{"id":111615,"date":"2021-01-18T13:19:02","date_gmt":"2021-01-18T19:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=111615"},"modified":"2021-01-18T13:19:02","modified_gmt":"2021-01-18T19:19:02","slug":"wwe-monday-night-raw-primer-1-18-blinded-by-the-bliss-whos-got-a-date-with-the-empress-flair-family-affairs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2021\/01\/18\/wwe-monday-night-raw-primer-1-18-blinded-by-the-bliss-whos-got-a-date-with-the-empress-flair-family-affairs\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRIMER 1\/18:  Blinded by the Bliss Who\u2019s Got a Date with the Empress, Flair Family Affairs"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-2924198778\" 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 18, 2021<br \/>\nTAMPA, FL. AT THE THUNDERDOME IN TROPICANA FIELD<br \/>\nAIRS ON USA 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>Triple H opened the show and was interrupted by Randy Orton. He challenged him to a \u201cgood old-fashioned fight\u201d which Triple H turned down until Randy accused him of leaving his balls in his wife\u2019s purse. (Did we go back to 2009? That\u2019s my job with WWE Then and Now people.)<\/li>\n<li>WWE Champion Drew McIntyre addressed the fans regarding his COVID-19 positive case. He reminded everyone to take it seriously. He later accepted WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg\u2019s challenge for a WWE Championship match at the Royal Rumble.<\/li>\n<li>Lacey Evans defeated Charlotte Flair, \u00bd of the Women\u2019s Tag Team Champions, via a distraction from Charlotte\u2019s father Ric Flair.<\/li>\n<li>Jaxson Ryker defeated Jeff Hardy due to a distraction from Elias. Jeff then went on to defeat Elias. Here\u2019s Jeff in a WWE exclusive:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Victory is sweet for Jeff Hardy on Raw: WWE Network Exclusive, Jan. 11, 2021\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xH--xmyYURw?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<ul>\n<li>Sheamus &amp; Keith Lee defeated the Miz &amp; John Morrison. Keith then went on to defeat Sheamus. They then hugged. Dr. Shelby, Daniel Bryan, and Kane would be proud. Here\u2019s Sheamus and Keith in an exclusive:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Victory is sweet for Jeff Hardy on Raw: WWE Network Exclusive, Jan. 11, 2021\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xH--xmyYURw?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<ul>\n<li>T-Bar of Retribution defeated Xavier Woods of New Day thanks to a distraction.<\/li>\n<li>U.S. Champion Bobby Lashley defeated Riddle to retain the title. Riddle then went on to defeat MVP via DQ.<\/li>\n<li>A.J. Styles defeated Drew Gulak, preventing Gulak from being able to partake in the Royal Rumble.<\/li>\n<li>Shayna Baszler &amp; Nia Jax defeated Mandy Rose &amp; Dana Brooke. Here\u2019s Shayna &amp; Nia in an exclusive:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Nia Jax &amp; Shayna Baszler are not surprised by their win: WWE Network Exclusive, Jan. 11, 2020\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gU8D_foEfAM?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<ul>\n<li>Triple H and Randy Orton fought to a no-contest when \u201cThe Fiend\u201d Bray Wyatt\u2019s effects started playing. Triple H disappeared, and then Alexa Bliss arrived. She shot fire out of her gloves into Randy\u2019s face to close out the show.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Items Advertised by WWE<\/h4>\n<p>We move a little closer to the Royal Rumble with another edition of Raw which will feature a non-title match and a response to an attack last week. WWE\u2019s preview is not up as of this writing, but they have put out a hype video for tonight\u2019s show:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Asuka to battle Alexa Bliss this Monday on Raw\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4qj_f2P6nKo?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>Non-Title Match: Raw Women\u2019s Champion Asuka vs. Alexa Bliss<br \/>\nRandy Orton Responds to Alexa Nearly Blinding Him Last Week<\/h4>\n<p>Let\u2019s talk about these items in the same paragraph since, in a way, they are tied into each other.<\/p>\n<p>Alexa Bliss will see her first one-on-one action in quite some time as she takes on Raw Women\u2019s Champion Asuka in a non-title match. If memory serves me properly, her last match was a four-minute victory over her former best friend Nikki Cross.<\/p>\n<p>There is history here as it was Asuka &amp; Kairi Sane that took the Women\u2019s Tag Team Championship from Alexa &amp; Nikki in late 2019 before dropping it back to them at last year\u2019s WrestleMania. Alexa and Asuka have faced each other several times including a match in the run-up to WrestleMania.<\/p>\n<p>As for Alexa\u2019s other involvement in tonight\u2019s show, Randy Orton will respond to her attack from last week. Two weeks ago, Alexa dared Randy to burn her alive as he did to \u201cThe Fiend\u201d Bray Wyatt at TLC. He couldn\u2019t go through with it, and now hates himself for it, but is using that to drive his actions (hey we all need something). I mentioned what happened at the end of the match in the recap. Randy hasn\u2019t tweeted since last Monday. WWE\u2019s website says he suffered \u201cminor burns to the face.\u201d Alexa has been here usual vocal self, including this tweet that doesn\u2019t look like much but jumped out to me:<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/AlexaBliss_WWE\/status\/1349435323634376707?s=20<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis: It\u2019s interesting they\u2019re advertising Alexa for a match after what happened last week. