Backstage Update On WWE's Plans For Ezekiel
New details on Ezekiel, the repackaged Elias, who returned to WWE Raw this week.
Elias made a surprising return to WWE television this week, sporting a new clean-shaven look as Ezekiel in an in-ring segment with Kevin Owens that saw the former 'Drifter' insist he was Elias' brother, not the guitar-strummer himself.
In an update, PWInsider's Mike Johnson notes that Ezekiel is now officially part of the WWE Raw roster - and the promotion plans on presenting him as a babyface following this week's return.
"Elias" has been removed from the company's internal roster, indicating that for now, Ezekiel is here to stay.
Interrupting Owens, who was cutting a promo on his WrestleMania 38 defeat to 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, Ezekiel and his insistance that he wasn't Elias riled the former Universal Champion up. When KO gave Ezekiel a ten-count to leave the ring or face the consequences (which the jacked-up, tights-clad man didn't budge on), Owens ended up bailing out himself.
Elias had been absent from WWE television for over eight months before his rebirth this week. Losing a feud to former tag team partner Jaxson Ryker led to vignettes featuring the 34-year-old declaring his Elias character dead last summer, though these came to nothing.