WWE SuperStar, Elias, tells us why wrestling appeals to the young and old
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00:00You know, I gotta say, man, you know, people come, they let loose, they let go, they just
00:05enjoy the show, and nothing's more enjoyable than an Elias performance.
00:11WWE is in town, Monday Night Raw, and we want to welcome to our studio, the gentleman who
00:17will be there, ladies and gentlemen, Elias is with us this morning.
00:24Hello, I am Elias.
00:25Nice to see you, sir.
00:26Is this your intro music, or?
00:29No, so this was a song off of my debut EP album that came out, it was one of four songs
00:37that I released, it's called Walk With Me, went all the way up the charts on iTunes, beat
00:43out Taylor Swift, Post Malone, Panic at the Disco, the whole thing.
00:46That's just amazing.
00:47Yeah, it's pretty cool.
00:49Let's turn this up a little bit, hang on.
00:50But I know where you're gonna be, you're lost in this crazy world, searching for your destiny,
00:59Very bluesy and soulful, and kind of dark.
01:04That sums me up really well right there, man.
01:06Very Johnny Cash-esque, too.
01:08Very much so, absolutely.
01:09Wow.
01:09That's cool, but also it gives you an advantage, too, because you can smash guitars over people,
01:13too.
01:13It is.
01:14It's very nice to have that weapon with.
01:16Exactly.
01:16And this is you playing guitar as well?
01:18Yeah.
01:19It's actually a nice, oh, we don't have to get to it, but a cool guitar solo coming up
01:22that I also did, yeah.
01:24Yeah, it's all me.
01:25Hey, you know what?
01:26With that, and obviously, you know, wrestling is your trade.
01:29It's where you make your money, but you also want to have a music career.
01:33Are you careful with your hands when you're in the ring?
01:36Yeah, of course, man.
01:37I don't want anybody to target these things.
01:38You know what I'm saying?
01:39I make my money in the ring, but also with these.
01:42It's your cottage industry.
01:43Well, you know, you have Chris Jericho and Fozzy, you know?
01:46Yeah, sure.
01:47Yeah, yeah.
01:47I mean, this is not...
01:48You know, he's the singer, though.
01:49I don't think he plays any instruments.
01:51As far as I can tell, I don't think Chris Jericho plays any instruments, so...
01:54Right, right.
01:55But, I mean, they've got some good traction.
01:57It's not out of the realm of possibility.
02:00Yeah, no, Fozzy's doing great, man.
02:01All over the world, those guys.
02:02With the WWE, it's all about the marketing and the fans enjoying it
02:08and getting everybody out there to have a good time.
02:11You talk about the different people that come out.
02:12I was at a Raw event one time, and there was this woman,
02:16like, it seemed like in her 70s, going ape-ass.
02:20Like, I mean, the age range is astonishing who comes out to you,
02:26but who would you describe as the core Elias fan?
02:31Man, I mean, a core Elias fan is anybody that believes that WWE stands for
02:36Walk with Elias.
02:38There you go.
02:40That's all that matters to me, man.
02:41Walk with Elias.
02:41That's all that matters to me.
02:43And the world screams it at me every week when I tell them.
02:46So, you know, I've got to say, man, you know, people come.
02:49They let loose.
02:50They let go.
02:51They just enjoy the show.
02:53And nothing's more enjoyable than an Elias performance.
02:56How long have you been wrestling with the WWE now?
02:59So, I've been in the company for a little over four years,
03:02and I've been on Monday Night Raw for, I've got to say,
03:06maybe a year and a half now.
03:07Something about that.
03:08Is that when it steps up to the next level?
03:10Well, because, I mean, I assume there are certain levels of WWE.
03:13Absolutely, yeah.
03:14Monday Night Raw is the pinnacle of live television for WWE.
03:19You know, live TV every single week, millions around the world watching,
03:24tens of thousands in attendance, whatever it may be.
03:26It's amazing.
03:27How hard do you have to work as a performer to build a fan base?
03:31So, for me, it's been pretty natural progression from where I was in NXT,
03:38which was our kind of, you know, where you are right before Monday Night Raw,
03:42before SmackDown and stuff like that.
03:44So, I was starting to build something there,
03:46and then when I exploded onto Monday Night Raw,
03:49the world got to see kind of who I am and what it is,
03:51and you build, you know, an audience from that point on.
03:55So, for some people, it comes very natural.
03:57Others, it's very difficult.
03:59But that's all part of the game.
04:00Well, you wrestled the independent circuit for a while, right?
04:04Yeah, I was on the independents for a few years
04:06before I got scooped up by the WWE, probably about four years, yeah.
04:11Listen, what you do, you know, there's injuries are part of the deal.
04:15You know, I've been ringside, and his blood's not fake.
04:18You guys get, you know, you'll get your asses kicked sometimes.
04:21No, yeah.
04:22But, you know, there are people in place to make sure that you're taken care of.
04:26But how lawless and unchecked is the independent circuit,
04:32and, you know, when you're just working your way up?
04:34I mean, is it, I mean...
