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Elias dissed the Seattle SuperSonics and was booed unmercifully.Credit: WWE.com
During his usual pre-match banter, this time alongside Kevin Owens, Elias rolled out his brand of cheap heat by mocking the infamous and untimely exit of the Seattle SuperSonics whilst in their former home of the Key Arena, which will undergo a $700 million renovation in hopes of landing an NBA team. Elias’ localized antagonism is usually good for an extended period of boos, but on this night, the heat on Elias was on another level.
In response to the idea of John Cena teaming up with Bobby Lashley, which will happen when Elias and Owens take on the duo at WWE Super Show-Down in Australia, Elias quipped "it doesn’t make sense, you know? It’s like having a basketball team in Seattle."
The otherwise innocuous heel comment struck a nerve immediately, and set the stage for the next several minutes of Raw programming.
Loud boos rained down like frogs in the bible as even the typically even-keeled Elias seemed taken aback by the response. After giving the fans ample time to get it out of their system, Elias and Owens attempted to soldier through, even doubling down on their antagonism toward the Sonics as the boos only became louder. Two minutes passed. Then three. Then six. Even an appearance by Lio Rush designed to reset the crowd was drowned out with quadrisyllabic chants of "Su-per-So-nics!"
When Triple H made his memorable return to WWE in 2002, Jim Ross famously called it the loudest sustained roar he had ever heard. 16 years later, there’s a new leader in the clubhouse.
The SuperSonics’ exit is still a sore subject for a loyal Seattle fanbase that remains hopeful of a revival. The corporate controversy surrounding the team’s 2008 relocation is the subject of critically acclaimed documentary Sonicsgate: Requiem for a Team.
.@IAmEliasWWE said having a basketball team in Seattle doesn’t make sense. The people of Seattle didn’t like that ONE BIT. #Raw pic.twitter.com/JSLE0mE73N
— WWE (@WWE) October 2, 2018
Currently the @BringBackSonics Twitter account has over 23,000 followers on Twitter, and even retweeted a fan who noted he hoped the NBA was watching Raw after a SuperSonics diss received such an overwhelming response.
The Key Arena will host an NBA preseason game between the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings on Friday, October 5 and while discussing the exhibition, Warriors coach Steve Kerr called the Sonics leaving Seattle "a real black mark on the NBA."
The return of basketball to Seattle is very much in the air, and as crazy as it sounds, this organic moment playing out on national television will only help the cause of a SuperSonics return as the city of Seattle, like its hometown star Daniel Bryan, continues to fight for its dreams.
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WWE Raw was a go-home show for WWE Super Show-Down built around another confrontation between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker, but the biggest reaction of the show by far was usurped by rising heel Elias.
Elias dissed the Seattle SuperSonics and was booed unmercifully.Credit: WWE.com
During his usual pre-match banter, this time alongside Kevin Owens, Elias rolled out his brand of cheap heat by mocking the infamous and untimely exit of the Seattle SuperSonics whilst in their former home of the Key Arena, which will undergo a $700 million renovation in hopes of landing an NBA team. Elias’ localized antagonism is usually good for an extended period of boos, but on this night, the heat on Elias was on another level.
In response to the idea of John Cena teaming up with Bobby Lashley, which will happen when Elias and Owens take on the duo at WWE Super Show-Down in Australia, Elias quipped “it doesn’t make sense, you know? It’s like having a basketball team in Seattle.”
The otherwise innocuous heel comment struck a nerve immediately, and set the stage for the next several minutes of Raw programming.
Loud boos rained down like frogs in the bible as even the typically even-keeled Elias seemed taken aback by the response. After giving the fans ample time to get it out of their system, Elias and Owens attempted to soldier through, even doubling down on their antagonism toward the Sonics as the boos only became louder. Two minutes passed. Then three. Then six. Even an appearance by Lio Rush designed to reset the crowd was drowned out with quadrisyllabic chants of “Su-per-So-nics!”
When Triple H made his memorable return to WWE in 2002, Jim Ross famously called it the loudest sustained roar he had ever heard. 16 years later, there’s a new leader in the clubhouse.
The SuperSonics’ exit is still a sore subject for a loyal Seattle fanbase that remains hopeful of a revival. The corporate controversy surrounding the team’s 2008 relocation is the subject of critically acclaimed documentary Sonicsgate: Requiem for a Team.
.@IAmEliasWWE said having a basketball team in Seattle doesn’t make sense. The people of Seattle didn’t like that ONE BIT. #Raw pic.twitter.com/JSLE0mE73N
— WWE (@WWE) October 2, 2018
Currently the @BringBackSonics Twitter account has over 23,000 followers on Twitter, and even retweeted a fan who noted he hoped the NBA was watching Raw after a SuperSonics diss received such an overwhelming response.
The Key Arena will host an NBA preseason game between the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings on Friday, October 5 and while discussing the exhibition, Warriors coach Steve Kerr called the Sonics leaving Seattle “a real black mark on the NBA.”
The return of basketball to Seattle is very much in the air, and as crazy as it sounds, this organic moment playing out on national television will only help the cause of a SuperSonics return as the city of Seattle, like its hometown star Daniel Bryan, continues to fight for its dreams.
