411’s WWE Unreal Report: Season Two – Episode Two: The Truth

-WWE: Unreal, Season 2, Episode 2 – “The Truth”
-Written: 1.20.26
-Source: Netflix
-Run Time: 57:30

-Plugs: Episode One

-R-Truth walks backstage and watches members of the crew doing push-ups. He says his name is Ron Killings and has gone by K-Krush, K-Malik Shabazz, K-Kwik, and R-Truth. Oh, and Ron “The Truth” Killings. He says R-Truth is a feel-good character and talks about the hair being a staple of his identity. HHH jokes that he thinks Truth wrestled Abe Lincoln one time in the WWE. Rhea Ripley calls Truth the best person in the company, and Cody calls him one of the multifaceted and talented wrestlers of all time. We see Truth break Brock Lesnar when he threatened to throw Heyman over the top rope. HHH notes some of the funniest moments in the last 20 years are because of R-Truth, and a character like that is very valuable.

-Truth says he is the blood that flows through WWE, and then “boom, it stopped.” Voiceover notes that Truth took to social media to let people know he was released.

-Show opening!

-HHH says the deciding factor of where things should go rests with the fan base. Brian Girard James is next, and he has been known as The Roadie, Road Dogg, Brian Armstrong, and Brian Jesse James Armstrong. He runs creative of the live events and is in charge of the producers and part of writing SmackDown. He goes over his career and how he had the gift of gab. He goes through the DX spiel and says the in-ring part is hard for him because a lot of it was under the influence. He admits he is a recovering drug addict and gets emotional talking about relationships, and one of them was with Truth.

-We get Memphis footage with James doing a show, and that is when he first saw Truth. Truth says wrestling wasn’t his first choice, but it saved his life. He wanted to be a big rap star, and we see the famous photo of him with Tupac and then another with Eazy-E. Wow! He was introduced to wrestling and got bit by the bug. He went to Memphis to train and was told he would be on TV in six months. It didn’t happen, so he thought it was over, but Road Dogg saw him and asked if he wanted to be his partner. Truth was ready to quit, but Dogg said to give him two months.

-We see Truth and Dogg recording their theme song as THEY GOT ROWDY! James says Truth was so good he wanted to attach himself, as he knew he would make him look good. “I could not have been connected to a better human being.”

-Truth has an Album Release Party in Boston, Mass, and James shows up to support Truth. We get to see Truth perform, and James says music is where Truth’s heart is. He does his WWE theme because you have to play the hits. John Cena Sr. is at the party. That’s pretty awesome! I mean, I guess it is Boston. Truth says he had the idea of being Mr. Cena’s son, and Mr. Cena was all for it.

-HHH talks about the Truth/John Cena relationship and how Truth became John’s biggest fan. He played it up for comedic value, and Prichard laughs that Truth is five years older than Cena. HHH brings up John turning heel and how it had to affect Truth more than most.

-We are at WWE HQ, and Prichard throws out the idea of Cena vs. Truth for Cena to get some heat and play off their history. I agree with Prichard! It’s something they had to do.

-It starts at The Backlash press conference, where Truth rushes in and tells Cena he is proud of him, but notes people say he sucks and can’t wrestle. Cena then puts Truth through the table with the AA.

-Back to the writing room as James tells HHH that Truth wants to shave his head for the match against Cena. HHH has no idea why. James says everything is horrible and the shits with the story, and he just can’t wait for Cena to beat him so they can move to something else. We see an argument between James and HHH over the hair cutting, and HHH notes that James can get in his feels about Truth. HHH doesn’t know what Truth cutting his hair before the match accomplishes.

-The producer asks Truth who Ron Cena is, and he says that he is John’s brother. They did 23 and Me. National Treasure that man!

-Saturday Night’s Main Event: HHH jokes with Truth backstage as he is decked out in Cena gear. The story is that Truth wants to bring back the real John Cena. Instead, it’s Cena beating the piss out of Truth to continue building the heel character. The producer for the match is Kenn Doane. Didn’t know that! Truth gets in some Cena offense to pop the crowd, as it’s not a total squash. Cena fakes using the belt to distract everyone and kicks Truth in the balls before hitting the AA for the win.

