At WWE WrestleMania 35 on Sunday night, the Elias character played in a way that fans pointed out was identical to Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl’s “Play” video from last year, where Grohl played all of the instruments simultaneously on video. Elias played guitar live along with himself playing piano and drums on the video screen. Elias was then interrupted by John Cena, who did a diss rap and attacked him. Fans pointed out the similarities between Grohl and Cena on Twitter:
“Elias out here one-upping the Dave Grohl video, what a legend.”
“Elias going like Dave Grohl on the first Foo Fighters album with himself playing all the parts. #WrestleMania”
“Elias doing his best Dave grohl impression 😊”
“Elias is Dave Grohl. #WrestleMania”
“Elias is doing the Dave Grohl thing!!!”
Elias discussed his musical influences in a Guitar World interview.
When did you first start playing guitar?
When I was 15, I got super into Eric Clapton. My father took notice of this and got me a guitar for Christmas.
What was that first guitar?
I’m going to say the brand was a [Yamaha] Pacifica electric kit for learning guitar. Once I had enough knowledge of guitar, that’s when I branched out to Fender, which is a favorite brand of mine, and so on.
You play acoustic when you are on-air. Are you more of an electric guitar player when you play at home?
No, I’ve been acoustic exclusively for years. I’m always in hotel rooms, I’m always traveling, even at home I’m not much of an electric guy anymore. I played [electric] for a few years when I started, but I’ve transitioned more to acoustic.
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Elias is doing the Dave Grohl thing!!!
— Mike Jones (@nuttyskadork) April 8, 2019
https://twitter.com/Cameron_Park94/status/1115077814993203200
Elias doing his best Dave grohl impression 😊
— TURD FURGUSON (@ItsMondelloTime) April 8, 2019
https://twitter.com/MrTimLivingston/status/1115077895469142017
https://twitter.com/iDanielEllis/status/1115078058267095043