The WWE World Champion joins Raw Talk!

Drew McIntyre will be here, but so will the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions and The Hurt Business! What will the champions and contenders have to say about everything we saw on Monday Night Raw?

#CharTruth welcomes us back to the show!

Charly Caruso and R-Truth are excited for another “ultra insightful” episode, and Truth is still in shock about how Bray was facing Orton but then it was The Fiend. That mask makes Charly fear waking up one night and just seeing The Fiend in her room. #StrangerDanger. A nightmare come to life, surely for Orton. Truth says that’s the same for “me, myself and mine. Er, I.” But then at TLC, does Orton have a chance of containing The Fiend? Didn’t look like that just moments ago. Scary face, scary teeth, dark magic and that mandible claw… Orton almost won but then The Fiend did that! Of course, we’ve seen this since forever with The Fiend but still. Truth will just be nice to Bray.

But didn’t Truth talk crap on Bray? NEVER! Nope, not once! Did you hear someone else? Charly thinks Truth doesn’t realize sometimes words just come out. True. But from creepy business to… The Hurt Business!

Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin join Raw Talk.

They’re dressed in clean suits, with clean hands to shake, and they’re gentlemen as they unbutton the jackets before sitting. Truth has a question. How did it feel being born old? No, he’s Shelton Benjamin, not Benjamin Button. Truth says that’s disappointing. Did kids bother Benjamin at school? Benjamin asks Charly if Truth is alright. Or on medication. Truth eats Tic Tacs and that’s it.

Charly brings up Kofi Kingston being both their opponent tonight. So who was the real winner? New Day or Hurt Business? Kofi beat Benjamin, but Alexander beat Kofi right after. Truth says that’s a tie. But Benjamin says that the bottom line, at the end of it all, whose hand was raised? The Hurt Business’. So as far as we should all be concerned, the Hurt Business reigned supreme. Alexander concurs. But also, not to take away from the win, Charly says Kofi’s leg was beat up. Alexander stops them right there and asks again, “Who won?” Alexander won. That’s all that matters. Alexander beat a forearm world champion! What else does he have to do? But Kofi had a double header. And whose fault was that?

Charly agrees, Kofi did agree to the match. Yes, the champion thought he was man enough, and he wasn’t. But Truth counters that maybe Alexander could’ve just said he’d wait for Kofi to come back at 100%. But Kofi’s a champ. He should fight like he’s 100% all the time. Truth says Alexander just likes title straps. Of course, but still! Charly also accepts that, because a champion level competitor has to always be ready. We just saw the Pittsburgh Steelers lose to Washington! Benjamin doesn’t care about that, the news is New Day losing to Hurt Business. Truth says the series is even. This is what Charly meant earlier about talking without thinking.

Charly says Benjamin brings great assets to the Hurt Business, but how is Alexander fitting in? That’s a silly question. Again, Cedric beat former world champion, Kofi Kingston. What else is there to say? They are the what business? The HURT Business! So Kofi was just “business as usual.” He got in the ring, he got hurt, and he lost for Cedric to win. So now that they’re climbing the mountain, do they deserve another shot? Cedric says Charly has a habit of asking weird questions. Truth agrees with that. Ask the right questions. What happened tonight? Cedric beat both members of the New Day back to back weeks.

Charly says Truth has a hard time paying attention. Attention pays Truth. But Attention told Truth that Shelton lost, Cedric won. And Cedric only won because Kofi got hurt facing Shelton. Yeah, he did get hurt. That’s what they do. They’re not the “Oh, sorry, Kofi” Business. Truth should know what the Hurt Business is about. The others can come over to remind him. Charly thanks them for their time and promises to work on her questions.  Truth says he’ll rent a car from them. No, not Hertz! Ugh. But from Raw Tag Team title challengers to the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions!

Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler join Raw Talk!

