Line #15 Wrestling/Elias


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/b7a72_15456417826658_800.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:[[FunWithAcronyms Walk. With. Elias.]]]]
3
4	->''"...so if you could just silence your cell phones, hold your applause until after I'm finished, and most importantly, do me a favor and shut your mouths!"''
5
6	Jeffrey Daniel Sciullo (born November 20, 1987) is an American professional wrestler and musician best known for his time in Wrestling/{{WWE}}, under the ring name Elias.
7
8	After the spending early years of his career wrestling in various independent promotions, he was signed to WWE's [[Wrestling/{{WWENXT}} NXT]] brand as Elias Samson, where he made his television debut on April 24, 2014. In April of 2017, he was called up to the main roster. He is a four-time WWE 24/7 Champion.
9
10	After months of inactivity, his contract expired on September 14, 2023. He now wrestles in the independent circuit as Elijah.
11
12	----
13	!!''"Who wants to trope with Elias?"''
14
15	* AlwaysIntroducesThemselves: All his segments start with a guitar riff and him saying "Hello, I am Elias." When he and Wrestling/{{Bayley}} were paired up for the Mixed Match Challenge, they not only introduced themselves individually but played a short guitar duo together.
16	* AntiHero: Even as a face, Elias is still rude to other wrestlers and isn't above messing with Wrestling/BaronCorbin when he's not even pulling anything on him.
17	* ArchEnemy: Wrestling/BobbyLashley and Wrestling/BaronCorbin. Wrestling/JeffJarrett and Wrestling/JeffHardy after his FaceHeelTurn.
18	* AscendedExtra: Was a former [[Wrestling/AdamRose rosebud]].
19	* BeardOfEvil: As a heel.
20	* BerserkButton:
21	** Never interrupt him when he's trying to sing.
22	** Don't ever compare him to Wrestling/JeffJarrett. Or be Jeff Jarrett, for that matter. Double J [[CurbStompBattle found out the hard way]] when he not only interrupted Elias ''just as he was about to start to sing'' but also tried to do a duet with him at the 2019 Royal Rumble.
23	* BreakoutCharacter: Was brought up to Raw for little reason other than jobbing. The gimmick [[{{Pun}} struck a chord]] with crowds and by early 2018 he become one of the most over stars on the brand leading to a feud with Wrestling/BraunStrowman who enjoyed a similar rise in popularity around the same time.
24	* BullyingADragon:
25	** The drawback of being a lone drifter is that you have no friends to give you advice when you're about to do something incredibly stupid - like smash a guitar over the neck of '''[[Wrestling/BraunStrowman BRAUN FREAKING STROWMAN.]]''' Predictably, Braun was not happy about this, and he responded the next week by beating the hell out of Elias, dragging him up the ramp, and then returning the favor with a ''double bass.'' You know, the giant stringed instrument that's taller than most grown men.
26	** Becomes the dragon later on, when Wrestling/BaronCorbin tries to shoo him off the stage when he's trying to cut a promo, going far enough to cut his mic. Elias, understandably annoyed, responds by smashing his guitar into Corbin's back.
27	* ButtMonkey: Constantly, ''constantly'', has his segments interrupted by another wrestler from the locker room; most of those interruptions end with him getting beaten up, sometimes with his own guitar. Occasionally he does get the upper hand on his interrupter, but not nearly as often. He also lost his first championship in the same night that he won it.
28	* CareerEndingInjury: "Ezekiel"'s young career was cut short by a back injury he received from his ArchEnemy Kevin Owens.
29	* CasanovaWannabe: During his heel runs, he seems to have a bit of a horndog streak, which surfaces from time to time to varying degrees. During one time when he was interrupted by Wrestling/TrishStratus, his condescending exchange with her indicated that he seemed to remember more that during her time there were bra and panties matches (rather than, say, Trish being a 7-time Women's Champion), which earned him a slap to the face; and there was the time at ''Fastlane 2019'' where he stared too long at Lacey Evans doing her walk through the entrance ramp (which was her schtick at the time), allowing Wrestling/RandyOrton to hit him with a RKO.
30	* CharacterCatchphrase:
31	** "Who wants to walk with the Drifter/Elias?"
32	** "WWE stands for [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Walk. With. Elias.]]"
33	** "Silence your cell phones, hold your applause, and shut your mouths." He omitted the "shut your mouths" part during his brief Face run.
34	* CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown:
35	** After being fired from NXT, he came back the following week under a mask as El Vagabundo-- the Spanish translation of his usual RedBaron. Other than the mask, he was wearing the same outfit and even carrying the same guitar around as usual. Oney Lorcan ripped his mask off mid-match before defeating him, and he was promptly ejected from the arena after the bell.
