Exclusive : Backstage chaos at Raw - Verbal fighting

Apparently the top management figures in the company were very upset over the crowd reaction during "The Ascension" segment featuring many past WWE and World Champions that closed out the show. While WWE expected Daniel Bryan to be more over than usual due to his Washington-based roots, they were caught off guard by the way the crowd hijacked the featured segment of the evening, one that was designed as the final "hard sell" for Sunday's TLC pay-per-view.

There is said to be some backstage heat on several guys, including John Cena and CM Punk. Punk and Randy Orton apparently had words, while Cena was in trouble for going completely off-script during his promo on Orton.

As one source told eWrestlingNews.com, "Orton was extremely peed and threw a fit backstage, and things are not looking good." The source added, "It was completely out of control near the gorilla position immediately after the show went off the air." This was obviously a result of Cena's harsh comments towards him during the TLC "go-home" promo for their title unification match this Sunday.

Additionally, WWE Hall Of Famer Bret "The Hitman" Hart was upset at the "Montreal Screwjob" reference made by Orton during his promo. While Orton's comments about the infamous Survivor Series incident were apparently scripted, Hart was not informed ahead of time that they were coming.

As far as Punk is concerned, eWrestlingNews.com is hearing that "The Best In The World" is again seriously contemplating retirement, or simply parting ways with WWE. As noted in the past, Punk is dealing with a number of injuries and is generally unhappy with the direction WWE is currently headed. Punk is known to be "moody" at times and whether or not this is another example of that, or the real deal this time, remains to be seen.

I was certain that WWE management would have been furious at this, they were trying very hard to sell the match but the crowd didn't care, then Mark Henry put himself in trouble by lifting Bryan's arm up. Then Cena brought attention back to Bryan again. You could see through the segment that Orton wasn't happy, these crowd rebellions always seem to happen when he's on screen (I wonder why?).

It's amazing that WWE don't take this is a sign that maybe what they are doing is wrong, it's baffling to think that WWE's response when the crowd don't buy into their angles is not to assume they're doing something wrong with the angle, that they're pushing the wrong guy, or having the wrong match but that the crowd is wrong. 

It wasn't just because they were in Bryan's home town, it helped, but since the beginning of the angle the crowd have been chanting Daniel Bryan, even when he's dropped out of it. The Big Show push flopped, and now this unification match is being overshadowed by the fact that the crowd don't want to see John Cena vs. Randy Orton.

I think the WWE only have themselves to blame to be honest. Everyone is sick of seeing Cena/Orton, and to be honest, I think even Cena is sick of facing Orton. You could tell that HHH wasn't happy when Cena pulled Bryan to the front and offered him a match if he won both the titles.

I think Punk just isn't happy being sat back watching this crap continue! And to be honest, everyone is calling for Punk/Bryan with titles on the line.

I am a big fan of Randy and hope he wins on Sunday. However, the most entertaining part of the segment was watching Punk, Dolph, HBK etc messing about like kids in the background, lol.

You could tell Triple H looked peed by his facial expressions and also him trying to put down Bryan verbally. Also you have to love Cm Punk, when Steph said Triple H was a 13 time champ Punk in the background facepalmed haha love it. Anyone see the spinaroonies after show went off the air? Punk seemed OK as did Cena.

I remember we were all a bit optimistic with Triple H taking a larger role and pushing more of the younger guys, but this is an absolute farce. I cant remember a period in history where a guy as over as Daniel Bryan is gets as buried as he does on a regular basis.

It seems to me the WWE are cutting their nose of to spite their face. I dont mind Orton and Cena in the unification match. Like it or lump it, these two guys are the biggest stars the WWE has made in the past 10 years, its almost fate it would come down to these two. But the WWE are basically telling the fans that they're wrong.

I wouldnt blame Punk or Bryan if either or both walk away at this point.

Could they not still be slow building Bryan up for Rumble to Mania time?  Surely the more they put him down now the bigger reaction when he goes over whenever that may be?  People go on about WWE not doing long term booking but this may be just that.
I'm not saying it definitely is, in fact that segment on Raw was the first time I've watched wrestling in weeks.  But the fact they are doing a unification type match at a PPV like TLC makes me think bigger things are yet to come.

I thought Mark Henry did right thing by raising Bryan's hand. It meant the crowd were acknowledged and stopped chanting their name, its just unfortunate they moved on to the 'Yes' chants afterwards. I was surprised by Cena offering Bryan a match after TLC and if that line was scripted then id say Orton is guaranteed to win at TLC.

The optimist in me is pleased Cena/Orton is taking place at a lesser PPV like TLC because you'd like to think it leaves Mania season wide open for Punk and Bryan to step up. It's better than Cena/Orton happening at Mania right?

CM Punk toppling the Head Honcho of the Authority Quintuple H and Daniel Bryan finally winning the title with both men embracing to close out Mania ala Eddie/Benoit 10 years earlier is something that could, should but probably won’t happen.

Question:

If Punk and Bryan were to do that who would be Benoit and who would be Eddie?

Bryan would be Benoit, use the yes lock (remind you of anything?) submission to win and finally end all the struggles throughout the year to try and win the title (ok he briefly had it but still!) and Punk coming in hugging him aka Eddie after battling his own demons.

Would they really recreate a moment like that, knowing that a good number of the WWE Universe know what it mimics?

Not saying I wouldn't love to see it, because I would mtfo if it happened!