-In Gorilla Cena wants to make sure Truth is okay and checks to make sure they hit the time okay. Truth loves doing anything he can with John and calls it legendary to be part of Cena’s farewell. They thank each other backstage, and Cena loves Truth showing up in Cena gear. Truth: “Then everything came to a stop.”

-Sunday, June 1: Truth says he was taking his daughter to dance and says he got the call that he was released and put the tweet out. He calls it gut-wrenching. Brian has tears in his eyes and talks about Truth sending him a text. It broke his heart, and he put out his own tweet. Rhea says it confused everyone, and a wave of sadness took over everyone. We see tweets from various wrestlers, and Truth says his phone was blowing up as he had over a thousand text messages. Cody says that it’s a no, and they can’t touch him. “We need R Truth.”

-HHH says they got to a point where his contract was coming up. They were far apart in numbers, and communication broke down, and each side can read into it differently. They decided not to renew his contract, hoping Truth would come back to negotiate. Truth put out the tweet that he was fired, and HHH says there was never a point where Truth wasn’t under WWE contract. Truth says he was hurt and wasn’t sure if he was released or not. James says it broke his heart, but it made business sense because of Truth’s age. HHH says it fired up the internet, and James notes the WWE Universe said “no, that’s not acceptable.” We hear the crowds chant for Truth. HHH says nobody wanted Ron to leave, and they just wanted to get to an amicable place.

-To Florida and the home and Naomi and Jimmy Uso. We learn that Jimmy is the cook (same in my house as my wife does’t cook). Naomi’s government name is Trinity Fatu, who went by Naomi Knight and now, just Naomi. She was a dancer for the Orlando Magic and wanted to be on Broadway. She has been with WWE since 2009 and talks about the differences compared to how the women are viewed now.

-In 2022, it all came to a halt. Here we go! Naomi laughs and doesn’t want to go into too much detail. She mentions she was Tag Champions with Sasha Banks, and a lot happened that led to both of them walking out. Ed Koskey says he was there that day, and it was a different time and a different head of creative (Vince). Naomi and Sasha were to be part of a 6 Pack Challenge (with Asuka, Becky, Duodrop, and Nikki ASH). The winner would get a Title Match at the next PLE. He says Naomi and Sasha didn’t want to be in a match against each other. Michael Hayes walking out is the wrong thing to do. You should always work the show. HHH says he was not involved at that time and mentions how everyone can’t be a top star all the time. “She and Sasha Banks had enough, and they just left.” Naomi says she needed to stand up for herself as Trinity. That was the first time in her life and career that she wasn’t employed and didn’t know what to do next.

-We go back to Jimmy in the kitchen and discuss how Naomi met him. They were in FCW together in 2009 and have been stuck at the hip since. Jimmy says her leaving was a blow as he no longer had his ride or die by his side. Naomi says it was a difficult and scary time for her. HHH says they never wanted Naomi gone as they felt WWE was always her home.

-2024: Naomi makes her return at the Royal Rumble. We get the Samoan Dynasty Family Tree, so screenshot it if you want. HHH is happy they were able to come to a good place with her and get her back.

-Naomi says 90% of her career has been positive and happy, and she was ready for a heel turn if needed. HHH says her turning her heel was going to be bigger than anything she could do as a face. We get the story of Jade Cargill being attacked and Naomi being revealed as the mystery attacker. She breaks out the caution tape, and Naomi goes over the idea behind the character. She notes some people sympathize with her. Jimmy says it woke up a beast in Naomi, and we get social media talking up the heel turn and new character. Michael Hayes says he was suspicious of the heel turn because of how nice Trinity is, but sometimes they make the best villains.

-We get another creative meeting with Zoom, and the idea of Naomi winning Money in the Bank is mentioned.

-Rhea Ripley explains Money in the Bank, and we get some graphics showing what she is explaining. We see Rhea working out in the ring with a ladder, and she notes, “That shit hurts badly.” Naomi says winning MITB can change your entire career and can be done in one moment.

-HHH says MITB has to be the right person and the right timing. They see the opportunity to make Naomi the main player. She gets a hug from Jason Jordan, who is helping with the match. They tell her to just keep going over it in her head.

-Back to Truth, as HHH says, they were working on a new deal so he could be at MITB. Nick Khan was the one who helped make the deal, and the idea was for the return to be at MITB. Bruce says the deal was done the day of the show. The idea was to bring him back at the end of the night.

