{"id":110692,"date":"2021-01-04T09:31:12","date_gmt":"2021-01-04T15:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=110692"},"modified":"2021-01-04T09:31:12","modified_gmt":"2021-01-04T15:31:12","slug":"wwe-monday-night-raw-primer-1-4-first-raw-of-2021-legends-night-limitless-challenge-for-drew-the-case-of-the-not-so-blissful-alexa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2021\/01\/04\/wwe-monday-night-raw-primer-1-4-first-raw-of-2021-legends-night-limitless-challenge-for-drew-the-case-of-the-not-so-blissful-alexa\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRIMER 1\/4:  First Raw of 2021, Legends Night, Limitless Challenge for Drew, The Case of the Not-So-Blissful Alexa"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-2020540804\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><h3>WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRIMER<br \/>\nJANUARY 4, 2021<br \/>\nTAMPA, FL. AT THE THUNDERDOME IN TROPICANA FIELD<br \/>\nAIRS ON FOX NETWORK, 8:00 p.m. EST<br \/>\nBY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH.COM CONTRIBUTOR<\/h3>\n<p><em>Announcers: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, and Samoa Joe<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>Match Results and Segments from Last Week<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>After an opening promo discussing the happenings of the previous week, Keith Lee defeated Sheamus to earn the right to face Drew McIntyre tonight for the WWE Championship.<\/li>\n<li>Gran Metalik defeated the Miz.<\/li>\n<li>Shayna Baszler defeated Dana Brooke.<\/li>\n<li>A.J. Styles defeated Elias.<\/li>\n<li>Mustafa Ali defeated Ricochet. Ali gave Ricochet another chance to join Retribution, which Ricochet rejected after teasin saying yes.<\/li>\n<li>Charlotte Flair defeated Nia Jax via DQ when Shayna Baszler interfered.<\/li>\n<li>Angel Garza teased giving a rose to Charly Caruso until R-Truth and the parade of 24\/7 contingent showed up and knocked the rose to the ground.<\/li>\n<li>The Hurt Business (U.S. Champion Bobby Lashley, Raw Tag Team Champions Shelton Benjamin &amp; Cedric Alexander, and M.V.P.) defeated Riddle, Jeff Hardy, and New Day (Kofi Kingston &amp; Xavier Woods).<\/li>\n<li>Adam Pearce reinstated the Miz as Mr. Money in the Bank. He said because of John Morrison telling the referee Miz was cashing in and not Miz himself at TLC, it was technically not a legal cash-in.<\/li>\n<li>Alexa Bliss dared Randy Orton to burn her alive as he did \u201cThe Fiend\u201d Bray Wyatt in their Firefly Inferno match at TLC. Alexa went so far as to \u201cpour gasoline\u201d on her and Randy lit a match. The show went off the air with Randy holding the lit match.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here are the WWE exclusives from last week:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Keith Lee vows to become WWE Champion on first Raw of 2021: WWE Network Exclusive, Dec. 28, 2020\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kYuAej0Z__c?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ricochet will never join RETRIBUTION: WWE Network Exclusive, Dec. 28, 2020\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/o8Ze7f-vLqE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h4>Legends Night &amp; Other Items Advertised by WWE<\/h4>\n<p>We roll into 2021 with the first edition of Raw, which has been billed as Legends Night. Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Big Show, and Torrie Wilson have been the names advertised in the hype video WWE has put out. Their website also shows Booker T and Mark Henry as appearing, and I\u2019m certain there will be more. The last time legends appeared on Raw was back in July of 2019 which saw WWE Hall of Famer \u201cStone Cold\u201d Steve Austin close out the show celebrating with the legends, and appearances by Hogan, Flair, and may others throughout the night. In fact, some of them even held the 24\/7 Championship briefly, but you can look up who if you so desire. Typically, WWE will bring back the legends when they want to boost a rating or it\u2019s a significant night. With sagging ratings and it being the first Raw of 2021, I could see why they wanted to do this. Hopefully, all legends are safe, especially the ones vulnerable to COVID. WWE has two other items advertised in their preview:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Drew McIntyre and Keith Lee to ring in new year with WWE Title clash.<\/li>\n<li>What\u2019s next for Randy Orton and Alexa Bliss?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>WWE Championship: Drew McIntyre (champ) vs. Keith Lee<\/h4>\n<p>As mentioned earlier, Keith Lee earned the right to face Drew McIntyre tonight for the WWE Championship. It will not be the first time they have faced each other, as they faced each other twice shortly after Keith\u2019s promotion (if it\u2019s even still called that) from NXT. Both matches had non-finishes, and if memory serves correctly Randy Orton got involved in one while Retribution and the Hurt Business got involved in the other. If that\u2019s wrong, I apologize, but it\u2019s not important enough for me to research.<\/p>\n<p>Sheamus is still a factor as they bickered two weeks ago because of Keith accidentally bumping into him during a brawl. Following a six-man tag in which they and Drew were victorious, Sheamus Brogue Kicked Keith. We\u2019ll see how that plays in tonight as Keith goes for his first singles title on the main roster. He is a former NXT North American and World Champion.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LimitlessLeegion?