It will be a golden Raw Talk before the Royal Rumble!

The Hurt Business put in work and the Queen is worried about usurpers, but they’re here for some Raw Talk ahead of this Pay-Per-View Sunday!

#CharTruth welcomes us back to the show!

Charly Caruso says we’re on our way to one of the biggest PPV’s of the year, the Royal Rumble! She cannot wait! But she also can’t wait for tonight’s episode of Raw Talk, with Truth, who is still WWE 24/7 Champion! Isn’t she also champion by association? They should center the belt. And not to rub it in or anything, it’s been a long night for everyone, but Truth had his shot to officially enter the Men’s Rumble and it didn’t work out! What happened? AJ Styles is phenomenal and he has Omos with him. Omos is big. A mountain of a man! Hugigantimongous. Mount Everest or Mount Kilimanjaro? Both. You gotta look up, and East to West. You can’t focus on Styles with Omos there, there and over there. Charly almost thought he was here, but Truth says you’d have seen Omos if he was here.

And then speaking of directions, there was an interesting misdirection with the main event, Lil’ Miss Bliss, The Fiend’s protégé, what even do we call her? Truth says they’re family. And then Orton with his sunburn face gave her an RKO! Hard to know how to react to that, other than that was the worst thing that could’ve happened. Or one of them, maybe. Orton wants revenge for what happened to him so he took back his pride, dignity, etc. Truth says Orton needs some Aloe Vera or something. But Truth getting that close to Orton might get him in Alexa’s sights, too. Truth can’t risk that, Charly needs him to be a cohost. Truth needs Truth to be here, so he’s going to just move on.

Moving on to an exciting match coming at the Royal Rumble, the WWE World Championship, Drew McIntyre VS Goldberg. We almost got a throw down between them but they went after Miz ‘n’ Morrison as they were egging everything on. That’s what they get, though! Spear AND Claymore! But that won’t stop them from going after each other on Sunday. Who you got? Charly will make a prediction. Just because of what he’s done in the WWE and that Charly has a lot of respect for him, she goes with McIntyre. Nothing taken away from Goldberg, but Charly’s voting McIntyre. Truth is with Gillberg. Well, alright then. And speaking of another big time champion with something going on at the Royal Rumble, it’s the Queen!

Charlotte Flair joins Raw Talk!

Charly says Charlotte looks amazing these days and Truth agrees. Super shredded, and very happy, but of course because she has the championship. Charlotte’s got Andrade at home to help her, after all. She hopes she got the roll of the R just right. But yes, a lot of things to be happy about. A live-in trainer, some championship gold, but also some problems… Just a little. Let’s talk about that after her mindset for tonight’s match with Shayna Baszler that didn’t even turn out that way. There was some involvement from Lacey Evans, the “problem” they were about to bring up. Charlotte was looking forward to facing Shayna, given the history with Shayna’s buddy, Ronda. Maybe they texted like, “Do you remember when Charlotte kicked your ass?” Whoa~!

But Charlotte says Shayna means business, so she knew to give her the best. But then there was Nia Jax and all that. The tag titles will be on the line against Nia and Shayna, how is Charlotte feeling about that? Charlotte has Asuka so there’s that. Truth knows Asuka is great, and Charlotte may sound cliché but she knows she doesn’t want anyone else with her as she goes into battle. Charly said it before and will say it again, Charlotte and Asuka are two of the greatest women in the WWE. But Nia and Shayna were very strong tonight. Charlotte says they were just mad tonight. Truth agrees with that. Charlotte has had the opportunity to be in the ring with the Irresistible Force, and it isn’t often she faces someone bigger than her, but they bring out the best in each other and expect nothing different.

But then Charlotte also wants to be in the Women’s Rumble, but there’s everything with Lacey and Ric Flair. Some family drama, Lacey attacked Charlotte in front of Ric, what is going on? Charlotte knows Ric thinks he’s being cute and funny, and for the last couple of years it’s just been hard. Everyone around Ric are Yes People, they just praise Naitch, and then they leave and it’s just Ric. Charlotte has only ever wanted to protect the Flair legacy. She would do anything to do that. So looking Ric in the face and pointing out how Lacey is sexy and all over him, she can get that. But Ric is going from legend to creepy old man and she will say it because she’s not the villain here. Charlotte doesn’t even have time for Lacey, who is just an opportunist. Are the intentions the title? Is it really about Ric?

Truth says how could it not be about Ric? He’s the Nature Boy! Charlotte knows Truth is a Carolina boy but slow down. Charlotte has done everything she can to show she’s here because of her work, not her name. But then those who will do anything to get to the top, that is Lacey. You hear about it while everyone else is doing things the right way, but you see that kind of girl everywhere at every level. It’s hard to be sure why Lacey is doing this to Ric and Charlotte, but she’s definitely doing it to get at Charlotte.

So Charlotte has her hands full with the tag title challenge, Lacey’s antics, and then the Women’s Rumble. Charlotte is sure people think she’s had a happy-go-lucky life as Ric’s daughter, but she’s used to obstacles in her path. People don’t see it, but the ones who have obstacles don’t talk about it. Charlotte will be prepared for everything coming her way. Truth loves it and Charlotte feels like she has a hype man. Charlotte says she has mac ‘n’ cheese to share with him. Is there pork chop in there? Truth only does light pork chop in the mac. But Charly thanks Charlotte for her time and wishes her luck. See you later, champion!

Elias & Jaxson Ryker join Raw Talk!

