Elias Talks His Feud With Roman Reigns, His First WWE RAW Appearance
Elias will be facing Roman Reigns on SmackDown Live tonight in a rematch from last Sunday's Money In The Bank encounter. This morning, Elias sat down with Providence's The Rhode Show before Smackdown Live in Rhode Island.
Last month, Vince McMahon publicly endorsed Elias as the biggest acquisition in the history of SmackDown Live. In reality, Reigns is perceived by many to be Vince's chosen guy both on-screen and backstage. Elias acknowledged there is a conflict between the two over who is truly the company's chosen one.
"I've got a match with Roman Reigns," Elias said. "Now, if you've been a fan of WWE you probably know who Roman Reigns is. The guy has been through everything. He's held all our Championships. He's beaten cancer, he's back. He's doing great things. Why do I have a match with him? Vince McMahon coined me as the future of WWE, the future of Smackdown. He came out there and punched Vince in the face. He's jealous of all the attention I'm getting. So, I think we'll handle it in tonight".
Even before working a program with a top star like Reigns, Elias has gotten himself over with the crowd in a major way fairly quickly. From his time as The Drifter to the ego driven rockstar as we know today, Elias has traveled a short but impactful journey as a WWE superstar. Elias mentions his first RAW appearance and the environment of his debut.
"It started when I was just walking through the crowd," Elias said. "I was drifting. I was The Drifter at the time. I just kind of walked through the audience for my first Monday Night RAW. The was the first Elias sighting. Very exciting."
One of the components that amplifies Elias to such a unique and interesting level is his attachment to music world and his guitar. Almost weekly, Elias utilizes a guitar in his segments – sometimes as an promo enhancement, other times as a weapon. Elias spoke of his origins with guitar.
"I was fifteen years old," Elias stated. "I got super into Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and Johnny Cash. My dad took notice and for Christmas, just gave me a guitar – it was a natural fit."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Rhode Show with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.