Truth says they’re in bad moods tonight. Well Shayna isn’t happy to be sitting next to Truth this time. But the real bad mood comes from earlier tonight. Shayna is still champion, though. Nia asks if Charly is upset someone stole one of her sleeves. Did she pay full price for that? Isn’t she cold? Charly admits she’s a little chilly. But her boobs are still on the front, right? Oh, ho! But if Shayna and Nia get her, there will be boobs on her back. Get it? Twisting and contorting people. No, Charly likes her body the way it is. Don’t knock it ’till you try it.

But moving on, three weeks in a row, Asuka and Lana have found a way to beat them. Truth says Lana is on a roll. Charly says no one expected Nia and Shayna to lose to Asuka and Lana, considering no one has taken Lana seriously before. Shayna says Lana should never be taken seriously! Lana got lucky because she has Asuka, who is a champion, by the way! But why is Lana even ringside? Should not be legal! That’s a distraction! Truth says Lana is on a good streak right now. Streak?! Well, like a skunk’s back. But maybe Goldberg! #LANABERG! Ugh no. Shayna says this every time she’s on Raw Talk: this is the worst part of her day. Truth says Shayna’s just upset catering didn’t have potato salad. Nia says Shayna had soup. Salty soup? Charly apologizes for that.

But Charly says “Lanaberg” and Nia have a match. Lana was worried but Asuka encouraged her. Shayna says Lana VS Nia, the most powerful female in the locker room, is not healthy. Asuka is just giving Lana confidence. OoOoh~! Shayna says that’s like telling someone they can survive oncoming traffic. Charly is just saying Lana uses power of belief. Did Charly lose half her brain when she lost half her shirt? Nia can’t understand this. Shayna asks who is in charge of assigning guests! Truth says they woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Nia needs a manager for her, or from this show. Oh so now she’s Karen? Oh, good one, Charly! Did Karen sell you that shirt?

Nia is not scared of Lana. And Shayna says Asuka gave Lana bad advice. “Jump off the bridge! You can survive!” That’s not a good friend or tag partner! But Charly says that if you had no choice, at least there’d be someone there with you. No, that person should get you away from the bridge! But Lana has shown on Raw Talk that she has expressed confidence and the desire to be a champion. Lana has been training and posting it on Instagram. Nia gives Lana credit for getting up every time she’s been knocked down. Lana’s gotten good shots in, but next week, Nia is going to be digging very deep into Lana and she won’t get up. Nia has had it with letting “this little blonde you-know-what get away thinking she can compete with champions like me and Shayna.”

Shayna mocks Lana having a strong presence on Instagram and TikTok. Since when were those needed requirements to be a pro-wrestler? It isn’t, and Charly doesn’t like that stuff, either. Truth likes it! But Truth just loves TikTok, and everything and everyone. But Lana has been putting in a lot more effort. Nia says EVERYONE works hard, whether or not it’s posted on social media or thrown in our face in some WWE Chronicle special. That crap on TikTok doesn’t matter! They don’t need to put it on social media because it’s normal for them to do this every day! It’s an anomaly for Lana so of course she posts about it! Nia is sick of it all. Next question.

Charly moves on and she says she respects that mentality of not needing to show off. But next week, the momentum builder for TLC, will it indicate what happens in the tag title match with Lana and Asuka. Shayna handles this one. “I am sick and tired of the way things are around here. This is the truth: No one in that locker room can out wrestle me, there is no one more powerful than Nia.” The fact that LaNa~ has social media followers and gets the opportunities, she shouldn’t even be in the ring! Shayna and Nia remedy that. That’s all this is, a chance for them to fix this! TLC will still see them standing as the champions. And speaking of champions…

Drew McIntyre joins Raw Talk!

The WWE World Champion is here, but he doesn’t feel so bad after the brawl with Sheamus. “That’s what brothers do!” They fought it out. Charly lets McIntyre take us through that. That wasn’t the first and it won’t be the last he and Sheamus punched each other in the face. Yes, McIntyre knew the Brogue was incidental, but they had to get it out of their system. The mistake made was Pat Buck getting in between them. McIntyre and Sheamus got on the same page, beat Buck up and then saw that table. BOOM, through the table. McIntyre’s fine, even with the lumps and cuts on his face. Sheamus has his own welt the size of an egg. Just a word to the rest of Raw: keep up with his physicality, or else you are never getting at the world title and he’ll just knock your ass out.

