Chris Cornell + Eddie Vedder’s Old Band Gets Strange ‘WWE Raw’ Shout-Out
It's always interesting when you unexpectedly hear your favorite musical artists get a mention from an entertainer in some other arena. Case in point: this bizarre, seemingly off-the-cuff namedrop of Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder's early-'90s team-up Temple of the Dog on last night's thrilling entry of WWE's Monday night favorite, WWE Raw.
Of course, Temple of the Dog was the Seattle supergroup spearheaded by the late Soundgarden and Audioslave singer, who introduced the then still somewhat unknown Pearl Jam frontman to the music world at large.
Just take a look below at the clip in which wrestler Dean Ambrose requests a Temple of The Dog song from a guitar-toting Elias, the bearded Raw ringer who doubles as a musician (and has an EP out called WWE: Walk with Elias).
"What are you doing there, bub?" Ambrose asks as he enters the ring. "You trying to play me off the stage like this is the Academy Awards or something?"
Refuting the Oscars notion in comical fashion, Elias cuts back with a geographical jab. Taking aim at the city where the showdown took place, he lets Atlanta Falcons fans know just what he thinks about their Super Bowl chances.
"Now, what you did was you came out here and you interrupted me," the wrestler responds. "And I was about to sing a song about how much I love Atlanta. I mean, Atlanta is just so fascinating to me. ... Atlanta is fully capable of hosting the Super Bowl. Winning it? Now, that’s an entirely different story.”
And that's where the odd Temple of the Dog mention comes in. Prefacing one of his signature "Dirty Deeds" wrestling moves, Ambrose seemingly attempts to throw Elias off course with some random mentions of classic acts and tunes. First, by mentioning Temple of the Dog. Then, by collating his "Dirty Deeds" maneuvers — seemingly so-named for AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" — with another cut from the veteran Australian act.
"Come on, man. I don't know why you're in such a bad mood. Look, I'm a big fan of yours, alright? I came out here to request a song. ... Do you know any Temple of the Dog? Night Ranger? 'Yankee Doodle'? 'Thunderstruck'? Or is it time for 'Dirty Deeds'?"
According to the official Pearl Jam website's fan forums, Ambrose has previously touted his love for the Seattle grunge scene on WWE programs in the past.
Temple of the Dog, the one-time supergroup's only studio album, celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2016 with a deluxe edition reissue.
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