WWE Raw: 10 Things You Might Have Missed

6. Elias Sampson Doing Away With His Surname

Kalisto Elias
WWE.com

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.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.