This Week in WWE: Burning Questions from This Week's Action.

As this picture suggests, the WWE will be entering the holiday period with the underdogs on top. Following the TLC PPV on Sunday, both Zack Ryder and Daniel Bryan reached milestones in their careers, with Bryan picking up his first major title and Ryder earning his first singles strap.

We also witnessed the first PPV without John Cena in all of 2011, the PPV in-ring returns of Kevin Nash and Booker T and another run-in between Kane and John Cena.

All in all, this week in WWE has left me with a Christmas stocking full of questions, so here's my take on the week's action.

Where Does the Zack Ryder Story Go from Here?

When Zack Ryder won the U.S. Title on Sunday night, it seemed like everything had fallen into place for the WWE. One of their biggest talents had the chance to move on, and one of their biggest commercial assets picked up his first singles title.

Despite this, the Zack Ryder story needs to go somewhere. The feud with Ziggler is effectively over as we're all expecting Dolph to move onto the major title scene now so it begs the question, whose next for Zack?

It would be in the WWE's best interest to keep the strap around Ryder's waist for the foreseeable future in terms of marketing and merchandise, but they will have to find him a rival who will keep the division entertaining.

So who's next?

Will the WWE give someone like Hunico a run at the title, or will Ryder continue this underlying feud with Vickie Guerrero by feuding with Jack Swagger?

Or will an under carder like Drew McIntyre be brought back to the main roster?

I'm sure all of you have a different idea as to who it should be.

Is the WWE Going to Keep Feeding Us Bonus Matches at PPVs?

Now, I understand that certain adjustments had to be made to the TLC card due to Mark Henry's legitimate injury limiting the amount of time that he could wrestle.

However, I do not understand how a PPV which was billed for six matches, can end up with effectively 10 (if you count D-Bry's cash-in as a match).

The issue I have with this is that the WWE does not give half of the matches the right time to properly build, so we end up with matches that effectively meant nothing.

As a genuine question, when the hell did Kelly Kelly win the number one contender's spot for the Diva's title? Alicia Fox would have made more sense, but the WWE just reverted to their main girl.

TLC in general seemed to have a fair bit of "panic-booking", like WWE just saying "OMG, WE HAVEN'T BOOKED A DIVAS/TAG TEAM/SHEAMUS MATCH" and then just randomly booking.

Agreeably it was time for Epico and Primo to take a step into the tag division, and Sheamus needed a match, but build this up on Raw beforehand, not at the PPV.

Was TLC the End of the Triple H and Kevin Nash Feud?

Hunter and Nash's match at TLC surprised me a little bit because it wasn't half as wooden as I expected it to be and it included some pretty brutal spots, my favourite being the figure-four through the ladder.

The ending to the match was quite fitting which has lead me to believe that the feud will end there, but knowing the WWE, I'm almost certain that they could drag it out to another PPV. The question is how they would continue the feud, because to be honest, Nash was destroyed at the end of the match and was carried off on a stretcher.

Will we be seeing a rematch at the Rumble? Will we be seeing anymore legends come to join the party (X-Pac/Road Dogg?). I'm sure more will become clear in the coming weeks.

When Is Sheamus Getting a Proper Rival?

On Sunday, the Celtic Warrior squared off with the All-American American Jack Swagger in another battle in their less than inspiring feud.

Swagger is a mid card so it's almost baffling that the WWE are pairing him with a star who has been groomed to be the next big face in the WWE.

Personally, I've been waiting for a feud between Sheamus and Wade Barrett because I think that the two have similar brawler techniques which could really put on an interesting show. Brand-ignorant, I'd love to see him battle it out with Dolph Ziggler because they're both such great workers that they'd put on awesome matches.

Whatever happens, this little league feud needs to be put to bed so Sheamus can work on bigger and better things. Also, Swagger can focus on a possible push for the U.S. Title.

Will We See a Proper End to the Big Show and Mark Henry Saga?

One of the most surprisingly good feuds of this year ended poorly this week thanks to a legitimate injury suffered by Mark Henry. The five-minute farce that was their chairs match at TLC was unimpressive and didn't live up to the hype which their previous encounters had built.