04:36Well, I mean, you're going to come across all different kinds of things,
04:39not only when it comes down to the performers.
04:41Yeah, yeah.
04:42You know, maybe not being as trained as they should be or things like that.
04:45That's what I'm thinking.
04:45Guys who don't know what they're doing can really, you know...
04:48But you've got rings and, you know, that might not be up to quality.
04:52Sure.
04:52The thing said, though, I mean, the level we're at, people get hurt, man.
04:57I mean, I could tell you, I myself, it just was a random situation in Nashville a few years ago.
05:03I had a guy come off the top rope, land on the side of my shin, and snap my tibia.
05:07You're a bit of a resonance, man, and not just the music, but you're an artist as well.
05:12Absolutely.
05:13Yeah, man, I do a little bit of it all.
05:16I play all different instruments.
05:17I wrestle.
05:18I paint, of course.
05:20I guess you're pulling up my instrument.
05:21It's pretty damn good, man.
05:22I found one.
05:23It's very Bob Ross-ish.
05:25Yes.
05:25I'm looking at one that's, which is beautiful, and Bob Ross kind of gets, you know, I guess
05:32chucked aside, but he did some wonderful things, I thought.
05:35And he was Muay Thai, Preston.
05:36I did not know that.
05:37Muay Thai?
05:37He fought the octagon, yeah, absolutely.
05:39I had no idea.
05:39Is this stuff that you do, do you have time to do this while you're on the road, or do
05:43you have to do that at home?
05:45No, no, no.
05:45So if I have any time at home, you know, yeah, and it is, it's Bob Ross, the same style as
05:51Bob Ross, which is the oil painting and things like that, which I love.
05:55And yeah, so that is if I have any kind of free time, it's just another creative outlet
06:00for me, but definitely not painting on the road.
06:03That would be nice.
06:04Well, dude, if you can smash a guitar over people, imagine you're bringing that little paint
06:07spatula that he would use, you just jab it in some of the throat, pain pressures and
06:13stuff, that'd be cool.
06:14I have to ask tonight, will Miss Rousey be part of the show?
06:19Rhonda Rousey will be in the house tonight, she'll be at Philly.
06:23I'm not sure what she's doing, she's got some issues going on with the Bella Twins after
06:26last week.
06:27It was sort of brutal.
06:29Called them a bunch of untrustworthy bitches, I think.
06:31I believe those were her words, exactly.
06:34It didn't sound good.
06:36I love her, I have such a crazy crush on her, it's ridiculous.
06:39Rhonda?
06:39Yeah.
06:40She's fantastic, man.
06:41She's come into WWE, she's lit the place on fire, and above all else, she walks with
06:46Elias, so I'm a big fan of hers.
06:47All right.
06:47And Elias, it seems that she did the right thing.
06:50You come in, she didn't come in like, well, I'm entitled, she earned the audience a bit
06:58and did her deal, correct?
06:59Well, you know, she's shown the world, you know, aside from her amazing background, she's
07:06shown them that she is passionate about what we do also.
07:10And if you could be real on TV, the fans, the people, they will see that, they will feel
07:17that, and they'll either connect to you or they won't, man.
07:21And I think she's just been real and she's been true to herself, and that's just a huge
07:25key in what we do.
07:26I have to ask, when it's all going down, when the production's on and, you know, the cameras
07:32are rolling, because there's cameras backstage as well and stuff like that, is it now such
07:37a machine that there's no, okay, here, here, go, go, go, or is there ever like you're running
07:42around like, you know, is it pandemonium, you know, behind the curtains there, you know,
07:47as you're putting on the whole show?
07:49I'm not sure what you're referring to.
07:51No, I mean, in other words, as you're getting everything ready, as you're doing the, you know,
07:54because there's a backstage area.
07:55You start, like, preparing for the show, right?
07:57Right, right, right, yeah.
07:58Oh, it's different every single time you show up, man, you know what I mean?
08:03It's just, it's a machine, and then it's the human element, you know what I mean?
08:08And they're coming together, and you've got to make a big show, so yeah, there's all
08:11kinds of stuff going on all the time.
08:12It's several hours long, so you guys, it's a long day of work for everybody, especially
08:16the crew, the people that puts all that stuff together and make sure that everything
08:19runs properly, but when you're waiting for your match, when you're backstage, wherever
08:23they have you guys set up, are you watching what's going on, or do you just wait until
08:27it's showtime?
08:28No, I'll be honest with you, man.
08:29I'll keep an eye on what's going on, but usually I'm in the back, I'm playing guitar, just kind
08:35of getting in my own mind as to whatever I got to do for my performance tonight.
08:39You know, sometimes I like to take a pre-performance nap if I can, get in the right mindset.
08:44Yeah, I knew I liked you.
08:46You know, sit teased to get my voice ready, you know, whatever it may be, I'm doing my
08:50own thing.
08:51Great to meet you.
08:51Thanks for coming by here.
08:52You got it.
08:53Have fun tonight.
08:54WWE Raw Tonight.