Elias is a WWE Superstar that has slowly grown on a lot of the WWE Universe. Currently, he has a pretty basic heel gimmick: a musician that signs a customized song to the local crowd to get cheap heat on himself.
Over the last year or sow, Elias has gone from a low card act to a high mid-card act. He has a very popular catchphrase (everyone together now), “Walk with Elias”. Whenever he comes out and says that line, the crowd goes nuts for him.
One thing that has caught my eye with Elias is how much of a future big star he might be able to become. I don’t think that Elias will reach the levels of Steve Austin or the Rock, but he could be a good top level guy that helps hold the company.
I really started to look at him as someone who might be able to do really well in the top tier when he took on Seth Rollins for the Intercontinental Championship at WWE Money in the Bank (Although, he did have a great program with John Cena leading into WrestleMania this year)in June. Elias looked really good in the ring and he really brought it to the champ, Rollins.
He brought it so much that I was quite disappointed when Rollins retained his championship. I had actually gone from not really caring for the guy to wanting him to walk out with the title.
So here’s what I would do with him.
Step-one: Move him off of RAW. I think Elias will have a lot more breathing room on Smackdown Live! And could eventually become the perfect challenger to AJ Style’s WWE Championship.
Elias needs to be on a show where work-rate counts. He also needs to be away from Roman Reigns. I don’t see anyone getting a real shot at being a main event player while Reigns is on the same show. It’s one reason why I don’t think Rollins will ever have a serious chance at being a top guy (but I am not here to talk about Rollins).
Step-two: Give him the US Title and let him run with it. Elias should be given a good 9-12 month reign as US Champion. Not only that, but he should be paired with real top rate workers who could help him raise his profile with the company. And on top of that, he should be given chances to close Smackdown and have the chance to be a marquee name on Network Specials.
Step Three: Turn him babyface in during his US Title run. He needs to be a face for this work on any level. As he is having the run of his life as US Champion, Elias turns face (probably by saving AJ Styles from a beat down of sorts), and the fans will (should) embrace him.
Step-Four: He wins the Royal Rumble or Money in the bank. My case would be him winning the Money in the Bank contract and challenging the WWE Champion for a title show at SummerSlam. He doesn’t do a sneak attack or challenge the champion after a grueling match. He comes out the following week on Smackdown and looks at the champion and say “I am challenging you to a match at SummerSlam”.
The longer plan would eventually have him head back to RAW and take on Roman Reigns and dethrone him in the process.
I would be surprised if in 10 years we are looking back and we don’t have Elias on the top 5 post-Cena era top guys.