– FOXSports.com has published an article looking at Brock Lesnar’s UFC career being cut short due to illness. WWE legend The Rock is quoted in the article, saying:

“I don’t know if anybody will ever accomplish what he’s accomplished in the heavyweight division in that short amount of time. Had it not been for the unfortunate issue he had to deal with his stomach, who knows what could have happened if he continued to train, and continued to hone in on his skills. What he did was epic and historic.”

– Chris Jericho tweeted the following after appearing in The Authority’s video on RAW last night:

Welcome to Raw Is Jericho! Im the Best In The World At What I Do! U will never EVVVER be the same again! #cheapcatchphrases #guiltyascharged

— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) April 1, 2014

WWE has reportedly changed their initial plans for The Authority story line. Originally, there was talk of bringing Vince McMahon back to television as a regular character, with the idea of having him battle with Triple H for control of the company leading into WrestleMania XXX. Those plans have apparently been scratched.

Additionally, for whatever reason, WWE decided to change the on-air role for Stephanie McMahon, as they stopped referring to her as one of the owners of the company.

As previously reported, WWE was originally planning on a Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show match at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. The idea came about when Show was feuding with The Authority.

Apparently the plan was for Big Show to go through Randy Orton and The Authority, although he would never win the title, yet he would come out of the program as a solid main eventer. This would set up Show looking strong, making Lesnar look strong for a match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXX when he beat Show at the Rumble.

Speaking of Taker vs. Lesnar, there appears to be some concern over a few different issues. One is the physical style that Lesnar has in recent years. Lesnar’s rough style, mixed with the bad physical shape Taker is in, is causing some concern.

Another issue is that many, if not all of Taker’s opponents the last several years have secretly worked out their match with extensive practice before it actually took place. There is some concern within WWE as to whether or not Lesnar would be willing to put in that amount of time preparing for the match.

• Huge Update On WWE’s Plans For WMXXX & Royal Rumble Surprises

(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Noah Mark is back with his the latest installment of “The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” Comment below and tell us if you agree with this week’s picks.

Complete WWE RAW Results (12/9)

WWE RAW (12/9): The “YES!”

Daniel Bryan

The Star of Raw Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan, winning three Slammy Awards competing in a match, appearing in the Championship Ascension Ceremony, was without question the star of the show. His hometown crowd chanting YES! YES! YES! and DANIEL BRYAN! throughout the beginning of the Championship Ascension Ceremony. Going back earlier in the night to his first Slammy win for Superstar Of The Year. On stage The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels. He announces the Superstar of the year is Daniel Bryan. We were all expecting fireworks to occur during that interaction. HBK even exited stage right a perfect set-up for a “surprise” superkick from out of nowhere! But there was no Sweet Chin Music. Just a humble acceptance speech by Bryan for his Slammy Award which he refereed to as The “HB Swizzle”  award, Michaels naming it that just before presenting the award. Bryan did mention if it wasn’t for Shawn he wouldn’t be in the WWE. Likewise if it wasn’t for his interference at Hell-In-A-Cell he would be the WWE Champion. Although there was no physical interaction here, that wouldn’t be the last time these two interacted on the show.

See this is why I can’t shake off fighting the Daniel Bryan cause, he belongs in the main event. Heck this article uses his YES! and NO! and lord help us all if Daniel Bryan ever appears in a “NO!” portion of this article.  Some people might say, he was in his hometown and had an extra kick of support. There may be a bit of truth to that, but I feel that there are just some hot wrestling towns. Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and apparently Seattle. After what transpired later in the show who knows what will happen the next few months. I’m excited! YES!

Championship Ascension Ceremony

John Cena showing why he is in fact the face of WWE.

