"Elias Is Dead!" - WWE Raw Wrestler To Be Repackaged?
Elias burned his guitar on last night's WWE Raw, setting up a big character change.
Last night's episode of WWE Raw appeared to set established midcarder Elias off on a new direction, as the 33-year-old set his signature acoustic guitar on fire in a new vignette.
The video featured Elias dragging his guitar through a forest and towards a burning campfire. Highlights of various wrestlers blasting him with the instrument followed, including Braun Strowman and Jaxson Ryker, before Elias finally tossed it on the blaze, seemingly ending this chapter of his career.
"WWE stood for Walk With Elias," he said, "but Elias is dead."
Check it out for yourself:-
"WWE stood for Walk With Elias ... but Elias is dead."#WWERaw @IAmEliasWWE pic.twitter.com/y61MXqPTDD
Advertisement— WWE (@WWE) August 10, 2021
Thus ends the 'Drifter' character Elias has played since August 2015, when he transformed into a guitar-strumming villain in NXT. While the gimmick never got over to the intended extent in developmental, Elias soared unexpectedly on the main roster, drawing such strong, positive crowd reactions that WWE was forced to turn him babyface in October 2018.
Recent times have brought little kayfabe luck for Elias, who was routinely beaten by Ryker, his former tag team partner, in their Raw feud. A bruising Symphony of Destruction was their last bout, with Ryker taking the win on 19 July.