Reviews

WWE Network Reviews: WWE Raw Talk for 07-05-21

By John Canton • Published 6th July 2021

Hey yo. It’s time for another edition WWE Raw Talk. Raw Talk airs on Peacock/WWE Network on Monday night about five minutes after Raw finished and is available on demand. My review of last night’s Raw is here in case you missed it.

Raw Talk is hosted by the usual team of Kevin Patrick and R-Truth. Truth complained about not winning the 24/7 Title back because Akira Tozawa kicked out. That led to Tozawa running away, so then Truth ran after Tozawa even though Truth was in a tag team match. Patrick said it was great seeing Truth back in the ring with Truth saying his last match was in March. It’s Truth. Don’t question things. They talked about how Kofi Kingston beat MVP in their tag team match. Patrick told Truth that he was picking Lashley over Kofi and Truth said he’ll let Kofi know when he’s on the show. They spoke about Riddle’s win over AJ Styles after a distraction from the Viking Raiders. They spoke about Drew McIntyre beating Jinder Mahal (by disqualification) and then Jinder took Drew’s sword. They spoke about the guests: Ricochet, Rhea Ripley and The New Day.

There were commercials for SummerSlam on August 21 and Money in the Bank on July 18.

The first guest was the Raw Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley with Patrick saying Ripley has her title and that made it uncomfortable for Truth. Ripley said she was feeling good since she got to hit Charlotte with a crutch. Ripley said it was entertaining for her to live rent-free in Charlotte’s head. Patrick noted that Ripley has never beaten Charlotte and Rhea felt like she was disrespected. Ripley said she’s got a championship while ripping on Patrick for not having one and Truth said Patrick helped Truth lose his title. Ripley said she’s not going to reveal her game plan. Patrick said that The Queen is “doing royal things” and not watching. Ripley said that Kevin is talking down on himself and he’s being an idiot. Truth did his random talking about how Ripley isn’t going to show her cards and rambled on about card games. Patrick wished Ripley good luck and they wish her. Ripley said that Patrick’s good luck means nothing. Ripley said that she’s going to defeat Charlotte Flair and that’s all you need to know. Patrick said he can’t wait to see it and Ripley left the interview.

TJR Thoughts: This wasn’t that interesting. This Ripley/Flair feud is losing steam big time. A lot of this discussion was about Ripley ripping on Patrick while Truth was doing his comedy routine as usual, so it was a bit strange. It’s typical Ripley showing a lot of confidence. I’d like to see her show a bit more personality in this kind of setting.

There was a commercial for Friday’s Smackdown wondering if Roman Reigns will retaliate against Edge. There was a video about getting the vaccine to fight back against COVID-19. I am now fully vaccinated with two shots. I’m happy to be done with it.

The next guest was Ricochet, who is a part of the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Ricochet defended Truth saying it was tough in the ring and Truth called Ricochet “Richard O Chet” so Ricochet corrected him. Ricochet complained about Miz blocking his path and getting in his way. Ricochet was impressed by Truth’s big watch and Truth said his wife got it for him. Ricochet said in his first Money in the Bank, the surprise entrant Brock Lesnar showed up and won the match, but hopefully, that’s not the case this time. Ricochet said that next week they have a Falls Count Anywhere match (Ricochet vs. Morrison for the third week in a row), so they can fight all around the ThunderDome and who knows what is going to happen? Patrick said it was a tough match to call, but he’s going to pick Ricochet. Ricochet said he’ll use Miz’s wheelchair as a battering ram if need be. Ricochet said that everybody in the Money in the Bank match has been a champion in some form and everybody is a threat. Ricochet said he’ll do whatever it takes by any means necessary to win Money in the Bank. Ricochet said he’s so excited to have the fans back because it’s electricity and that they feed off the people. Ricochet said it’s going to be a party, bro. Ricochet was thanked for his appearance and then New Day made their entrance to greet their buddy Ricochet. New Day is up after a break.

TJR Thoughts: I liked the confidence shown by Ricochet. He’s a likable guy and I think he’s better on the microphone than people think, but he just doesn’t get chances to talk that much. That’s what shows like this are for. The matches with Morrison have been good, but I thought the finish sucked this week. It was obviously just done that way to set up the third match for next week.

There was a commercial about WWE going back to live events starting in a few more weeks. Tickets available now for many events. There was a commercial for the NXT Great American Bash show airing tonight (Tuesday). I’ll have a review of that on Wednesday morning or maybe late Tuesday night.

The final guests were the New Day duo of Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods. Kofi will challenge Bobby Lashley for the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank on July 18. Kofi said that what happened on Raw was a sign of things to come, it was like a preview and he said that Bobby Lashley was slipping. Truth mentioned to Kofi that Patrick picked Bobby to win at Money in the Bank and then Kofi ripped on Patrick for saying Xavier Woods’ name wrong. Woods said that MVP and Lashley probably feel horrible. Kofi said that last week MVP claimed he was not cleared to compete, so why did he come out there this week and was limping down the ramp? Kofi ripped on MVP for being out there and said he was supposed to have a sound mind. Kofi said he calls Lashley “Bob” because he’s slipping. Woods said that if Lashley and MVP have failed to understand what New Day has been putting down there for the last six years and counting. Woods said that they (him and Kofi) are both very good in singles matches, but together in a tag team situation they are on a different level and outside the stratosphere. There was even a “hey Trish” shoutout for saying stratosphere (or Stratusphere). Kofi ripped on The Hurt Business taking out Shelton/Cedric from their business and said that was not a business. They talked about how The Hurt Business was like a startup. Patrick said that Kofi doesn’t have Xavier in the match at Money in the Bank, but he’s always got Xavier with him and Big E is always with them. Patrick said that Woods won’t be physically in the match. Woods said that Kofi has stood on the top of the mountain as the WWE Champion before, so he knows he can do it again. Kofi wanted to get on the table, then they mocked the bosses telling them not to get on the table because they broke it in the past. Woods joked that they are a publicly-traded company that can’t get a new table. Woods said that they are about to be in front of the fans again, so those people will give them money for a new table. That was funny. Truth said that the money would come out of his pocket and Woods said Truth has been wrestling forever, so he’s rich. Patrick asked about the fans being back. Woods and Kingston put their hands up towards the camera telling the fans they can feel the power. Woods said that you’ll feel the power even more at Money in the Bank, Survivor Series, at St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (well not that one), and so on. Woods said that they were excited like what they got at WrestleMania. Kofi said that they want to consume the people. They somehow got into a discussion about eating pies. They spoke about how Kofi was going to be a two-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion at Money in the Bank. Woods was wearing some Undisputed Era shorts. New Day kept on talking as the show tried to sign off.

TJR Thoughts: That was fun. The New Day guys always put on an entertaining show. They have a lot of confidence after a big win and since Kofi is a former WWE Champion, I think some fans might buy into the idea that Kofi could beat Lashley to become WWE Champion again. Do I think that’s going to happen? No, but it’s not a bad thought. I also found it funny how R-Truth ratted out Kevin Patrick immediately after Kofi was at the table by letting him know that Kevin picked Lashley to win. Truth makes me laugh when doing stuff like that.

This episode had a runtime of 26:43 on WWE Network.

That’s all from me. Thanks for reading.

John Canton

Email: mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter: @johnreport