Elijah Reveals Triple H Immediately Killed Ezekiel Character When Taking Over WWE Creative

Former WWE star Elijah—previously known as Elias—has shed light on how the short-lived Ezekiel gimmick died before it ever got the chance to thrive. Now making waves in TNA, Elijah didn’t hold back during his Inside the Ropes appearance when discussing how WWE dropped the ball.

After going all-in on a brand new persona—shaving his trademark beard, switching gear, and fully committing to the “Ezekiel” character—Elijah hoped the company had a long-term plan. But that belief was shattered at his very first pay-per-view as Ezekiel.

“At the first pay-per-view, they wanted me to lose to Kevin. And I’m thinking, ‘Hey you guys, I switched everything. The crowd is very interested right now. Like, they want to see like what is this guy like? What is Ezekiel like?’ Right? And if I came out and beat Kevin Owens, that’s a big deal. You know, you beat Kevin Owens in your first match and stuff like that… Ultimately, they decided that Kevin would win, and I thought, ‘Ah crap, they don’t really have a plan for this, do they?’”

Despite the gimmick catching traction online, Elijah quickly realized WWE wasn’t willing to fully invest. Then, just as the act was finding its footing, Triple H took over creative—and wasted no time killing it.

“Essentially what happened was we’re running with Elias and Zeke, and Zeke’s doing some stuff, and Hunter came in. Now, Hunter took over. The very day he took over, he was like, ‘Hey, just so you know, I’m bringing Elias back.’ I’m like, ‘Okay, here we go.’ Right? It’s going to take some time to grow my beard back out. But if that’s what you want, boss, that’s what you get. And so they wrote Zeke off. He got slammed by Kevin. He got carted off in the hospital. That’s the end of the legend of Ezekiel.”

Just like that, Ezekiel was stretchered out on TV—never to be seen again. Elijah was sent home to grow his beard back and return to WWE programming as Elias, but the momentum had long since died out.

Now wrestling under his real name in TNA, Elijah is once again in control of his career—and making it clear that creative indecision won’t define his future.

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