemed to get one over on Jericho with his comments asking how Jericho created the best in the world tag when Bret Hart was doing it long before him. When they got down to it, Punk said none of this matters, all they need is a ring, and come April 1st, they will have the greatest match in Wrestlemania history, and Punk will end Jericho's world. After Punk's match-up with Bryan - another contested result to apparently add to the Laurinaitis and Long feud - Jericho attacked Punk on the steel ramp, eventually putting him into the Walls of Jericho and driving his face into the steel. Classic heel tactics, perhaps unnecessary, but point made. This week's Raw didn't really take this feud anywhere new, but it was good to see the two in a ring talking at last, and the feud quickly got personal, adding a new layer to their heat. At the end of it all though it is just as Punk said, what we are all looking forward to is what could be a fantastic wrestling match at the biggest show of them all. Current prediction: CM Punk to get the win following the match of the year /decade/universe. World Heavyweight Championship - Daniel Bryan v Sheamus During the CM Punk v Daniel Bryan match, for what seems like the umpteenth time Bryan tried to walk out with his belt, only for Sheamus to run out and throw Bryan back in the ring to be dutifully floored by Punk. It seems that for now WWE is happy for this to be the basis of their entire feud. Squashing Mark Henry with his patented Brogue Kick gave Sheamus another impressive victory in order to continue to establish him as a strong opponent, but as yet there seems to be little background or colour to this feud. On Smackdown, Sheamus opened the show talking about Wrestlemania 28, and was duly interrupted not by his opponent Daniel Bryan, but by Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler, with Sheamus then beating the latter in a match. Again, nothing to add. The match-up between the two should be a good wrestling spectacle, but the WWE needs to move quickly to add some personality to the feud and some background between the two in order to make it something the viewer will bother to engage in. Current prediction: Sheamus, new World Heavyweight Champ. Triple H v The Undertaker - Hell in a Cell Little to no progress this week in the build up to Taker's latest defence of his streak. Other than a video package about last year's Wrestlemania showdown between the two, plus an appearance by Triple HHH to deliver a Pedigree to a moaning Miz in a WWE.com exclusive, there was barely any mention of the match. It seems neither of the two men will actually wrestle leading up to the event, probably for fear of endangering The Phenom's already frail condition. Next week will perhaps be the big week for this feud, with Shawn Michaels rumoured to be joining the two in Bostom for Raw. So fingers crossed we see HBK thrown into the feud and the match-up in some capacity. Judging by talk of HBK's condition I can't imagine he will be wrestling himself, but any input by Michaels is always a good thing. Current prediction: The Undertaker, the Streak lives. Intercontinental Championship - Cody Rhodes v Big Show Amazing what the WWE will do with a couple of weeks to play with and the need to fill out a card. The feud between Cody Rhodes and Big Show was produced out of nothing, but it could yet prove to be a masterstroke. The two were on opposing teams with Mark Henry and Sheamus respectively in a tag-team match on Raw. Prior to the bell Rhodes brought up another embarrassing Wrestlemania moment for The World's Largest Athlete, when Floyd Mayweather Jr broke his nose. Big Show did his classic angry face, and before the two could lock up after the opening bell, Rhodes promptly tagged Henry in, leading Show to chase him round the ring before Rhodes retreated up the ramp. It wasn't until Smackdown that we finally had something concrete though. After the two had an in-ring segment, Teddy Long came out and declared the two would face off at Wrestlemania for Rhodes' Intercontinental belt. It is widely agreed that Rhodes has been an excellent champ, bringing back some much needed prestige to the belt. Much as Mysterio put him over at last year's Wrestlemania, I have to predict Big Show will do the same, to elevate Rhodes to a greater status. The only other way this could go is Show is given the win and belt as a thank you and Rhodes drops it to allow him to move up to the main event, though I cannot see Show being happy with a mid-card belt after competing for the World Heavyweight Championship recently. Either way, with Rhodes one of the bright, young things of the WWE and Big Show always worth a pay day, this could yet be a highly entertaining match. Current predicition: Cody Rhodes. Team Laurinaitis v Team Long The handbags between these two continued this week. On Raw, the rematch between CM Punk and Daniel Bryan again saw the respective General Managers of Raw and Smackdown get involved, along with their lackeys David Otunga and Santino Marella. It all ended up with Teddy Long shoving John Laurinaitis over. It has since been announced by the WWE Board of Directors that next week the two GMs will switch shows in an effort to determine which one should run both. Anything could happen, I assume in the process getting some Superstars involved to build towards their respective teams, which would seem to be where this is going. Otherwise something hideous might happen and the two might step in the ring themselves... Interesting to see Teddy Long firing Drew McIntyre on Smackdown, which may perhaps lead to Laurinaitis re-hiring him on one show, thus adding him to his ranks, which might make up a five with Otunga, Christian, Mark Henry and Alberto del Rio. The last three offered him their support previously. As yet, Long only appears to have Santino on his side, which cannot be all too reassuring. Kane v Randy Orton Kane this week made his return following his loss to John Cena at the Elimination Chamber. Following the three way tag-match between Primo and Epico, Kofi Kingston and R-Truth, and Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger, the pyro hit and Kane made his way to the ring. He promptly took out three of the men. Then on Smackdown, Kane made an even more damning statement. During the Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton main event, Kane entered the fray, targeting Orton. Eventually Kane chokeslammed The Viper, before taking a mic and welcoming him back in his own special way. This currently seems a very random match-up, a case of throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks, but all the same, Kane v Randy Orton at Wrestlemania could be epic. The two are both seasoned pros, and with their respective psyches, expect some kind of No DQ or Inferno stipulation. Current prediciton: Too early to tell where they're going with this, but my guess would be Randy. An interesting week, with the feud between Cena and the Rock getting very personal, and developments between CM Punk and Jericho. Along with confirmation of the Cody Rhodes v Big Show match, plus hints towards a Kane and Randy Orton feud, the Road to Wrestlemania is currently looking in good health.