WWE Rumor Roundup - Plan of Vince McMahon's in-ring return for WrestleMania match, AEW rejects former Tag Team Champion, RAW Superstar was on the 'list to be fired'- 14th December 2020 

#4. Elias reveals that he was on WWE's 'list to be fired'

Elias has a strong command over his gimmick, and his character legitimately has mainstream potential if given the spotlight to shine. Elias has worked tremendously hard to finetune his gimmick, but the WWE Superstar took a challenging path towards reaching his destination.

Elias was a guest on Lillian Garcia's Chasing Glory podcast, and the RAW Superstar revealed that he was on the 'list to be fired' on multiple occasions during his NXT stint. The people who rejected him during his early WWE tryout were now calling the shots in the company, and Elias was aware of it.

While Elias had some fans backstage, he wasn't received well as he was an outsider. Elias admitted that he walked on eggshells and had extra pressure to develop a gimmick that could genuinely deliver engaging TV.

Thankfully for Elias, he overcame the ups and downs and has had some memorable moments in the WWE.

"One thing I became very aware of is that the people who said 'no' at my tryout, they were now in charge at my job, and their minds didn't change. William Regal always said yes, liked me, and got me through, but the people that said no, they were running the show. I didn't know anybody in the business, so I'm an outsider to their crew, and they can be protective in their circle. I was put on the list to be fired, multiple times in NXT. I was made aware of it two different times. You can imagine walking into work knowing 'that guy right there wants to fire me.' It makes you walk on eggshells; there's extra pressure. There were a lot of ups and downs."

Elias is currently without a definite feud on WWE TV, but his partnership with the returning Jaxson Ryker could lead to an interesting payoff.