Will WWE elevate Elias?

Elias Samson, now shortened to Elias, made his in-ring NXT debut with the company on 24 April 2014. From his debut year up until early 2015, Elias would only make periodical appearances as enhancement talent for other up and coming stars in the developmental brand.

Come August 2015, Elias administrated his new drifter guitar player character and wrestled Bull Dempsey in a losing effort. Elias ended his NXT run at a 49-130 win-loss record, showing very mediocre relevance at the time.

However, his main roster run has so far been quite successful, receiving consistent crowd reactions especially when he strums the guitar. Be it cheers or boos, Elias' presence has always been acknowledged by fans.

Elias demonstrates pure charisma in his character and performs fairly well in the ring too. Most importantly, the reaction of the WWE universe proves how over he is at the moment. Nonetheless, a capitalization of this momentum should be made by creatives to further elevate Elias as a credible star.

One of the main keys of his success as a character had been stated by Elias himself on the Edge and Christian podcast:

"I don't want to put too many names out there but people in charge have given me a great deal of freedom when it comes to being out there. I'll say something where they'll let me mess with the crowd. I'm not in any rush to get through a script because I'm just talking."

Thus, this demonstrates another form of crucial evidence that creative freedom opens up a wider variety of ways for a WWE worker to evolve their character in a more smooth and natural technique.

On the 5 February 2018 edition of Raw, Elias earned the opportunity to enter the Elimination Chamber last by defeating both Braun Strowman and John Cena in a triple threat match.

As WrestleMania looms in the background, it is still uncertain of WWE's plans for The Drifter. Being in the Elimination Chamber match, Elias would either be booked to advance his feud with John Cena up until Mania, or WWE shuts down this feud unofficially and he gets thrown into the shuffle with other unused talents in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

While WWE may most probably not grant Elias a match on the main card at Mania just yet, things are assuredly picking up steam for the heel serenader as he continues to get over with the crowd in 2018.

If the cards are played right, the arrogant and self-absorbed guitar player may bulldoze his way through the mid-card and into the main event scene by the end of the year.