The Glorious One battles Raw's sinister songsmith in his first singles match as a Team Red Superstar.

Getting upstaged by Bobby Lashley led Elias to declare himself a healthy scratch for last week’s Raw, but Team Red’s resident wanderer was certainly not about to let his spotlight be stolen twice. After the heavenly strains of Bobby Roode’s theme song cut off Elias’ traditional pre-match performance, Elias notched an impressive in-ring victory at the expense of The Glorious One.

That's a big feather in Elias' cap, but it was also something of a rude awakening (so to speak) for the former United States Champion, who never seemed to think that the match was slipping away from him no matter how tough Elias hung down the stretch. As Booker T put it on commentary, Roode cut off his attack at several points to "admire his own handiwork," and that showmanship ended up leaving him open to some good old fashioned chicanery from Elias, who rammed Roode’s shoulder against the ropes to weaken him for a match-ending rollup. So Elias gets his groove back, while Roode’s Raw singles debut is somewhat less than glorious. Given that both Superstars are confirmed for the Greatest Royal Rumble Match, however, there may be another verse yet to this particular ballad.