36	** Happened again on the Raw after [=WrestleMania=] 38, this time claiming to be Ezekiel, Elias' younger brother. [[PaperThinDisguise With shorter hair, a shaven face, and trunks.]] Interestingly, he was promptly established as a face by way of (a) acting completely earnest and polite, and (b) chronic liar Wrestling/KevinOwens being the [[OnlySaneMan only one not buying this identity]], and losing his mind over it while reminding everyone how much he [[{{Hypocrite}} hates liars]]. But there are photos of Elias and Ezekiel together (totally not Photoshopped), and if Ezekiel just happens to do some of Elias's moves, well, obviously he would've learned some things from his older brother, right?
37	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: He's not entirely there, given that he was coming up with lyrics in his head while Wrestling/BaronCorbin was trying to get him to leave the stage. At that point he outright admitted that he was lost in his own world for a moment. There's also the fact that he tends to appear strumming his guitar in the most unlikeliest of places, most of the time just a typical backstage area, but also one time ''atop a production truck''.
38	* CurseCutShort: Wrestling/BaronCorbin cuts off his mic just in time to get past the censors.
39	-->'''Elias:''' But now you're just a giant puppet with Stephanie's hand up your a--
40	-->'''Corbin:''' Cut it!
41	* DeadpanSnarker: He's not without his witty moments.
42	-->'''Wrestling/BaronCorbin:''' And I was talking to Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon, the commissioner of Mo-
43	-->'''Elias:''' [[CaptainObvious I know who Stephanie [=McMahon=] is]].
44	* DoItYourselfThemeTune: Sings and plays the guitar for his own theme song, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kROGn9M4_eo Amen (I'm Going In).]]
45	* TheDrifter: It's his entire gimmick, even down to being his RedBaron.
46	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: With a gimmick that's 90% about talking to the audience and either insulting the crowd or running down an unpopular heel, you'd never guess he was originally booked as more of a [[TheStoic strong,]] [[TheQuietOne silent type]].
47	* EyeTake: [[https://youtu.be/UpSxrGkKTe0?t=161s His]] [[OhCrap reaction]] to [[spoiler:having his segment on the RAW after [=WrestleMania=] 35 interrupted by Wrestling/TheUndertaker's gong]].
48	* FaceHeelTurn:
49	** After Wrestling/RoyalRumble 2019, Elias turned heel again after insulting the crowd, proclaiming that they dissapointed him for lackluster reactions towards him, and was subsequently interrupted by Jarrett and Wrestling/RoadDogg, who proceeded to sing "With My Baby Tonight" until Elias attacked both men with his guitar.
50	** In the 2020 WWE Draft, Elias made his return to RAW by attacking Wrestling/JeffHardy with his guitar.
51	* FinishingMove: The Drift Away, a fisherman neckbreaker.
52	* FiveSecondForeshadowing: A minor recurring gag consisted of Elias foreshadowing the interruption to his musical segment himself, overlapping a bit with SpeakOfTheDevil.
53	** During the RAW after [=WrestleMania=] 35, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRUihzQvBMo he spoke on]] Wrestling/JohnCena interrupting his [=WrestleMania=] segment, and said that "the next one to interrupt [him] [[TemptingFate is a]] [[ExactWords dead man]]." [[spoiler:Cue [[Wrestling/TheUndertaker gong]].]]
54	** The next week, on RAW's Superstar Shakeup show, he said that if [[TemptingFate anyone interrupts him]], they will never "be able to show their face again!" [[spoiler:Cue Wrestling/ReyMysterio]].
55	** And yet the very next day, on Smackdown Live, he said that as the "biggest acquisition of Smackdown Live" by Wrestling/VinceMcMahon, he will be [[TemptingFate "taking the rei(g)ns" of the show]]. [[spoiler:Cue [[Wrestling/RomanReigns The Big Dog]]]].
56	* FlippingTheBird: Downplayed. During the RAW after [=WrestleMania=] 35, while speaking about how Wrestling/JohnCena had interrupted his segment at the PPV, he gave a PG version of the bird, simply holding up three fingers and dedicating the middle one to Cena.
57	* {{Foil}}: Surprisingly, both Elias and Ezekiel are polar opposites of each other. Elias is a musician who works alone and is a brawler, while Ezekiel has the looks of a 80's wrestler who gets along with everyone and is a powerhouse. Even their catchphrases are similar: "Walk With Elias" and "Speak With Zeke".
58	* FunWithAcronyms: If you ask him, WWE stands for "Walk With Elias."
59	* HeelFaceTurn:
60	** On the October 22, 2018 edition of Raw, Elias turned face after attacking Wrestling/BaronCorbin from behind, who had previously told him to stop playing his song.
61	** In early 2019 Elias turned heel. After returning from an injury in late 2019, Elias was a face ''again''.
62	** In 2022, after being absent for several months following his last heel run, [[CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown "Ezekiel"]] was received as a face due to his earnest demeanor being a foil to Wrestling/KevinOwens' hypocritical lying heel.
