5 Ups & 8 Downs From WWE Raw After WrestleMania (April 4)

5. Elias Returns/Ezekiel Debuts

Ezekiel WWE
WWE.com

We had heard a while back that when the vignettes aired saying that “Elias is dead,” it meant we were going to get a new version of the troubadour. Images from the latest WWE video game showed him in tights, which would be a huge departure for the man who has wrestled in jeans for years.

Monday, however, Elias came out to the ring during a Kevin Owens promo… only it wasn’t Elias. Oh sure, it was him, but the name on the tron read “Ezekiel” and this man was cleanshaven and wearing bright tights. KO immediately looked at him and asked, “Elias?” only for the man to repeatedly claim he was Elias’ younger brother Ezekiel.

Yes, this was something WWE earnestly tried to pull off – an Emmalina-esque transition and renaming of a character, only this one appeared to be taking itself seriously. Ezekiel verbally sparred briefly with Owens before KO threatened action if he counted down from 10… and then he just walked off.

It was bizarre, made little sense, and barely registered as a return of note because it was so odd. Just like that, you’ve got to feel that Ezekiel is dead in the water and now Elias will be off TV for another six months to grow the beard back.

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Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.