Honestly, I think it’s more coincidence than anything else, and given the reception Shadowlands as a whole tended to have, I’m thinking Blizzard might not be so quick to add and/or retcon a connection to the Shadowlands moving forward.
I just went to Silithus and took another close look at the sword. True there is some texture on the hilt and it does look like a spinal cord but it might just be the decorative texture of the hilt. It’s up on the grip as well (Made it all the way to the top … again).
If it is a spinal cord it is the spine of something massive.
There are certain Content Creators who make a living mocking WOW which scares away new players. Then they make more money spewing rage bait which ups their click rates.
Some of them attract people who are 13 going on 45 by making funny faces.
Yeah, Blizzard deals with these people as best they can. I guess that’s a “meme”.