Not sad at all. I think it is great that they have done so much to build a match that would otherwise be a mid-card or comedy match and in the process have developed a heat machine in Cole. I can see him moving into a manager type role that can elevate guys like Swagger, McIntyre, or anyone else that could use a little help. But in the here and now all the efforts by Cole and Lawler have made their encounter a 4th money match for Wrestlemania to go along with Miz/Cena, Edge/Del Rio, and Taker/Triple H.
As for the rumor about Cole doing the Andy Kaufman bit, unless it comes from a credible source (ie PW Torch or F4W/Observer) then I call bullshit. Most other wrestling websites have little to no legitimate news or scoops.
In any event, instead of spending so much time pissing and moaning about how poor of a job you think WWE is doing you should try just focusing on the really good stuff they are doing. It is a lot more fun that way, which is what wrestling is supposed to be about.