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Moment of honesty: I never liked Elias on NXT. I didn't understand what he was trying to be. And from the looks of how he carried himself at Full Sail, it didn't seem like he did either. He was a drifter who had a guitar. He picked fights, but he also grappled. He looked like he was homeless, but he didn't fight with the desperation of a vagrant. Sure, he could play the guitar, but it wasn't like he was exceptionally good at it. In short, he wasn't any more interesting than the generic Performance Center trainees you have to wrestle to advance through WWE 2K's MyCareer mode.
So when he got called up to RAW, I wasn't very happy as a fan. Here was a guy whose character didn't make sense, and now, he's taking away time from other Superstars whose characters are more well-defined? Great.
But here's the funny thing about all this. Somewhere along the way, he won me over.
When he randomly showed up in backstage segments involving other Superstars—whose stories had nothing to do with his own arc—it became a running gag. He drifted in and out of the scene, creating a moment for a second or two, and then drifted away. He finally figured it out!
And then slowly, he phased the Drifter out. And he just became a musician. That's when I knew I wanted to walk with Elias.
Yes, I miss his last name, but what can we do when we're subject to the whims of good ol' Vince? What I can do is enjoy how he's maximized his character so far and capitalized on the one thing he does that really riles up the crowd: his music.
Make no mistake. Elias can play and he can carry a tune, too.
Not only can he actually sing, but he knows how to work a crowd really well! Not bad for a guy who was originally supposed to be a fighting hobo.
But that's not why we're here. So let's talk about Elias' entrance theme, which is a lowkey goodie—if you actually took the time to listen to it.
"Drift" starts with some very high-pitched plucking, which gives you the mental image of spiraling into oblivion, or
Yes, this is still a blues song, infused with modern rock elements. You can tell from the acoustic guitar being played, which is fitting considering that it's Elias' instrument and weapon of choice. The electric guitar and bass provide the badassery in the track, something which prevents it from just being some redneck's theme. It basically distinguishes Elias from every other country hick that's walked through the WWE's curtains.
What makes this theme special is that when you listen to it, you can feel like it could be a complete song if CFO$ cared enough to write lyrics for it. An even better move will be to have Elias write and perform his own lyrics for it himself. I'm fine with "Drift" only being played whenever Elias wins a match. It's his victory tune and he can afford to have one after a hard-fought match since he'd be too gassed to sing himself out of the arena. It's no different from R-Truth rapping his own entrance, but then having the instrumental play after a promo or match.
One last thing to note is how the verses slow down like a traditional blues song, but then pick up and get intense once the hook kicks in. It's one of those songs you wouldn't normally put in your workout playlist. But if you're doing low-reps or a StrongLifts workout, the hook could get you through that PR you're trying to set!
We're really enjoying "Drift" here at the Smark Henry Offices, especially because it could very well evolve into a song that tells you about the Ballad of Elias... Or how Elias lost Samson along the way. All in all, it's an enjoyable song that should've at least made Honorable Mention on last year's SGP Podcast Entrance Theme Awards Show.
What do you think of Elias' entrance theme? Do you like how he's no longer the Drifter and just a straight-up musician? Hit us up in the comments section below!
Photo from WWE
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Stan Sy (@_StanSy) is the Editor at Large of Smark Henry, and is also a radio DJ on Wave 89.1, an events host, a freelance writer, and one of the hosts of the Smark Gilas-Pilipinas Podcast. He also used to be one of the hosts and writers of The Wrestling Gods on FOX. He enjoys watching WWE, NXT, Lucha Underground, and the occasional New Japan match. You can ask him questions about wrestling, Survivor (yes, the reality show), or whatever you like on his CuriousCat account.
