Funny you should mention the Lariat, IIRC, Stan & Bradshaw met, and worked together briefly, in Japan prior to his joining the WWE.
Anyhow...the Bradshaw push was gonna happen. They built up to it on at least 2 occassions prior to his eventual heel turn/main event start. Both those pushes were nullified by injuries, as stated on the old Ross reports by JR.
Cena...eh, like the gimmick or hate it, the guy grabs the in-house fans. And let's not insult him by comparing him to the Rock. From what I've seen (and considerin' I saw both the guys debut...) Cena's in-ring skill FAR surpasses the Rock. Which is disturbing, considering Dwayne's heritage in the buisiness...
And...of course the Smackdown talent's having problems. There's only 3 writers on the show, unless they've hired a batch of folks & it's never been announced. Raw, by comparison, has a 5-7 person team, if memory serves. More writers=better show. Usually.