Of course, you can't blame Henry for getting legitimately injured, however it's a shame that the WWE Universe was robbed of what could have been an excellent end to the feud.

Maybe WWE Creative had already decided that D-Bry would cash-in at TLC, but the match that preceded it was disappointing.

Will we see these two monsters clash again in the near future? I doubt it.

Props to the two giants who put on a good feud when the critics were against them.

Is Big Show Turning Heel?

While most have been waiting on a Daniel Bryan heel-turn, his cash-in could be the start of something very different.

So what would be the benefit of turning Show heel?

Well, the WWE has shown that they can create a great monster heel following the Mark Henry turn, and it could open up a great feud between the World's Largest Athlete and D-Bry.

It would make a lot of sense. If WWE really is in the "Reality Era," then Big Show would not let what D-Bry has done pass lightly.

Is Mark Henry's Angle Finished?

At TLC, Mark Henry got pinned clean, which sort of puts a stop to his unstoppable monster angle, so will the WWE fulfill the rumours and turn him face again?

I think it would be a terrible move by the WWE, but they will surely be thinking about a new angle for him now that he's taken a clean loss. In fact, the loss took only about five minutes, which is even worse for the World's Strongest Man.

So where can he go from here? I'm sure you guys will offer me some ideas.

Alberto Del Rio: Time for a Change?

It's incredible that the guy that won the Royal Rumble at the dawn of 2011, could be in such a rut at the end of it.

Del Rio has had such a roller-coaster year. After being thrown, so many bones just hasn't really bitten. Del Rio's character is so bland right now, and Creative are really going to have to give him a change if he's to become the next big thing in the WWE.

This isn't a new problem though. I will always remember a promo he cut early in the year prior to his match with Edge at Wrestlemania. The crowd were so dead that it could have been a Heath Slater promo.

"The Mexican Aristocrat" gimmick could have worked, but it just hasn't been done well enough so there needs to be changes made. I think splitting from Ricardo Rodriguez would be a great start, and maybe the change in in-ring style that Vince McMahon wants.

IS CM Punk Starting a Revolution?

CM Punk's opening segment on Raw this past week saw him congratulate the two newest champions in the WWE. Punk brought to light the fact that both of these superstars had not had their championships put on a plate, but in fact they had to work hard to get where they were.

The question is whether CM Punk will enlist the help of these two superstars to take down Johnny Ace.

WWE.com recently published an article pointing out how six months after CM Punk's legendary promo, "change had come." To a degree, change has come. Neither John Cena or Randy Orton are champions, and Ryder, Bryan or Punk aren't 400-pound bodybuilders.

Punk now has power as the WWE title. If he can get Ryder and Bryan on board, he can create a stable that holds half of the titles available in the WWE and really mount a campaign to overthrow Johnny Ace.

Live long the revolution!

Can Epico, Primo and the Usos Help Bring Back Tag Team Wrestling?

Tag team wrestling is all about great chemistry, quick changes and tag team moves, and their match this past week on Raw displayed all of these. As well as the above video, there's this one from Superstars a few weeks back.

The current feud in the Tag Team division is set to be Air Boom vs Epico and Primo, but I'd love to see the Usos come in somewhere down the line as they are one of the most underutilised talents in the WWE today.

For Epico and Primo, it is so easy to draw heat as a tag team due to all the underhanded tactics which can be employed. With the help of Rosa Mendes, they could become a great heel team.

John Cena, Kane and the Announce Table. What?

Was it meant to be symbolic?

Just a threat?

Or a new mandible claw-esque finisher?

Whatever it was, John Cena was left bloodied. I'm not sure if it was a blood capsule to make it look more devastating or whether it was just a genuine mistake, but it still doesn't help us understand what it was.

Then there's the shirt thing. Now I noticed early in the promo that Cena's shirt was slightly torn at the collar as preparation for the end of the promo, but why did Kane take Cena's shirt?

Was it like a metaphorical scalp from a victim? I'm sure all will become clear in the new year.