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019ll happen. As far as last week is concerned, I\u2019ll type what I said to Wade. Some people are going to like that angle, and some won\u2019t. I believe there are more people in the latter category, which I where I live. It\u2019s 100% what I don\u2019t want to see in my wrestling program. I don\u2019t know where it\u2019s going. Wherever it goes we\u2019ll analyze it then.<\/em><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2558017752\" 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<h4>Charlotte Flair<\/h4>\n<p>Here is a thread by Charlotte Flair, who was criticized over at the Daily DDT. This was covered on the Torch VIP show Everything with Rich Fann hosted by Wade Keller with a lot of interesting thoughts raised. I\u2019ve included all three tweets by Charlotte, one of which includes a link to the article for your convenience:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I should just scroll block this garbage, but words matter, so I will  take a few moments to educate you since both a human and I would assume an editor allowed this bullshit to sully Al Gore\u2019s internet <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dnxl2EuiSu\">https:\/\/t.co\/dnxl2EuiSu<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Charlotte Flair (@MsCharlotteWWE) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MsCharlotteWWE\/status\/1349590428044017666?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 14, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I have taken time off three times while on the main roster. First time was when my dad was sick. Second time was a 6 week injury that was followed up by 18 months of staring at lights to help create a star. 3rd time is now. What exactly is it that I\u2019m avoiding?<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Charlotte Flair (@MsCharlotteWWE) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MsCharlotteWWE\/status\/1349590429306552320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 14, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/MsCharlotteWWE\/status\/1349590430153785346?s=20<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I am in the title picture, and I will always be in the title picture. It\u2019s one of those unfortunate side effects of excelling at something; you wouldn\u2019t understand<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Charlotte Flair (@MsCharlotteWWE) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MsCharlotteWWE\/status\/1349590430975840256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 14, 2021<\/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: After some time to think about the story currently running involving Charlotte, her dad Ric Flair, and Lacey Evans I must say I have issues with it. There comes a time where a legend should just be a legend and don\u2019t have him\/her involved in storylines. Nobody buys that Charlotte and Ric have any issues given how proud Ric has publicly shown himself to be about his daughter. He had health issues a few years ago and you say how genuinely worried Charlotte was about her father. They already had an on-screen feud years ago and there\u2019s nothing that\u2019s happened that makes sense to parlay into another feud. Ric turned heel out of the blue last year to align with Randy Orton only to turn back when he was kicked by Randy. Lastly, ok fine Lacey might benefit in the short term from being associated with Ric, but I don\u2019t see it being sustainable in the long term. Why waste TV on such a disjointed story if no one is going to truly benefit in the long run, not even Charlotte who\u2019s the most important talent here? As always, we\u2019ll see how things play out but I\u2019m not optimistic.<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>Other Expectations and Final Thoughts<\/h4>\n<p>We\u2019ll see how they move forward with the Randy-Alexa situation and with other things on the show. I\u2019m particularly interested in how the Goldberg-Drew McIntyre story will play out and what\u2019s next for Bobby Lashley. If you haven\u2019t check out the latest episode of WWE Then and Now, go ahead and do so if you\u2019re a VIP member. If you\u2019re not a VIP member, I can\u2019t recommend it enough what with all the great new content including my show, Everything with Rich Fann hosted by Wade Keller, Nick &amp; Tom\u2019s Intercontinental Adventure, and all the mainstay VIP shows. Check out my appearance from last week on the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post Show where we broke down last week\u2019s Raw.<\/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-2131755639\"><div id=\"pwtor-2667456291\"><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 18, 2021 TAMPA, FL. AT THE THUNDERDOME IN TROPICANA FIELD AIRS ON USA 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\/18\/wwe-monday-night-raw-primer-1-18-blinded-by-the-bliss-whos-got-a-date-with-the-empress-flair-family-affairs\/\" title=\"WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRIMER 1\/18:  Blinded by the Bliss Who\u2019s Got a Date with the Empress, Flair Family Affairs\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":110358,"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-111615","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\/2020\/12\/bliss.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111615","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=111615"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":111624,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111615\/revisions\/111624"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}