10 Wrestlers You Never Thought Would Get Over On TV

8. Elias

Orange Cassidy
WWE.com

Elias Samson was a half-baked antique of a gimmick, who couldn't exactly go, promoted on a show with no frills and a very high expectation of in-ring quality. NXT Elias was a philosophical mismatch and pure, go-away, main roster heat. He was a body guy who was intentionally sh*tty on guitar.

This was a multifarious tonal nightmare.

On WWE's main roster, he was tremendous value and he arrived at the perfect time - more or less the precise moment fans collectively realised that none of their favourites were likely to break through. Elias, a dreaded not-****1/4 wrestler, slotted in very nicely to a nihilistic midcard because it's the hope that kills you, and nobody much fancied seeing him headline WrestleMania.

Elias was genuine escapism, who, with a more perfunctory guitar game serving as a backdrop to patter, used that patter and timed it very well to bury insert name of local city. It was a cracking little bit that had more currency than cracking wrestling matches in a company with a minimum and maximum level of match quality not remotely dissimilar to one another.

We all wanted to walk with Elias for a bit there.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!