-HHH and Cena talk about the end of the match. Funny moment as HHH jokes about Cena doing a moonsault and having to argue with him about it. Cena is cool with Truth attacking him, but wants to make sure Cody is the one beating him and not Truth. HHH throws out an idea, and Cena is cool with it.

-HHH tells Cody that the few people who know Truth is back, and it’s a small group. He is going to tell Cole and Pat, but he decides it may be better if Cole doesn’t know much, like the Punk return. He is going to tell Jay and Logan because it’s their match, and they need to know as well. Good point! It seems Nick already told McAfee.

-Women’s MITB Match: We get highlights set to music I am too old to recognize. We also get reactions from the camera at commentary as Cole, Pat, and Wade grimace at the crazy spots. We also get that camera that cuts from spot to spot seamlessly, and of course, we get The Devil’s Kiss with Pat doing his best Booker T. Naomi ends up getting the win and talks about standing on the ladder and soaking it in.

-She heads back to Gorilla and cuts a promo to the camera before everyone gets together and celebrates. She asks HHH if she can get a customized case, and HHH tells her to talk to the prop guys. PETEY WILLIAMS is backstage as a producer! Rhea says it was her first ladder match, and she is just happy to not be injured. Lillian Garcia meets up with Naomi and is crying; she is so happy to see her get this chance. That’s sweet! Jimmy and Naomi meet up, and they love each other. We love love!

-Robert Roode goes to HHH and is informed about Truth coming in at the end of the match. Roode doesn’t show much as far as being shocked and just says he understands and will talk to John. Man has a job to do!

-Truth says Sherlock Holmes could not have found him. Ha! Our Main Event is Cody and Jay vs. Cena and Logan! The crowd immediately starts a “We Want Truth” chant. Truth says the fans put the S back on his chest. Truth tells production there will be a run-in, and he doesn’t want them to panic and get off the shot. We see Shane Helms is a producer on the match along with Roode. Logan’s moonsault to the table is still crazy. Helms: “told you that motherfucker can make it.”

-Back in the ring, Cena blasts Cody, and a hooded figure runs into the ring. He attacks Cena, and of course, it’s R Truth, and it blows the roof off the place. Truth says the fans reminded him of who he was, and we get the various social media reactions. You know all the live reactors by now. James says he knew it was Ron immediately because of his ankles and started crying. Truth says nobody will ever know how that felt. He then decks Cena with the belt and bails through the crowd. Cody hits Cross Rhodes for the win to set up SummerSlam.

-Truth walks into Gorilla and greets Undertaker. He hugs HHH, who says he is happy this all worked out. He tells Truth he is so happy to have him back, and everything that happened was only business. Truth hugs KO, Becky, and Logan, and they all just seem so happy to have him back. We find out that HHH forgot to tell Logan and Jay, but he got too busy. That’s kind of funny. Cody says he was honored to be in the ring when Truth made his return because he could feel it in the crowd.

-James says he went through all kinds of emotions. He was mad, he didn’t know, but then he thought it was great as it felt better now to know. We see James and Truth hug backstage, and they say they love each other. Aw! This episode is just making me smile.

-Truth gets emotional and says James doesn’t realize where he was when he pulled him up from Memphis. He credits James for taking him under his wing and caring for him. “He will always have a spot with me.”

-HHH tells Truth they might have lucked into this being the greatest thing for him. Truth notes it is a crazy business, and you never know.

-Two Days Later: Truth asks HHH again if this can be the night he can cut his hair. He wants to be a bald brother like HHHH. The gasp from the crowd as he cuts his hair is kind of crazy. Truth says it just had to be done, and he hands Rhea one of the braids. In pure Truth fashion, he admits he basically did it because he was going bald. National Treasure!

-This episode just made me smile! Again, they are peeling back the curtain, but you have to remember that everything we are seeing is what they want us to see. Some will say the Truth thing was a work the whole time, and now they will say it was just for this show. I don’t know if I did that because I don’t know how well some of these people can act. Much like the last episode, I like that the focus has been on a small number of people. This worked well with Truth and Naomi, and their stories culminated at MITB. They didn’t get into much detail about the Sasha/Naomi walkout, but I didn’t think they would. At least HHH mentioned Sasha by name when others just kept saying “tag partner.” Overall, this continues to be an enjoyable show for me, and this one again just made me smile. Thanks for reading!