Reviews

WWE Network Review: WWE Raw Talk for 2/1/21

By Aneil Komal • Published 2nd February 2021

A day after the 2021 Royal Rumble, hosts Char-Truth (Charly Caruso & R-Truth) being with the 24/7 championship which is seemingly back with Truth. When last left off, Peter Rosenberg was the 24/7 champion after pinning Truth during the Royal Rumble. However, they addressed the 24/7 championship change as Truth regained his championship on the Michael Kay show. During that Monday’s episode, with a referee in tow, Truth sneaked into Rosenberg’s hotel room, ambushed him, and then gave him the devastating ROLLUP OF DEATH for the three count to get his “baby” back. After clearing up the 24/7 championship situation, they then spoke about the continued saga between Alexa Bliss and Randy Orton. We see a clip of when Orton and Alexa crossed paths during his entrance and then the final moments of the main event of Raw in which Alexa appears sitting on the top turnbuckle. A black substance drips out of her mouth which Truth called licorice. The distraction would allow Edge to hit the spear on Randy Orton for the win. Truth questions if Alexa helped Edge or antagonized Orton which Charly says more towards Orton. They then mention Edge’s weekend which he won the Royal Rumble and then defeated his long-time nemesis, Randy Orton.

Aneil’s Take: I was wondering how R-Truth got the championship back when there was no mention of it on Raw. We also get another recap of the Orton-Bliss storyline, which at this point, fans either love or hate. There seems to be no in-between for this. For me, while I like the supernatural storylines, this has kind of dragged out.

Charly says she wants to get to the bottom of something which leads to the first guests, “The Sassy Southern Belle” Lacey Evans and “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair. Charly gets right to it, asking what is going on between Evens and Flair which Truth called an “entanglement”. Evans brings up the old saying “work smarter, not harder”. She says she is a smart woman and knows a powerful man when she sees one. Evans spoke about her journey through this business but never accomplishing anything. Going back to “working smarter, not harder,” this led her to the “handsome” Ric Flair as she rubs his shoulder. Charly says while this partnership is beneficial to Evans, she questions The Nature Boy on what is he getting out of it. Ric Flair answers that he has gained his self-respect. He brings up people crediting him for where the business is at before showing off his Hall of Fame ring. He says he has a “Hall of Fame of Knowledge” pointing to his head and is tired of hearing people say Charlotte is better than him. Calling his daughter “The Great One”, he reminds everyone that she was trained by Triple H in NXT who learned from him. Flair says he will train Evans to become a world champion as her Marine work ethic will help her go for the gold. While Flair says what he is doing is just business, Charly questions him if it is worth his relationship with Charlotte and someone who might be a role model to Lacey. Lacey cuts her off, disgusted at the idea of Charlotte being a role model to her. Evans continues by saying unlike Charlotte, she has been nothing but respectful to Ric and listens to what he says, especially his guidance and influence. Ric says not only Charlotte but the entire locker should be on notice. He adds that the women’s division is just as big and important as the men’s division and equally talented. Truth brings up Evans’ touchiness with Flair which Charly believes some might take this wrong. Evans refutes, explaining she does not care what people think and will learn from the dirtiest player of the game. Flair says Truth grew up in North Carolina before Evans says assuming is like buttholes, everyone has one. Charly says she will keep her opinion about the Ric-Lacey situation but hopes Flair makes amends with his daughter.

Aneil’s Take: I am finally glad we get some explanation as to the partnership between Lacey Evans and Ric Flair. I think Flair wanting to share his knowledge with Lacey as a way to get back at his daughter who does not want him to get involved kind of works. Flair does have the credibility to say he has taught two world champions in Orton and Batista. Maybe this pairing might help Evans gain some credibility as a championship contender. I also like the point that Evans made about working smarter, not harder which is something that Nature Boy was good at.

The next guests are the newly formed team of Naomi and Lana. Charly asks how are both women doing which they simultaneously answered “amazing”. Shen then questions them on their emotions, especially on their tag team victory. Lana begins by saying she is extremely grateful and thankful for Naomi especially since they are best friends in real life. Naomi mentions them being friends since their FCW days with their husbands being best friends. Bring up the subject of Nia Jax, Lana believes Nia targeted her for a while, mentioning being put through the announce table nine times and then at the 2019 Royal Rumble. Lana says while her goal was to win the Royal Rumble, she wanted to eliminate Nia whom she called a “thorn in the flesh”. To her, eliminating Nia was “satisfaction” especially after The Irresistible Force eliminated Naomi. Naomi adds that while they are not being viewed as a threat, she believes that is their strongest asset. Even though many people view them as “weak”, she believes hard work will help them prevail. Charly says she likes the pairing and asked for a team name which they said “Ravishing Glow” before ending the interview.

Aneil’s Take: When I saw them team up, I found the pairing of Naomi and Lana to be a bit random. However, the explanation of them being friends in real life (which is documented on John’s favorite show, Total Divas) does help this make sense. I think this tag team has a lot of potentials and I look forward to what the Ravishing Glow team can do. I know it seems similar to the pairing of Naomi and Carmella, but these two are genuine friends which can help their team chemistry grow.

The last guests for the night are The New Day’s Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods. Woods comes in hot asking for the camera to cut to his face. Looking into the camera, Woods shouts that he is 2-2 against Retribution which means he will face Reckoning (Mia Yim). He says Adam Pearce is a coward if he does not book the match next week because he is serious about facing her. Kofi says they did Sasha versus Reginald on Smackdown so this should be the tiebreaker. Woods shouts to give him Reckoning as it will be a good match which he will beat her and for Mustafa Ali to “quit disrespecting” Kofi. Charly welcomes back the one-time WWE champion who said he had to come back in person to support his brother Woods. Kofi says Ali has been talking a lot on social media before watching a clip of Woods’ victory against his foe. Kofi says Ali has been speaking lies on social media, and that the leader of Retribution has “lost his mind”. The hosts bring up Kofi’s tie-dye tracksuit, before showing his behind to the camera which he reveals squats and deadlifts as the secret to getting “that little peach”. Woods shouts again to give him Reckoning and calls out Adam Pearce once more to give him the match. Charly asks to give a shoutout to Big E and mentions their tribute gear to Brodie Lee. Woods thanks Kofi for being there at the Royal Rumble even though he was not in the match. Kofi says he was there to complete the Triforce (a Zelda reference) as Woods’ shows his Zelda tattoo. Kofi says he is not medically cleared but is almost there. Woods adds he always wanted to be in a best of five series which he is in one right now with Retribution. He once again says he wants Reckoning as Raw Talk concludes.

Aneil’s Take: This interview seems like an organized mess. Even though Kofi and Xavier were hyped like Mojo Rawley, they did focus on their Retribution rivalry. I would have liked for Kofi to give details and thoughts about his social media rivalry with Mustafa Ali. It will be interesting to see if Xavier gets his wish of a match against Mia Y… sorry I mean Reckoning.

Final Thoughts

I liked the interview with Ric Flair and Lacey Evans. They did a great job advancing their dramatic storyline with Charlotte by explaining their partnership. I thought it was cool to get some insight about Lana and Naomi’s pairing which looks to be heading towards a tag team championship match. And of course, The New Day doing their thing as usual. The one thing I wish WWE could do is feature clips of the Raw Talk segments on Raw to help advance the storyline.