Elias continues to be treated by actually smart crowds as the kind of heel he is, with each side playing every note (just walked right into that pun) to perfection. Montreal was a willing and able dance partner, walking with Elias when necessary and pushing back when prompted, all before yet another Canadian hero came down to meet his Glorious demise.
Okay, that was kind of cryptic, but it’s really hard to get that excited for Bobby Roode, even in Canada. Elias giving Bobby the Ol’Steamboat will definitely give the feud some momentum, but considering that the former TNA Team Canada captain isn’t going to be able to put on a Savage-Steamboat level match (even with Elias cosplaying as a Savage-Stevie Nicks love child) why they continue to think “sympathetic babyface” is a good look for Roode is beyond your correspondent’s understanding of THIS BUSINESS. Someday, though, if I work real hard, I’ll be able to figure out why Raw couldn’t use at least another heel right now.
***
The continued use of French by competitors — especially the hyper local Jean Pierre et François variety — throughout the night was a nice bit of accent on the episode which is often lacking from the cadre of generic arenas and locations they usually end up at. There’s a real sense of identity among Canadian fans in general, but Montreal fans in particular, as it relates to their wrestling fandom and that sense of empowerment (and distinct voice) helps to make shows there stand out just as much as KO’s custom Quebec shirts.
That they had their maps wiped out by the Authors of Pain was pretty great, too. The promos that AoP cut after the match? Not so much. Now, they are young and they seem as though they are able to remember their lines for the most part, but maybe keeping the microphone in front of your face might be something you want to practice in the mirror. Also, while I have ABSOLUTELY NO ISSUE with them speaking a foreign language — or possibly two? — maybe an even passing comment about what they were saying or what language they were saying it in would have been nice. If you want to keep them a mystery and that’s why I don’t know that they are fluently bilingual, that’s one hundred percent fine with me, but maybe don’t have them cut promos directly to the crowd then? I don’t know, just spitballing here.
