10 Times Wrestling Matches Got Weapons Wrong

9. PIANO - Symphony Of Destruction Match, WWE SmackDown, February 21 2020

Triple H Randy Orton
WWE.com

Professional wrestling is a work.

The objective of professional wrestling is to lay it in just enough to convince the audience, in a state of suspended disbelief, that it isn't.

The Symphony of Destruction match was fairly silly business; named in true WWE style after a band that released its biggest-selling record in 1992, Elias, being a guitarist, found himself alongside Braun Strowman in a musical instrument-themed hardcore match versus Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura. This, a broad and dumb and on-the-nose match, might have been fun, had they actually considered its context. It was at various points. No wrestling fan is dead enough inside not to raise a wry smile at Sami Zayn attempting to use a ukelele as a weapon - "It's as small and annoying as you are, pal!" - but Elias was sent crashing through a table near the finish. Much as that brief sound, looped, isn't too far removed from the work of CFO$, it does not count as a musical instrument.

This wasn't the worst of it; at the finish, of this, a fluff midcard attraction, Braun Strowman, that big thick lug, slammed Shinsuke Nakamura through a piano they didn't gimmick. Nakamura's head, sandwiched between two slices of 300lb bread, required several stitches in the aftermath.

Reports surfaced that Vince McMahon was upset that Nakamura's teeth didn't turn into piano keys, and then play themselves.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!