However, of most interest to wrestling fans will be the story about how Rock fluffed one of the key lines in his lengthy pre match promo at Survivor Series, because Bryan Gerwirtz, WWE's head writer of their flagship program Raw, whose picture was shown on The Tonight Show and who Rock called "a great friend of mine" and "my guy, my ace", was holding his crib sheet the wrong way round, so all Rock could see was a blank piece of paper. Rock is a consummate performer who knows how to roll with the punches when things go wrong, so you could not tell that he messed the line up, but it doesn't fill you with the greatest confidence in the most powerful person in the WWE creative team not a part of the McMahon family that he could make such a schoolboy error.

Rock showing some public love to his favourite script writer apparently hasn't gone down well with his writing colleagues and the wrestlers who work under him. According to Dave Meltzer on his latest Wrestling Observer Radio show, there are fears within WWE that "his ego will go through the roof" and "he'll be impossible [to deal with] now" thanks to finally getting his five minutes of onscreen fame. Let's hope not for all our sakes.

Only in WWE.

The superstars of the world's largest pro wrestling promotion are overseas for a tour of the Middle East and they held a press conference today to promote the occasion. Naturally, an angle was shot with Kane interrupting John Cena while he was at the podium, only for Cena to deliver an Attitude Adjustment before saying, "I think that ends the press conference."

Round of applause.

After the jump, check out individual interviews with Cena, R-Truth and CM Punk.

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Here's the second episode of the YouTube exclusive show "WWE Inbox," which features lower tier superstars like Tyler Reks, Derrick Bateman, Kaitlyn and a brief appearance by the great William Regal.

Now that essentially every YouTube exclusive show has been rolled out, I think it's safe to say "Are You Serious" is probably the best one. You wouldn't think Road Dogg and Josh Matthews in a basement hanging out watching old, insane WWE clips would work but it's actually awesome.

Check out episode one of that show after the jump.

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It's almost been one year.

51 weeks ago Zack Ryder had an idea. Feeling underutilized by the WWE, he decided to take the bull by the horns and work outside the rigid parameters set by his employers. He wanted fans to know who he was, chant his name and care about whether he won or lost matches. Heck, he just wanted to have matches to win or lose in the first place.

So he took to the internet. More specifically, YouTube. He started his own web series called "Z! True Long Island Story." Every week, Ryder invaded your home via your computer screen for seven to 10 minutes and endeared himself with humor. Casual fans and even the most savvy insiders took notice and pretty soon, so did the WWE brass.

Before the show, he was jobbing to Sheamus in 11 seconds and spending most of his time on NXT or Superstars. Now, he's on Raw week in and week out, has a United States Championship reign under his belt and is currently involved in a major storyline with John Cena and Kane.

This week's episode takes a look back at the first 50 weeks. Check out the video after the jump.

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The latest episode of WWE Superstars is available for consumption and won't assuage fears the United States Championship has gone the way of the buffalo. The champion takes on R-Truth in a non-title match and well, the results aren't pretty for those hoping to see a rise in solid, mid-card talent.

You'll also see the team of Kelly Kelly and Alicia Fox taking on The Bella Twins -- get those stars ready, Meltzer ... five should do the trick -- while the opening match sees Jinder Mahal facing off against Yoshi Tatsu in a "Loser Gets a Racially Insensitive Gimmick" match. Spoiler alert: they both lose.

I wish the WWE would give their characters more depth. It seems each of their Superstars outside the main event have only one facet to their characters. Mahal is the Indian guy, Cody Rhodes is a ... supervillain, I guess? Even the top dogs get only one or two extra wrinkles. John Cena apparently thinks being gay is funny AND doesn't ever give up.

Give us characters we actually care about and your ratings will increase, WWE, this I promise.

Starting at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event, WWE began airing videos for John Cena and The Rock detailing their lives leading up to their match at WrestleMania 28 on April 1. Cena's can be seen here and Rock's is above.

As Stephanie McMahon has mentioned, they're going for a "Team Edward vs. Team Jacob" type of build, where they present fans with all the information they need to know on both guys and everyone chooses a side. I can't say I blame them and really, it's one of the only ways to a market a babyface vs. babyface match.

More great work from the WWE production team and the train headed for Miami keeps chugging along.

Here's the video that aired during the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view last night showcasing John Cena and the way the fans react to him. One side, of course, loves him, while the other hates him just as passionately.

I thought this was yet another awesomely done piece from the WWE production team, who consistently churn out outstanding work. They also did a video for The Rock but that has yet to be released. Nonetheless, the build to their mega-match at WrestleMania 28 is officially underway and the manner in which they appear to be crafting the story is both clever and engaging.

Cagesiders, your thoughts?

We're just one night away, Cagesiders.

Tomorrow night (Jan. 29, 2012) live on pay-per-view, WWE brings its Royal Rumble to the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. They're pushing the tagline hard, that "every superstar is eligible to enter." At this point that just seems to make clear that members of the undercard will appear in the match.

The undercard includes names like John Cena, Kane, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, and Mark Henry. All or none could appear, though the former seems far more likely than the latter.

Oh, and Wade Barrett recently tweeted that Papa Shango will be a surprise entrant. Take that how you will.

We'll have live coverage of the event with all the fallout from the big show, so be sure to come back tomorrow night for the live blog. It's always a good time.