4 Ups & 9 Downs From WWE Raw (July 19)

Ups…

4. A Hit Single

Elias Jaxson Ryker
WWE.com

The entire Elias/Jaxson Ryker feud has been a skippable affair, fodder that’s not really good enough for WWE Main Event, much less Raw.

But the two took what should have been a time-wasting garbage brawl and made it passable as they battled in a Symphony of Destruction match. The two battered each other with guitars, a keyboard, a cymbal, a gong, a drum set, a cello and a baby grand piano in a match that actually got better as it progressed.

This was definitely an example of the fans adding something, as they popped louder and louder for some of the spots, with the fighting on top of the piano getting a decent reaction, the cello getting a nice pop, and then Ryker superplexing Elias through tables on the floor really getting them going.

Don’t get it twisted: This was by no means “good,” nor was it a redeeming match for the entire feud. What it was was a garbage match that connected with fans just enough to be passable.

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Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.