Former WWE Talent Elias Explains How Ezekiel Was 'A Complete Vince McMahon Idea'

Elias' original guitar-playing character worked perfectly for him on WWE's main roster, but the company opted to make a big change when they had him play two versions of himself, also portraying his"'younger brother" Ezekiel. At the time, WWE was still controlled creatively by its notorious former CEO, and Elias revealed to "Monopoly Events" that the Ezekiel character was a "complete Vince McMahon idea."

"There was a period of time here where the boss really got into Elias, and he said, 'I'm going to make you the next guy,'" Elias said. "So he took the guitar away for a little while and we said, "Okay, we're coming back, we are going to get a new look, new gear, and as I did that he was like, 'Hey, let's just go the whole way with it. Let's clean up the hair, shave the beard, we will give a whole new presentation.'" 

Elias, who is now working as Elijah following his WWE release in December, said that when he did change his look as requested, McMahon thought he looked like a whole different person. That sparked the former WWE Chairman to literally turn him into a different person by taking on the Ezekiel gimmick, an idea McMahon was very excited about. 

"When the boss is excited, you're going to be excited ,because it seems like some fun things could go down," Elias said. "My whole thing with wrestling and WWE is like, I am always going to make the best of whatever situation I am put in, and hope that opportunities come and flow from that."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Monopoly Events" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.