63	* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: The first time he turned, he was only a face for barely three months before turning heel again.
64	* IAmSong: In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6ZdbJhhpqg this video]], he sings about the NXT title history and ends it by singing on how he will be the next champion.
65	* ImprobableWeaponUser: Will not hesitate to El Kabong you - that is, smash his acoustic guitar over your back.
66	* {{Irony}}: The post-Takeover episode in Brooklyn had Bull Dempsey completing his repackaging by beating Samson in his new gimmick's infancy. Four months later, the post-Takeover episode in London had Samson completing his repackaging by decisively toppling Dempsey.
67	* ItOnlyWorksOnce: Wrestling/DrakeMaverick learns the hard way in his pursuit of the 24/7 championship that you can't pull the "referee-in-disguise" trick and fool him when it's already been pulled so many other times throughout the title's history. He promptly gets choked out and thrown back into the box he was hiding in for his efforts.
68	* JobberEntrance: The August 8, 2022 edition of ''Raw'' had Ezekiel come out to one, foreshadowing his NoHoldsBarredBeatdown at the hands of Kevin Owens.
69	* LargeHam: When he has his guitar and the spotlight on him, Elias milks his screentime for all its worth.
70	* NotSoHarmlessVillain:
71	** Despite the number of times he's been beaten up over the years, he's still a good wrestler, and occasionally gets a chance to show that fact off by winning his match.
72	** At the ''Greatest Royal Rumble'', he scored five eliminations, including [[Wrestling/TheNewDay Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods]], Wrestling/KurtAngle and ''Wrestling/RandyOrton''.
73	* OddCouple: He, a grumpy loner whose gimmick heavily incorporates live music performances, was paired with Wrestling/{{Bayley}}, a cheerful AllLovingHero whose gimmick had no music other than her theme song, during the Mixed Match Challenge.
74	* OnlyOneName: The 'Samson' was dropped at some point in 2017.
75	* RunningGag: Has he gotten through a full song in a promo without getting interrupted by someone else's entrance music ''at any point'' since he started this gimmick?
76	* SitcomArchnemesis: For a long time, Wrestling/CoreyGraves, who wasn't happy that Elias is from Pittsburgh as well and was incorrigibly convinced that Elias was a DreadfulMusician.
77	* TheStoic: Not particularly expressive unless he's either singing and playing his guitar or beating on an opponent. Not much can get a rise out of him period, as when an irate Wrestling/BraunStrowman came up behind him upon overhearing him revealing that he saw where Wrestling/BaronCorbin went, he changed his song around to rat out Corbin's hiding place without even missing a beat.
78	* TemptingFate: On the April 8th, 2019 RAW, Elias declared that the next man who interrupted him was a [[Wrestling/TheUndertaker dead man]]. [[OhCrap Oops...]]
79	* TookALevelInBadass: Was initially still a {{jobber}} in the Drifter gimmick's early stages.
80	** On the main roster, he goes from jobbing to Wrestling/JasonJordan on Pay-Per-View to pinning former WWE Champion Wrestling/JinderMahal clean on live TV.
81	* {{Troll}}: His CatchPhrase is... well, catchy, which has given him something of an EnsembleDarkhorse status. He often pops the crowd with his catch phrases much like a face would, before immediately going into one of his songs, which are not only annoying, but typically have lyrics cutting down the crowd, city, and[=/=]or home sports team(s) du jour. As of May 2018, this effort at cheap heat has started to fail; he's gained enough popularity with the crowd that ''he still gets cheered for calling them idiots''. Finally led to a HeelFaceTurn in October, which included redirecting one catch phrase pretty much verbatim toward Wrestling/BaronCorbin:
82	--> "...so if you could just silence your cell phone, hold your applause until after I'm finished, and most importantly, do me a favor and shut your damn mouth!''"
83	* UnexpectedCharacter:[[invoked]] His jump to the main roster came out of nowhere and was not preceded by any sort of push or high-profile feud on NXT.
84	* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: The whole chain of events that resulted in [[Wrestling/FergalDevitt Finn Balor]] challenging Wrestling/BrockLesnar at ''Wrestling/RoyalRumble'' instead of Strowman, and Strowman in turn replacing Wrestling/JohnCena in the Rumble match itself, was set off by Elias ratting Baron Corbin out to Strowman in an earlier show, who turned out to have hidden in the limo of ''Wrestling/VinceMcMahon''.
85	* TheVillainSucksSong: As a face, he uses his musical talents to insult and mock heels.
86	* TheWorfEffect: Ezekiel, in the few months he was on ''Raw'', was established as an old-school powerhouse who could mix it up with Chad Gable and Wrestling/KevinOwens. So when Kevin Owens reverted to his old "Prizefighter" self, Ezekiel became Kevin's first victim with an Apron Powerbomb sending him into early "retirement".

Context Wrestling / Elias