Elijah Blasts WWE Creative Limits But Credits TNA for Letting Him Be Real

For years, Elijah played the same role in WWE—guitar in hand, catchphrase at the ready. But in a new interview on Busted Open Radio, he made it clear that the character fans saw wasn’t the full story. According to Elijah, WWE kept him boxed in, while TNA finally let him show a different side of himself.

When Bully Ray asked if TNA gave him more creative freedom than WWE ever did, Elijah said yes without hesitation.

“This is one of the things that I love to show — I love to show that I could go deep within the heart too.”

He explained the limitations of his WWE character.

“A lot of times in WWE, I was relegated to just: guitar, catchphrase, interrupt, beat down, thing. And hey — that was fun a lot of times.”

“Have you guys ever heard the story about the kid that got turned down four times from WWE and made it and had to fight through? You guys haven’t heard those things, and I get to express those now.”

With more control over his promos in TNA, Elijah says he’s finally able to connect with fans in a deeper way.

“I put out a promo last night where I said Trick is hype — he’s not heart. He doesn’t got it deep within. I do.”

“It doesn’t matter what character you’ve got me playing — it all starts in here anyway [points to heart], and that can’t be stopped.”

“I don’t think I’ve even scratched the surface of how deep and heavy — maybe even emotional — of promos I could lay out there. Because in the same way it goes deep within my heart, I want to pull at the hearts of people around the world too.”

Elijah was released by WWE in 2023 after several years of reinventing himself, most famously as Elias. Despite getting over with fans and having strong crowd reactions, WWE never pulled the trigger on a long-term push. His exit came quietly—no farewell segment, no final match. Just a name dropped from the internal roster as his contract expired. That silence only fueled his desire to speak louder than ever before.

Whether WWE ever brings him back for more than a cameo remains to be seen—but Elijah’s message is clear: there’s more to him than a song and punchline. He strummed the guitar, cracked the jokes, and played the part—but Elijah’s done playing nice. Now he’s writing his own verses, and WWE might be the one left listening.

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