Elias Samson Defeats Dean Ambrose In RAW Debut

Former NXT standout, Elias Samson, finally made his in-ring debut on Raw in a match with Intercontinental Champion, Dean Ambrose and, thanks to The Miz, came away with his first victory.

Playing off their upcoming Extreme Rules Intercontinental Championship match where a disqualification can cause the title to switch hands, The Miz made a run-in to attack Samson, thus causing Ambrose to be DQ'd.

Despite the weird finish, The Drifter looked awfully impressive in his first main roster bout. Samson was in total control over Ambrose for the majority of the match and drew a huge reaction from the crowd when he caught Ambrose with a stiff knee to the face as Dean lept from the top rope.

After the bout, Samson didn't simply rest on the victory. He made sure to show off what we assume to be his finisher, a reverse spinning neckbreaker that looked pretty damn sweet.

.@IAmSamsonWWE has a song to sing for the @WWEUniverse.... #RAW @TheDeanAmbrose pic.twitter.com/HSBmxi8daY

— WWE (@WWE) May 23, 2017

Lights out for @TheDeanAmbrose as @IAmSamsonWWE caps off a VERY impressive debut on #RAW! pic.twitter.com/kWhs2yxiXC

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) May 23, 2017

Shawn Michaels, who had been mentoring some in NXT over the last year, had high praise for the rookie when he told the Orlando Sentinel, "I love Elias Samson – I can't help it, I like the Drifter thing, it stands out to me."

Samson made his debut in NXT in 2014, but it wasn't until NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn in August 2015 that he debuted his "Drifter" character.

It's been a long time since we've had a wrestler use a guitar as their signature weapon, and I'm all for them bringing it back with Samson.

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