Former World Heavyweight and WWE Champions appeared all in the ring for the Championship Ascension Ceremony. As I said earlier the crowd was going crazy for Daniel Bryan. While Triple H was talking up the match, and the championship, the Seattle crowd chanted YES and Daniel Bryan to the point where Triple H gave them what seemed like at least a minute of chanting and Yessing and clapping. This crowd was on fire for Daniel Bryan. Triple H introduced both Orton and Cena. The crowd did not want to hear what Orton had to say. There were boos and boring chants. Then Cena took the mic. More boos and cheering mix. Then Cena begins to speak and prove why he is the face of the WWE. These days with everything being very planned and scripted, Cena played to the crowd and included Daniel Bryan in the conversation, he compared Randy Orton’s rise to success to Daniel Bryan’s. The idea was Bryan didn’t have a father and grandfather to get him in to the WWE, he did it by working. Cena turned practically the entire crowd around and behind him., shouting out his past opponents, HBK, CM Punk, and putting over that the only fair shot Daniel Bryan had was the one with him.  Brilliant, this is why he is where he is. The end was something I haven’t seen in the WWE in a long time. It was an awesome chain of events excuited perfectly. Cena and Orton shake hands as the World Heavyweight Championship and WWE Championship are hoisted up. Orton gets in a cheap shot, the two are down on the mat fighting. Orton and Cena get pulled apart to their corners. CM Punk gets shoved by Orton causing CM Punk to start attacking Orton. Triple H throws down CM Punk, who retaliates with a knockdown of his on on The Game. HBK Superkicks CM Punk, setting up Daniel Bryan to

The Authority and John Cena look over A fallen Randy Orton. A great segment to end raw.

WWE Reminding us what they are capable of, a Powerful and compelling end to Raw.

deliver his running Knee on HBK. Orton tries to RKO Bryan but instead gets shoved into Stephanie McMahon knocking her down. Triple H runs to Stephanie’s aid, and then gets up and pedigrees Randy.  The show closes with The Authority and John Cena looking disappointed over Randy Orton on the mat. What a great segment. This is what WWE used to do on a regular basis. Twists and turns, these chain-reaction action segments. YES!

Quick Mentions

Dean Ambrose vs CM Punk – Ambrose vs CM punk was a Pay-Per-View quality match with a great dissension in the ranks tease when Dean Ambrose wanted Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins to head to the back so he could finish the job by himself. Punk gets the win shortly after that exchange, although Punk loses out to the numbers game and gets a great spear from Reigns. YES!

The Wyatts – With a chip on my shoulder because of Daniel Bryan’s demotion, I don’t think I appreciated Bray Wyatt’s amazing performances over the last few weeks.  They are great, and compelling. YES!

Hit up Page 2 below for the “NO!” of this week’s WWE RAW:

The following is an excerpt from the RAW Five Point Preview from WWE.com:

“As the year comes to a close, the biggest match in WWE history quickly approaches at WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs between World Heavyweight Champion John Cena and WWE Champion Randy Orton. With looming expectations from COO Triple H of there being just one World Champion in WWE, what will unfold tonight during the official contract signing between Cena and Orton? Here are five reasons to catch Raw at 8/7 CT on USA Network.”

The build-up to the WWE TLC pay-per-view in two weeks continues on Monday night as WWE RAW returns live from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

No matches or segments have been announced in advance, however the focus will remain on the Randy Orton vs. John Cena match at TLC, which is being billed as a “unification match.”

Included on RAW will be The Authority, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, who along with Vince McMahon, is being advertised locally for the show.

WWE will also begin setting up the undercard for the WWE TLC pay-per-view, which is likely going to revolve around The Wyatt Family kidnapping Daniel Bryan and The Shield targeting CM Punk last week.

Additional talent advertised for RAW this week include Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, Ryback, Goldust, Cody Rhodes, AJ Lee and even Paul Heyman, who has not appeared on RAW in a few weeks.

For the live crowd in Oklahoma City on Monday night two post-show dark matches are benig advertised. John Cena is scheduled to defend his WWE Championship against Alberto Del Rio, while Randy Orton is slated to defend his World Heavyweight Championship against Big Show.

• Rare Photo Of Vince & HHH Backstage Working At RAW

Here’s the latest installment of “The YES! & The NO! of WWE RAW.” I may have a different perspective than you since I was live at Raw this week at The Nassau Colosseum! Comment below and tell us how you like the column and if you agree with this week’s picks.

Complete WWE RAW Results (11/25): With VIDEOS

WWE RAW (11/25): The “YES!”

Daniel Bryan & CM Punk vs The Wyatts

Daniel Bryan & CM Punk cut a promo before facing The Wyatts

The obligatory rematch between The Wyatts and Daniel Bryan & CM Punk, took place on Raw. First a promo from “The Beard & The Best” CM Punk discussing team names, and asking questions allowing Daniel Bryan to answer them with a “Yes!”.  Daniel Bryan got a chance to say more than just the three letter word that will follow him for the rest of his career.

