WWE Raw: 10 Things You Might Have Missed
6. Elias Sampson Doing Away With His Surname
So, WWE have done away with both 'The Drifter' and the Sampson names in favour of simply calling Elias by his first name. This isn't the first time creative have chosen to do this. Remember (Antonio) Cesaro and (Alexander) Rusev? Both were stripped of their surnames, and now Elias is the latest pet project.
JoJo modified her introduction to say, "ladies and gentleman, please welcome Elias" and the Sampson name wasn't mentioned by the Raw ring announcer, announcers or by Elias himself. Without any explanation, his surname has been abandoned, just like that. There's no excuse forthcoming either, that much is clear.
One must ponder what the purpose of this is. Do WWE feel it makes wrestlers more marketable to have only one name? Is this some kind of attempt to make Elias into a pompous artist in the vein of Prince? Who knows, but it could have done with some context.