Before starting today's article, let's ask you a question! What does WWE mean?!
Of course it is: Walk! With ！ Elias！
WWE is really weird now. SmackDown there is a large number of technical emperors, there are two major technical emperors in the wrestling world, Egg Girl and AJ, and there is once the hottest player in Japan, Shinsuke Nakai, but there is another popular wang master;
RAW here is a gathering of big names, WWE's treasure of the town Roman Black Sheep, box office king Lesner, and now signed Ronda Rossi, but still out of the personal popular king Elias....
On last week's RAW show on May 15, the main battle was a triple threat match between Elias vs KO vs Bobby Leslie, and at the end of the game, KO suppressed Elias to win, and the show ended. However, although the video part is over, the live performance does not end there.
After KO won, he and Sammy and Elias beat up Bobby Leslie, and then Seth Roman came out to save the game, so he started a 3v3 team match, of course, this is a non-broadcast game.
In the end, of course, the RomansEsley trio won, but after the game, the audience was shouting "Let him sing" (let him sing). So Seth took the microphone and said:
"Don't you want to hear Bobby Leslie sing?"
Audience: "boooooooo..."
Seth: "You don't want to hear Roman sing, do you?" ”
Audience: "boooooooo...."
Seth: "I want to sing, but I can't sing well. So who do you want to hear? ”
The audience shouted in unison: "Elias! ”
Bobby Leslie then threw Elias out of the ring, and Seth put his guitar in the ring and said to Elias:
"I'd love to beat you up again, but forget it, because now you need to perform for the Audience in London!"
Subsequently, seth Roman Leslie trio exited, and Elias sang with his guitar in his arms.
It can be seen how popular Elias is now, and it is almost the same as Master Shu! Moreover, not only is his popularity similar to that of Master Shu, but his wrestling journey is also similar to that of Master Shu, and both of them have reached this position today step by step!
Elias's original name was Jeffrey Logan Sciullo. Although he looks a little old, he is actually not very old, he was born in 1988, just 30 years old this year, which is relatively young among the current male players at WWE.
Here is also to dispel a doubt for everyone. Because Elias and former WWE Damil Sendo look like non-car, many wrestling fans have asked him if they are brothers, and Brother Wrestling told everyone today that the two are not related at all. Damil Sendo's original name was Aaron Steven Haddad, and the two were just purely alike...
When WWE signed players, it was very fond of players with sports backgrounds, especially those who had played rugby. Because the physical fitness, strength, speed, and ability to resist blows of rugby players are generally higher than ordinary people, heavyweight players such as Dabu, Roman, and Gao Bai, the god of war, have all been rugby players. Of course, Olympic gold medalist WWE like Kurt Anger is even more desperate.
Although Elias also played when he was in high school, he played not football, but baseball. Elias was a member of the school baseball team when he was in high school. But will baseball fundamentals help you in the wrestling industry in the future? We don't know much about that. But what is clear is that there is a baseball player who mixed quite well at WWE, and is also a member of the WWE Hall of Fame! He's Randy Savage!
At the age of 18, the Independent Wrestling League IWC played a wrestling tournament in Elias's hometown of Pittsburgh, and Elias also bought tickets to watch the game. During this time, Elias met the wrestling coach of the IWC Wrestling League, and the two fell in love at first sight, the coach admired him, and he liked wrestling, so he quickly signed a contract with IWC.
In 2008, at the age of 20, Elias began wrestling. Like many wrestlers, Elias didn't have the olympic gold medal glory like Kurt Anger, nor did he have a solid wrestling family like Roman, nor did he have a striking figure like the Black Sheep, so he had to start from the independent world.
From 2008 to 2013, Elias played at the Independent Wrestling League IWC for 5 years, during which time he also won the IWC's Independent Super Championship Belt, as well as the IWC Heavyweight Championship Belt. At that time, Elias played a game at IWC and only got $45, which was not enough for basic living expenses, so he often worked in some stores and gyms to earn money.
Although Elias has been working in the independent world for 5 years, he is not focused on the training of wrestling skills like Kevin Owens and Sammy Zahn, but is more inclined to learn speech skills and performance skills, which is one of the reasons why WWE values him.
