10 Things We Learned From WWE Raw (April 17)
5. Driftwood
Might walking about and never wrestling actually be how Elias Samson finally gets his 'Drifter' gimmick over?
The persona peaked in NXT before he'd even ran the ropes. A couple of choice musical vignettes saw Samson shrouded in darkness, improvising a tune castigating much of the developmental roster to the strained strums on his acoustic guitar.
The moment he stepped in the ring, his mystique evaporated. Corey Graves' disdain on commentary didn't help, with the 'Saviour of Misbehaviour' lampooning the inherent flaws of the character at every opportunity. Corey's barbs often became the highlight/talking point of a pedestrian Samson squash.
After first appearing in the crowd during the Charlotte/Nia Jax match then later on the stage during an eight-man tag, it was hard to gage if his continued presence even registered with the roster members he was allegedly diverting attention from.
There was less ambiguity this week, as he first distracted Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson with singing backstage, then made Chris Jericho's List after walking through 'Y2J's comedy interview with Mike Rome.
Progress will be slow for the character, but a drawn out approach such as this creates far more intrigue than seeing him drop an elbow on Kalisto as 'Week One'. Samson should hope WWE continue with their long game.