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From a major rift between Ric Flair and Charlotte to Keith Lee and Drew McIntyre's main event clash, WWE RAW Legends Night featured many contrasting moments.
Despite its premise, RAW Legends Night didn't exactly showcase WWE Superstars from the past in the most efficient manner. For the most part, WWE veterans didn't overshadow the current talent, which is somewhat similar to AEW's ideology when it comes to legendary stars.
However, there was plenty of scope to temporarily integrate established names from a different era into the current storylines, but most veterans were reduced to WWE's usual cameo appearances.
Apart from a select few notable moments, RAW Legends Night felt nothing more than a short-term ratings boost tactic executed by the major decision-makers in WWE.
Let us know what you thought about this particular episode in the comments section below.
Here are the five biggest news stories from this week's episode of WWE RAW (January 4, 2021).
#5: It was a bad night for The Hurt Business on WWE RAW Legends Night
Bobby Lashley and Riddle's feud resulted in a one-on-one match between both WWE Superstars this week.
Lashley and Riddle put on a pretty entertaining bout together. Their MMA styles were presented in a pro wrestling context, which made it a pretty unorthodox WWE match. Lashley remained somewhat dominant, and he even managed to tap out Riddle.
The catch here was that the referee didn't witness this finish, which allowed Riddle to capitalize on the opportunity and roll up the United States Champion for the victory.
While Bobby Lashley's loss was justifiable under the given circumstances, WWE fans didn't particularly appreciate the fact that a low-ranking team like the Lucha House Party was able to defeat Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin - who are the current RAW Tag Team Champions - of The Hurt Business on the same night.
The growing tensions between Cedric and Shelton led to the aforementioned result. WWE has been pursuing an inner-conflict angle between The Hurt Business for a while now, even though it seems quite unnecessary at the moment.
On top of that, Melina's solo return to WWE TV was wasted in a by-the-numbers backstage segment with the Lucha House Party.
#4: Angel Garza's search for the perfect woman led him to encounters with female WWE veterans and The Boogeyman
It seems like the 24/7 Title scenario has become a staple for WWE veterans to make cameos on special episodes like this one.
Angel Garza approached stars like Alicia Fox and Mickie James backstage. His ladies' man gimmick didn't earn him any points with the aforementioned ladies. Garza was rejected by Fox at the beginning. This was followed by another backstage WWE segment with Sgt. Slaughter, Tatanka, Mickie James, where Slaughter rejected Garza on Mickie's behalf.
Later on WWE RAW Legends Night, Torrie Wilson was talking with Nikki Cross in another backstage crossover. Garza tried his luck with Torrie as well, but she directed him towards a room where he could find Cardi B.
Instead of the famous rapper, Angel Garza entered the room to find The Boogeyman. The cheesy distraction was enough for R-Truth to enter the scene and pin Garza to become the new WWE 24/7 Champion.
Poor Garza's arc for WWE RAW Legends Night was summed up by Ron Simmons through his iconic catchphrase - DAMN!. At least Cardi B is talking about WWE on Twitter as a result of the 24/7 Title shenanigans this week.
#3: Randy Orton directed his hatred towards several legends on this episode of WWE RAW
Randy Orton said that he ultimately couldn't set Alexa Bliss on fire during last week's WWE RAW, despite the voices in his head telling him to commit the crime. This was proof that The Fiend has changed him to a certain degree.
This week, the primary topic for Orton didn't concern The Fiend or Alexa Bliss, as he had a plan to belittle several WWE legends in backstage segments.
The Big Show and Mark Henry were forced to show restraint, as The Viper verbally assaulted them backstage.
Randy Orton also broke Ric Flair's spirit by telling The Nature Boy that he was just an old man, and no longer The Dirtiest Player in the Game. This confrontation made a bigger impact as a result of Orton punting the veteran on WWE RAW last year.
Orton didn't physically attack any legends on WWE RAW Legends Night, but he did pull Jeff Hardy's ears in grotesque fashion later during their one-on-one match. As expected, The Apex Predator defeated Hardy with an RKO.
Randy Orton's approach towards promos as well as his in-ring game seemed a bit more aggressive than usual. Alexa Bliss and Bray Wyatt's absence from this week's special episode affected the show's momentum, which proved just how integral they are to the Red brand in the current landscape of WWE.
#2: Lacey Evans charmed Ric Flair on WWE RAW; The Nature Boy accidentally betrayed his daughter, Charlotte Flair
Charlotte Flair and Asuka teamed up against Lacey Evans and Peyton Royce on WWE RAW Legends Night. Ric Flair was in Charlotte's corner for this matchup. Things didn't end well for the Flair family towards the end of this match.
Lacey Evans charmed Ric Flair to get Charlotte riled up during the bout. The plan worked. While it was characteristic of The Nature Boy to fall for a beautiful lady, a major plot twist occurred when Ric Flair tripped his own daughter. This allowed Peyton Royce to score a huge pin on WWE RAW.
Charlotte was clearly angry at her father, as she told him to stay out of her business and leave the ringside area. When Ric initially tripped Charlotte, a lot of WWE fans thought that he was actually betraying his own daughter.
But during the aftermath of the situation, The Nature Boy looked heartbroken, so perhaps the distraction was a mistake on his behalf.
It looks like being The Dirtiest Player in the Game has a lot of drawbacks, as the same outcome was made apparent on WWE RAW Legends Night.
#1: Drew McIntyre defeated Keith Lee in an impressive showcase between two big men; Goldberg returned to wage war against the WWE Champion
If there was anything unanimously great about WWE RAW Legends Night, it was Keith Lee and Drew McIntyre's main event clash for the WWE Championship.
Several legends were seated near the entrance area to witness this high-stakes bout, as both Lee and McIntyre put on a match that lived up to the hype.
Keith Lee stepped up to the occasion in front of the legends, and The Limitless One will surely become a top champion one day. But this is Drew McIntyre's time to be the top man, as The Scottish Warrior managed to prevail as the victor against his opponent.
However, Drew McIntyre would receive his Royal Rumble challenge right after the match was over, thanks to the arrival of Goldberg.
Goldberg presented a strange argument that Drew McIntyre looks down upon WWE legends with disrespect, which is completely untrue because the exact opposite has been portrayed on WWE television since the last year.
As a matter of fact, McIntyre even had a friendly backstage segment with Hulk Hogan on this very episode. Perhaps Goldberg's statements were meant to establish the veteran as a heel, but his argument still came across as a forced distortion of past events.
Goldberg revealed that McIntyre's lack of respect against legends is why he was laying down a challenge against the WWE Champion at the Royal Rumble event. The show ended when Goldberg shoved down Drew McIntyre after the latter star said that wrestling the veteran would be like fighting his own father.
Many WWE fans didn't particularly appreciate this plot development. This is because history has proven how Goldberg's presence has pushed down the momentum of some modern stars on the Road to WrestleMania.
On the positive side of this matter, Goldberg's presence in the top title scene will draw a lot of attention towards WWE RAW on the Road to Royal Rumble 2021.
In the video embedded above, do check out former WWE Head Writer Vince Russo's thoughts on all that went down during this week's RAW in the latest edition of Legion of RAW with Dr. Chris Featherstone.