Although Elias came out to play wrestling at the age of 20, that doesn't mean he didn't go to college.
On an episode of the Aiji & Christine podcast, Elias said he went to college, studied business administration, and got his degree certificate before he started wrestling. Elias believes that although he is passionate about wrestling, the profession of wrestler is not very secure, and if one day he is injured or does not become famous, the road ahead will be difficult. So learn one more skill and leave a good way back for yourself.
Now everyone knows what WWE stands for, which is "Walk With Elias". However, WWE has turned away the "representative" four times before!
On a cold stone Austin podcast show, Elias revealed that he had been rejected by WWE 4 times before officially working with WWE! Elias said that a few years ago, he was eager to join the then WWE development league FCW for training and competition, but three consecutive attempts were rejected.
Later, NXT replaced FCW as WWE's development league, and Elias came looking for opportunities again, this time, he got the chance to play, and the opponent was still a well-known player - Dean Ambrose! So he played a non-broadcast match with Dean on the NXT show. However, this did not help, and after the game, WWE still did not accept him.
Six months after the match against Dean, WWE's senior director of talent development, Canning Seyman, called Elias and offered him a contract. Finally, after being rejected 4 times by WWE, Elias got a contract from WWE!
In early 2014, Elias finally officially came to NXT for training and competition, and now he has become one of the most popular players in WWE. And along the way, his success is inseparable from these three people!
First, there's Dusty Rhodes, a wrestling legend and WWE Hall of Famer
Dusty Rhodes is the father of both Sands and Cody Rhodes. He was a legend in the wrestling world, debuting 10 years before Hook Hogan and making great contributions to the wrestling world. In his later years, he worked behind the scenes as a producer for NXT. As the players from NXT know, Dusti Rhodes is not only a great player, but also an excellent wrestling instructor, who often helps the players' image and personality, and Elias is one of the biggest beneficiaries!
In an interview with tribune review in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Elias mentioned how Dusty Rhodes helped himself while he was at NXT. Elias said that at that time, he was very fond of playing the guitar and had a special love for the guitar, and Dusty Rhodes noticed this and arranged the plot image of "Wandering Singer" for him.
Since then, Elias has been appearing in the show as a wandering singer, and this image has also made him very popular with the audience and has received a lot of calls!
Unfortunately, Mr. Dusty died of illness in 2015 and did not see Elias become a WWE superstar....
The second person to help Elias improve is the NXT operator, WWE's chief operating officer, Wang Sledgehammer HHH.
Although Elias mixed well on the main show, he participated in "Cage Race" and beat up John Senna at RAW's 25th anniversary. However, he didn't mix well during his time at NXT.
When Elias mixed with NXT, NXT's front-line positions had been contracted by Finn Barroll, Samoa Joe, Jungyi Shinsuke and others, while the doubles had a revival combination, an American alpha support, and the subsequent DIY combination and the 9394 brothers. Whether in singles or doubles, there is hardly room for Elias.
Elias has only participated in the NXT Takeover Contest once, in NXT Takeover: Dallas on April 2, 2016. In fact, to be precise, he did not even "participate" in the NXT takeover competition, he only participated in the recording of the NXT program on April 7 at the same venue on the day of the event. On the promotional poster for the NXT Takeover: Dallas event, even his figure could not be seen.
In this takeover competition, Elias's opponent was Apollo Cruise, the soy sauce player in the current RAW show, and most crucially, Elias was still an upgrade package for Apollo at the time, losing the game.
NXT first-line players like Finn Barroll and Bobby Rudder are only mixed between the 1.5-2 lines after coming to the main program, and why is Elias, who has mixed so dismal in NXT, get a chance to take the position after coming to the main program?
Mainly because, HHH discerns talent!
In an interview with CBS Sports, HHH had a look at Elias, and HHH had this to say:
"In the years that Elias has been at NXT, I'm actually ready to send him to raw or SmashDown at any time because I know. As a performer, he can only use his abilities in the main show. I talked to Dusty Rhodes before, and I said that Elias is not a person who is suitable for NXT, but for the main show. His image and way of acting are very much in line with the tastes of the audience of the main program. I'm not saying he can't succeed at NXT, but I'm saying he can succeed faster on the main show! ”
Wrestlers who regularly watch RAW, SmackDown, and NXT should know this. NXT pays more attention to the wrestling skills of the players, and recently, NXT has also produced multi-long five-star competitions, and it can be said that NXT is more suitable for those who like to appreciate pure wrestling skills. Raw and SmackDown, for a larger audience, including many audiences who do not know much about wrestling, so the presentation of RAW and SmackDown is more inclined to entertainment, momentum, and interaction.