I love Daniel Bryan, and so does the crowd. In fact you could hear Daniel Bryan chants during the opening segment, proving once again that this demotion was not “Best For Business” But more on that in the “NO!” section.

Any match can be enhanced with the crowd behind you. When you have top stars like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, the two most over Superstars at Raw, it can add just that little more energy to the match.

CM Punk made a comment about Triple H and the authority in the opening promo, and wouldn’t know it after Daniel Bryan was “Kidnapped” by the Wyatts. CM Punk was laid out by The Shield.  I wonder if that marks the end of Daniel Bryan and CM Punk together, because I was enjoying that. Time will tell.

Who would have thought Goldust would be having great matches alongside his brother in 2013!

The Shield vs The Rhodes and Rey Mysterio 

I have never been a fan of Tag Teams growing up watching the WWE. I must say however, though all the missteps, and bad booking since SummerSlam, The WWE has a great tag team division. This, of course includes The Shield and The Wyatt factions. Day in and day out these teams from The Veteran Golddust, to newer WWE talent in The Shield and The USO’s, are having great matches. I am thoroughly enjoying watching these teams work.

The Kosher Butcher!

The Kosher Butcher
Superstars for Sandy Relief Auction winner, ” Charlie Tebele was interviewed by Jerry “The King” Lawler. When asked if he were to be a WWE Superstar, what would his name be. Charlie was prepared, with a blue T-shirt and a great gimmick “The Kosher Butcher” He even went as far to come up with his finisher, The Circumcision! At first the crowd didn’t know what to make of this.  Not sure if this was shown on TV, but The Kosher Butcher had at least a dozen of his friends and family at Raw, all wearing their Blue shirts! Great stuff. Half way during the Xavier Woods match, and some further thought, the crowd broke out into chants of  both “Kosher Butcher” and “Circumcision”, add that to the list of most bizarre Raw chants.
Great Stuff.

Hit up Page 2 below for the “NO!” of this week’s WWE RAW:

The post-Survivor Series edition of WWE RAW on Monday, November 25th emanates from Long Island, New York, with special celebrity guest host Michael Strahan.

RAW on Monday will focus on the Survivor Series pay-per-view fall-out, as well as the early build to the WWE TLC pay-per-view, which takes place in three weeks and serves as the final PPV effort from WWE in 2013.

This week’s RAW will focus on Randy Orton retaining his WWE Championship against Big Show, John Cena retaining his World Heavyweight Championship against Alberto Del Rio, as well as the Orton-Cena showdown to close out Survivor Series.

Advertised for RAW this week are Orton, Cena, Big Show, Alberto Del Rio, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, The Wyatt Family, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Kane, The Shield, Goldust, Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler, Ryback, Curtis Axel and AJ Lee.

Make sure to check back here at the website later Monday evening for live WWE RAW results coverage.

• PHOTO: VINCE MCMAHON Returns At Survivor Series After The PPV Ended!

– One of the main angles on this coming Monday’s WWE RAW, the Survivor Series “go-home” edition of the show, will be The Authority (Triple H and Stephanie McMahon) returning from “vacation” to address the performances of Kane, Brad Maddox and Vickie Guerrero on last week’s show.

– There is some speculation that the 3MB group in WWE will be permanently switching to The Union Jacks after debuting the look at last week’s WWE television tapings in England. Additionally, there is speculation that the group will switch up their look for the “RAW Country” edition of RAW this coming Monday night.

– On WWE RAW this week, which was taped in Manchester, England on Monday afternoon, the company announced that next week’s edition of RAW will have a country music theme. “RAW Country” emanates from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee live on Monday night.

No official matches have been announced for next week’s WWE RAW thus far, however it was announced that “The Authority,” Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, will return from “vacation” to appear on the show.

– WWE Superstar CM Punk is confirmed to appear on this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown. The announcement was made on WWE RAW on Monday night. SmackDown will be taped on Tuesday afternoon in Manchester, England.

With WWE television tapings taking place overseas, the company is playing up “The Authority” (Triple H and Stephanie McMahon) being on “vacation” to explain their absence from television.

WWE suggested that the new “Director Of Operations” Kane will be in charge of running WWE RAW from a storyline standpoint this week.

Make sure to check back here at the website later this afternoon for complete WWE RAW spoilers for tonight’s show.