Will WWE Ever Give Z! True Long Island Story Its Own Slot on Raw?

We've endured some ridiculous vignettes and promos before on Raw, so why haven't they picked up the ball on Z!TLIS yet?

Z!TLIS is genuinely popular amongst fans, and I'm sure most would prefer five minutes being dedicated to this rather than to things like "the Michael Cole Challenge", J.R. and Michael Cole having a rap battle or generally anything involving Michael Cole.

Chances are that it's too late anyway, because I would envisage that Ryder will be winding the show down in the near future to focus on improving himself as a worker. Maybe this would be the opportune time for WWE to ask him to do it for WWE TV to keep the show alive and to help keep his loyal fans tuned in.

Maybe it's only really a small change, but I personally would be all for it.

Are We Looking at Three Long-Term Champions?

It's been a year that's seen an obscene amount of title changes, and it is a wonder if 2012 will pan out in a similar way.

The Miz held the WWE title from November 2010 until May 2011, however since then the strap has changed hands eight times as Miz, Cena, Del Rio, Punk and Mysterio have played hot potato with the belt.

Similarly, the World Heavyweight title changed hands nine times, including Christian's reign which lasted two days, and Big Show and Dolph Ziggler, who couldn't even leave the arena with the belt.

Hopefully, 2012 will be a year that sees the WWE calm down with the titles, and not feel like one has to change hands every PPV. Title wins are no longer as exciting as they used to be because it happens so often, and reducing the amount of title changes is definitely something which Creative need to look into.

Has Teddy Long Got Much Time Left as Smackdown GM?

In general, I don't think face general managers really work as well as heel ones, and Teddy is really, really boring right now.

He has the occasional segment with Aksana which apparently means nothing, does his little dance now and again and makes run ins to change singles matches into tag team matches.

In my opinion, he's more vanilla than vanilla.

If he were to go in the near future, I could see Johnny Ace using David Otunga to legally remove Teddy Long from power, thus expanding Ace's hold over the company and drawing more heat on this corporation-esque stable he's building.

Maybe it doesn't even really matter because we get spoilers for Smackdown anyway, and it's the B-show.

Brand merger anybody?

Was the Orton/Barrett Segment on Smackdown a Hint at Things to Come?

I was pretty shocked on Friday night, not only when Wade Barrett and Randy Orton's altercation spilled out into the parking lot, but also when Orton RKO'ed Barrett onto the roof of a car.

I didn't quite believe what I was seeing. I was convinced that Barrett was going to counter it or slip out somehow, but he took the bump, and he sold it awesomely.

What was great about this is that during the taping, about half of this wasn't show to the live audience meaning that it didn't hit the spoiler sheets and was an added bonus to those who didn't read the spoilers and tuned in regardless.

The question is whether they will use this to build up to a street fight between the two a some point in the near future. Maybe the Royal Rumble?

It wouldn't be the first time that the Rumble had hosted a street fight. If you haven't seen Triple H-Cactus Jack at the Rumble in 2000, then check out the highlights here. You'll also realise how insane Mick Foley is when he takes a Pedigree onto the thumb tacks.

There's no way that PG-era WWE would put on a match like HHH/Cactus Jack, but there could still be some brutal spots between Barrett and Orton.

How Far Away Is a Recognisable Brand Merge?

Raw has been a "Supershow" for a few months now, and on this past week's edition of Smackdown 5 of Raw's stars, raising the question when they will give in and admit that there is no longer any brand extension.

So what would be the knock on effects of a brand merge?

First, there would be endless possibilities for different feuds which could take place and therefore we wouldn't have to sit through the same rivalries over and over again.

Then, the WWE could unify some of the titles to make holding a title an even more coveted prize. Unifying say, the US and IC championships could also make way for a new, returning title *cough* Cruiserweight Championship *cough*. This would also mean that some of the current mid card stars could create talented tag teams who could have meaningful feuds.

A merger would probably see WWE Superstars become even more irrelevant, and it would most probably disappear from our computer screens.

The WWE Network offers the perfect opportunity to end the brand extension, but will the WWE take this bull by the horns?