In HHH's view, Elias's plot image and interactive ability are not suitable for NXT, but can be well integrated into the main program. Sure enough, Elias had little success at NXT, and HHH decided to send him to RAW. Judging from the current audience response, HHH's approach is very correct! Elias's interactive ability is one of the best in the entire RAW show.
After officially entering the main show, Elias went all the way. Although he has not yet won any championship belt at WWE, his presence is getting higher and higher, and his popularity is also getting higher and higher.
And among them, it is inseparable from the help of a third person. That's Big Brother – John Senna!
Although in the show, Senna and Elias did not clash less, at RAW's 25th anniversary, Elias also shot Senna with a guitar. However, the player who can make Senna work so hard must be a player that Senna likes very much! Yes, backstage, Senna and Elias have a very good relationship, and for Elias, Senna is his mentor.
WWE stands for "Walk With Elias," an exclusive line from Elias that actually became popular with Senna's support.
On a cold stone Austin podcast, Elias once said:
"The phrase 'Walk With Elias' was mentioned by my uncle inadvertently before, and I used it on the show. I didn't realize there was anything special about this sentence before, but it left a deep impression on John Senna. Senna, who thought that this simple mantra might become popular and become a personal symbol of me, and even a trend in WWE, strongly suggested that I continue to use this phrase, and proposed the idea that 'Walk WIth Elias' is the abbreviation of WWE. For a WWE performer, getting support and advice from John Senna is definitely something that can help you advance your career! So I used this sentence as my signature. ”
During last week's TRIPLE threat match on RAW, the audience shouted "Walk With Elias" again and again, and Elias actually sat in the ring with his guitar in his arms and prepared to sing! The audience also began to shout "YES YES YES YES.". Of course, he was interrupted by KO before he could sing, but the audience began to shout "Let him sing", and later when Elias and Bobby Leslie punched each other, the audience gave a cry whenever Elias punched Leslie, but when Leslie hit Elias, the audience booed.
Moreover, Elias's ability to play on the spot is also OK. In an episode of RAW before Wrestling Mania 34, Senna appeared to interrupt Elias's singing, and then the Chicago audience began to shout the name "CM Punk", leaving Elias and Senna from continuing their conversation. So Elias very spiritually came to say: "CM Punk can never appear and interrupt me singing!" ”
In fact, in addition to Dusty Rhodes, HHH, and John Senna, there is another person who has also provided some help to Elias, and that is the current National Champion - Jeff Hardy!
Although Elias and Jeff Hardy had little interpersonality in the WWE ring, they had a good relationship offstage. And Elias claims that his finishing skill, Drift Away, was named after Jeff Hardy.
In cold stone Austin's blog show, Elias also mentioned his finishing skill, Drift Away. Elias said that at first when he was at NXT, the name of the finishing technique was named after the action, called tumbling and neck wrestling. Later, someone in the background suggested that he name the finishing technique Richt Away – Drift. The person who made this suggestion was none other than the Extreme Player – Jeff Hardy!
Elias thought that the name "Wandering and Lost" was very much in line with his image of a "wandering singer", and it was catchy to call, so he used it as the name of his final skill, and the response was quite good. After changing the name of the finishing skill, many viewers of NXT shouted "Drift A-way" for him, and the rhythm of the slogan was the same as the rhythm of shouting "New Day Rocks".
So far, Elias has not taken any championship belts at WWE and has missed the Contract Ladder Race on June 18. However, I believe that Elias, who is only 30 years old, can get his own championship moments and even wrestling mania moments in his future career with his excellent ability!
I also hope that Elias can gradually improve his wrestling skills in the future, after all, for wrestlers, technology is real kung fu and hard power!
Finally, who wants to walk with Elias?!!