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#LimitlessLeegion<\/a>&#8230;. Forward, march. Right into 2021. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cSaPqYeekI\">https:\/\/t.co\/cSaPqYeekI<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Excellent Lee (@RealKeithLee) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RealKeithLee\/status\/1343822057616891904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 29, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis: I have such a mixed bag of feelings regarding this situation. Keith should not win the WWE Championship, but he also should be protected. WWE has not done a good job with that to this point, but he hasn\u2019t looked good in his matches. I\u2019m not one who should be talking about being in shape and having good cardio, but I\u2019m not a professional wrestler. Keith is, and has looked \u201cgassed\u201d as a frequent caller pointed out on the post-show last week. I don\u2019t know what they should do here. They do so many crap finishes, so what\u2019s one more, but a clean finish is always better. I have a feeling we\u2019re headed for a triple threat match possibly at the Royal Rumble.<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>What\u2019s Next for Alexa Bliss and Randy Orton?<\/h4>\n<p>What IS next for Alexa Bliss and Randy Orton?<\/p>\n<p>I talked briefly about what happened in the recap. Earlier in the show, Alexa was in the middle of the ring in \u201cAlexa\u2019s Playground.\u201d She talked about Fiend returning tonight to meet his \u201chero Hulk Hogan,\u201d and uttered some of Hulk\u2019s signature \u201ctrain, say your prayers, and eat your vitamins\u201d in her dialogue. Randy Orton showed up in the Firefly Funhouse instead of the Playground, where Alexa invited him. He started destroying the Funhouse set and tore off the head of Rambin\u2019 Rabbit, who I am convinced is the modern-day version of Kenny from South Park. Go watch some old episodes if you don\u2019t understand what I\u2019m talking about.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1833539884\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>After the cliffhanger ending last week, WWE has advertised they will follow up on this story (duh). Both of them have been quiet on social media this past week. Granted, we just lost Brodie Lee, so it may be a coincidence. I do like social media silence instead of seeing their normal, jovial selves in the wake of such a shocking angle.<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis: So, who\u2019s got money on Fiend returning tonight and attacking Hulk Hogan? Sometimes when WWE is so obvious about something, it doesn\u2019t happen. With the legends returning though, it\u2019s ripe for a Fiend return. I don\u2019t want to say too much more than has already been said about last week\u2019s closing angle. I will say this, it\u2019s not for me. I understand it\u2019s for some people, and I acknowledge your feelings. My guess is there are more people that think like me and less people that are into that, and that\u2019s why the ratings keep going down. None of what they are doing in this angle fits in the world of professional wrestling or makes me want to see a match between Fiend and Randy. Apparently, this is good you-know-what to you-know-who.<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>Other Expectations and Final Thoughts<\/h4>\n<p>Despite the nonsense that is the Fiend-Orton story, I\u2019m looking forward to seeing how the WWE Championship picture plays out. I have a feeling Bobby Lashley could be getting lined up for another crack at Drew because of how they\u2019ve protected him lately. Legends night is inherently fun. Hopefully, they can give a rub to some of the current wrestlers. Raw ended on a rough note in 2020. The calendar doesn\u2019t mean things are automatically different. Big changes need to be made for the show to be better moving forward.<\/p>\n<p><em>Follow Frank on Twitter @FrankPeteani. Thank you for reading!<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2583945637\"><div id=\"pwtor-3380835698\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRIMER JANUARY 4, 2021 TAMPA, FL. AT THE THUNDERDOME IN TROPICANA FIELD AIRS ON FOX NETWORK, 8:00 p.m. EST BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH.COM CONTRIBUTOR Announcers: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, and <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2021\/01\/04\/wwe-monday-night-raw-primer-1-4-first-raw-of-2021-legends-night-limitless-challenge-for-drew-the-case-of-the-not-so-blissful-alexa\/\" title=\"WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRIMER 1\/4:  First Raw of 2021, Legends Night, Limitless Challenge for Drew, The Case of the Not-So-Blissful Alexa\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":110696,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,52,4354,27,5893,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-110692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-prowrestlingnews","category-opnionandanalysis","category-raw-primer","category-specialists","category-tvprimers","category-news_wwe"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2021\/01\/20201221_Raw_HoganRic_FD_TuneIn-a7ac8f24df8c883113dfcecbf079b189-2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110692"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110692\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":110697,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110692\/revisions\/110697"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}