The Drifter and his follower are back and they talk BBQ after what we just got. What is his favorite? How do they mean? Regional, Carolina, Tennessee, etc. They vote for Carolina, which is Truth’s liking. Charly makes sure everyone knows the question wasn’t just because they were talking BBQ with Charlotte there. Charly was testing if they could come to an agreement given the miscommunication the last few weeks. Wow, Charly! They’re pals, but great journalism move. So then what is happening? There was discord but are things moving in the right direction?

Of course! They got on the same page, the communication problems are gone. They handled things on WWE Main Event on Hulu, but not like two weeks ago. The footage shows things, but Ryker & Elias took on Ricochet & Jeff Hardy on Main Event and took care of business! Hardy is a living legend, we all know that, and Ricochet is one of the most talented wrestlers in the world today! But Ryker is an intense animal that loves the Universal Truth, and Elias himself is a once in a lifetime performer. But those four on Main event shows how jam-packed Raw really is. Charly asks if Ryker sees Elias’ guidance as serving him well. Of course!

Wait, Elias is sinking in his chair. Truth says it’s cuz Elias is lying. Well it happened to Keith Lee but for a very different reason. Get us a montage of people sinking in the chairs. That’ll go viral. Elias says he wrote the Universal Truth cuz he speaks the truth and now he’s talking to Truth! Nice one! Okay, one last time to see if they can get on the same page. Who do they think wins the Royal Rumble? They say “WE are going to win the Royal Rumble.” Oh so if one wins, they both win. Yes, they are going to win. Simple as that. Watch this Sunday! Elias is declaring officially, so there you go. It is an official declarence. A declaration? Yes, that, too.

Well Charly will pass that along, though we don’t know the rules right now. Truth says it’s about opportunities but Ryker wants to take it. Ryker and Elias will write history at the Rumble when THEY win! 2021 will be historic! Well alright. Good to have them on the same page with the declarence, be ready for a Raw Talk BBQ. But now from BBQ to perhaps fine dining? The Hurt Business is here!

Bobby Lashley & MVP join Raw Talk!

MVP warns Truth, “Every word out your mouth tonight, measure very, very carefully. Because I am not here for it. And I give you my word, one, ONE, wrong thing out your mouth, and it’s on.” Like a pot of neck bone? Don’t play around, Truth. Charly seconds that because of what we saw the last few weeks. Bobby Lashley told us two weeks ago that he’s not playing around with Riddle’s bro-ness stupidity and Truth went and said something that angered MVP. MVP almost got Truth that night, and Charly is just happy that she wasn’t here for that. Things will not go that way this week, Charly won’t allow it. Oh, allow? Is that’s how this is? Y-Yes…? So if MVP slaps Truth, how will she stop him? Right, nevermind what she said, then.

Lashley tries to lighten the mood as he keeps MVP back and has a big smile. Riddle won tonight’s gauntlet match and has a rematch for the US Championship. Lashley’s feelings about Riddle, the one thing the Hurt Business wants to accomplish is to get rid of disrespect. Lashley beat Riddle before, Riddle is not a problem. But he was a problem for the rest of the team. No, the problem was inside the Hurt Business. There is some dysfunction, but they’ll sort that out. So why is it happening now? The VIP Lounge was meant to be a celebration as they have major titles, so why is it happening now? Lashley wants MVP to relax but MVP keeps glaring at Truth.

Truth tells MVP he’s missing out on interview time, they’re just asking questions. Lashley says when you get on top, sometimes things get tense. They’re all friends. MVP has been a great friend, as has Shelton Benjamin, and even Cedric Alexander is a friend. But they have titles, money, but that causes tensions to rise and things get out of hand. Truth says he was a friend and got put in the Nelson from the Simpsons. MVP says this is just a speed bump. It’s done, as is the line of questioning. What will Charly “allow” now? She just wants a feel for what’s going on. Individually and together, the Hurt Business is successful, but it is a bit worrying when things start to break down. You may want it to be a speed bump, you may want to rebound, but look at Conor McGregor!

Lashley says it’s been awhile since McGregor won. But the Hurt Business is fine. They’ll talk it out, it’ll be back in place. They can’t be crumbling if they still have the gold. Truth says he likes the THB necklace. MVP asks how much Truth likes it. He likes it a lot. Charly says not to push any more buttons. The show is done, MVP and Lashley head out, and #CharTruth says they appreciate their time. The Royal Rumble is coming, will that speed bump hit someone in the butt?

My Thoughts:

A pretty good Raw Talk, but I will say this. Elias and Ryker did a good job to plug WWE Main Event, and I like that they tried to put it over as proof that Raw is so stacked, they couldn’t fit their match with Ricochet and Jeff Hardy on the show so they put it on Hulu. That’s not true, I’m sure that match could’ve been fit on tonight’s Raw if things were a little different, but at least it’s happening somewhere. Charlotte had a good segment, nice little shoot on how she is with Andrade romantically, and for being able to play that confidence bordering on arrogance, she seems like a really nice person in her day to day life.

The Hurt Business had a really good segment to close, and I like that there is this ongoing story of tension with MVP and Truth. I really hope MVP gets the 24/7 Championship before the faction loses one of the other titles. And that shouldn’t be too hard, it’s the 24/7 Championship. He might even lose that title as the Raw Tag or US Championships are lost because Truth could just sneak in and roll him up. I just hope the Hurt Business lasts long enough to only break when they lose it all.