Elias Discusses His Quick Jump From NXT to WWE

In less than three years, Elias went from NXT enhancement talent to a SuperStar that gets his own segment every episode of Raw. So why the rapid climb up WWE's ladder? Well to paraphrase Elias' own words: talent.

In an interview with Cultaholic, Elias revealed—with a heavy dose of kayfabe—why he was able to skip a long stint in NXT.

"I got called up quick, man. Seemed like it was the right time for me. That's all I can say. The reason? I think that's obvious now if you watch Monday Night Raw. The way people react and the way the world reacts to Elias. It's like 'we have him here in NXT, NXT is awesome, but let's have him on a global stage and let the world see what Elias has'. So to me, it's was an easy to decision to put Elias on Monday Night Raw," he said.

Elias guitar strumming gimmick took its first breath in 2015 at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn. Despite never sniffing the NXT Champiosnhip—a right a passage for many NXT graduates—Elias would make his WWE debut in April of 2017.

Like Alexa Bliss, Elias is proof that it may be better to arrive in WWE as an unheralded prospect. Names like Finn Balor, Asuka, and Sami Zayn have had a hard time establishing their NXT persona with WWE's audience. While pillars of WWE's Yellow Brand, those names cultivated a reliable character. But that success was never guaranteed to translate. Even more, if they stumbled it would make little sense for them to abandon something that's worked for multiple years. Perhaps more than anyone, Asuke understands this limbo.

However, Bliss and Elias have had their best moments as WWE superstars rather than NXT tadpoles. But in an effort to promote WWE 2k19, Elias returned WWE's Performance Center in Orlando, FL.

"It's interesting," Elias said. "This place was home to Elias for, geez, a few years. I've been through the ringer here and went through all the steps you could imagine in this place. It's very interesting to be back and Elias what he is. Just remembering."

It had been a while since Elias last set foot on WWE's training grounds, but he seemed to still hold it in reverence.

"I can't tell ya because I'm not in the day-to-day here," said Elias. "I don't know what it is, but the environment is so good here. The vibe among everybody is cool. All I can say is, they keep making it better and better. Better minds to mold this people, better rings, opportunities in the back there that I saw for people to work on content and create characters and things like that. So it's pretty cool."

[H/T Wrestling Inc.]