But then Sheamus crashes the show! And the bruise is already turning purple. Sheamus and McIntyre have been having drinks the last 20 minutes. Sheamus gets free pints wearing his wrestling gear. So Sheamus is okay McIntyre went after him for the Brogue? Tonight was not the first time they’ve had a brawl like that. But they settled it and move on. Imagine what happens to their opponents. Charly says that is a true sign of brotherhood. You can go back and forth and argue and fight, then later, you’re fine. Speaking of, McIntyre’s four year anniversary is coming! Mrs. McIntyre must be upset he isn’t home yet. Big shout out to the family, the dogs, and everything else. Is Sheamus new to TV? Doing all the shout outs!

But moving to physicality, Raw needs to step it up to keep up. Some people aren’t. If you can’t keep up, get lost in the shuffle or be put on another show since you don’t belong. Charly knows Sheamus was pacing, beside himself. What was going through his mind the exact moment he accidentally hit McIntyre? “That was a sweet Brogue Kick.” McIntyre laughs but teases that they lost the match for it. Well Sheamus isn’t trying to compare their kicks but the Brogue… Oh don’t go down that road. They’ve spent countless hours arguing this at the bar. But who is champion? Truth asks how Sheamus feels, and Sheamus says he’s numb on the one side of his face. Sheamus tells McIntyre to finish up so they can get another drink, then heads out first.

Charly has one more thing to ask, and seeing that there is no issue between him and Sheamus, how about the loss to AJ Styles? They have their TLC match at TLC after all. Well McIntyre isn’t happy not getting hit in the face or letting Styles win because Styles will rub it in. But their match at TLC gives Styles an advantage, but McIntyre has overcome odds before. Fans are excited to see McIntyre VS Styles 1v1 for the first time ever, and so is McIntyre. McIntyre’s dreamed of this match since he was 16. He started training at 15, saw Styles get going because he’s a few years older than McIntyre, and then they kept missing each other in their careers.

Eventually, they both ended up in WWE, but were on different brands the whole time, until now and now we have this match. Maybe Styles has been ducking McIntyre, but they’re having it out, and McIntyre vows to stay WWE World Champion. Truth asks if he’s going to bring the sword. Oh he brings that everywhere. So is it like Excalibur or the Sword in the Stone? Neither, it was the long lost family heirloom that Sheamus found it and brought it back. The heritage has brought out the fighting spirit! Charly hopes it brings just a bit of luck, too, given what Styles has in skill and in Omos. And Truth, work on your filter. But for now, that’s all for Raw Talk! See you next Monday! McIntyre needs to tell Sheamus he took up his time.

My Thoughts:

A very fun Raw Talk from top to bottom, though the Hurt Business segment got a bit redundant since Cedric and Shelton kept pushing the bottom line of the Hurt Business winning. Nia and Shayna have made this great shift from being functional as a team but dysfunctional as people, to two dominant wrestlers who support each other because they’ve proven to themselves this combination works. They really tear into Lana, and I hate to say it, but got some Face points with me for tearing down social media obsessions and all that. But that’s meant to be a Heel move since most people like social media things like TikTok and Instagram, so they were still doing their part as Heels to get heat from the average viewer.

McIntyre’s segment was really fun, with Sheamus joining in by surprise making it even more fun because of their chemistry. As I said for the Raw article, I would love if Sheamus and McIntyre stuck together for a long stretch, similar to how Bliss-Cross did. We all thought someone would turn and betray the other but Bliss didn’t go Heel and neither did Cross, they won things together and then only after a year did they break up. That can be Sheamus and McIntyre, maybe not as tag team champions but as allies, and then eventually, months from now, something happens and Sheamus goes back to being Heel. But for now, let’s enjoy the #CelticConnection fighting together, sometimes fighting each other but as brothers in arms, and just being entertaining.