Assessing The Futures Of 10 WWE Stars Who Didn't Make The Royal Rumble 2022 Cut

2. Elias

Sad Cesaro wwe
WWE.com

Only in WWE - or, in fairness, latter-day WCW - could a wrestling company have a character turn their back on their established persona, only for the promotion not to have planned what new direction said character would then go in.

That's bizarrely the case for Elias. After torching his clothes and guitar, it seemed for all the world that Elias was due for a gimmick change. And while that was and is the plan, reports have indicated that WWE has zero ideas in place when it comes to just what exactly that new gimmick is. When the performer himself created a new look to show WWE management, it was said to have been immediately discarded by Vince McMahon due to how he thought Elias resembled Randy Savage too much.

Considering he's appeared in the past five men's Royal Rumble contests, it would've been smart to have Elias rock up in this year's 30-man offering. What the lack of an appearance at the Rumble means for the former 24/7 Champion, is that WWE likely still hasn't worked out what they want to do with him - and one has to seriously question whether Elias will be able to avoid the inevitable next round of company cuts.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.