WWE Rumors: When WWE decided to turn Elias heel again

What's the story?

During both the Royal Rumble match and last night on Raw, it appeared that Elias was undergoing yet another shift in his character.

The Wrestling Observer Live revealed that the decision to turn Elias back to a heel was made the day of the Royal Rumble and not last night on Raw, even though things seemed a lot more clear on Monday night. RingsideNews.com carried the story.

In case you didn't know...

Elias seemingly turned face on the same night that Roman Reigns left the WWE due to illness. The Drifter was one of the superstars targeted by Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley.

Although it was a little hard to tell during his promo as the first entrant in the Royal Rumble match, Elias first praised the returning Jeff Jarrett before tricking him into singing a duet. He then proceeded to smash a guitar over Jarrett's back.

The following night on Raw, Elias chastised the crowd and attacked both Jarrett and the returning Road Dogg after Road Dogg cut a promo on Elias.

The heart of the matter

In addition to Elias turning face, Braun Strowman also turned back to a babyface after feuding with members of The Shield over the Summer. Both men were hugely over with the WWE Universe and were cheered regardless of alignment.

RingsideNews.com notes via Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer Live that he was told Elias turned heel at the Royal Rumble PPV and not the next night on Raw'.

His actions on Sunday weren't too out of character for him as he is always interrupted prior to performances and often attacks those who stop him from performing. He still was cheered by the crowd on Sunday.

Elias made his intentions clear on Raw after attacking Road Dogg and Jarrett.

On Raw, he removed all doubt of his turn back to the heel side when he criticized the audience for not cheering loud enough.

He also said he was going to stop singing songs for them and that he was going back to singing songs only for himself.

Ringsidenews.com noted that a 'babyface turn might not have been the best thing for him, so that is likely why he is a bad guy again.'

What's next?

Returning superstars are usually treated like faces at first, but it was still difficult to tell that Elias had turned heel again during the Royal Rumble and his interaction with Jarrett.

He didn't sound like a heel during his promo and smashing a guitar over someone's back is a part of his act regardless of heel/face dynamics.

It was easier to see the transition on Raw when he flat out dumped on the fans. His actions again solidified things when he attacked both Jarrett and Road Dogg.

Perhaps his initial turn was to add to the dwindling pool of faces on Raw with Reigns' departure and this is a return to the original plan. Will his turn back to the dark side net him a bigger match at WrestleMania?