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Vince Russo believes WWE has misused Elias since his return to RAW as the Ezekiel character.
Elias disappeared from RAW in August 2021 after declaring that his guitar-playing persona was “dead.” Last month, he returned as the clean-shaven Ezekiel and claimed to be Elias’ younger brother.
Russo worked as WWE’s head writer during one of the company’s most successful periods in the late 1990s. Speaking to Sportskeeda Wrestling’s Dr. Chris Featherstone, he questioned why the RAW Superstar has been reintroduced to television this way.
“What a botch,” Russo said. “This guy, from day one, the first time I ever saw him on TV, had star written all over him, gets the business, understands the business, stays in incredible condition, can get a character over, he’s a student of the game, and what they’ve done to this guy is absolutely sinful.” [3:48-4:12]
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In the video above, Russo also discusses WWE’s handling of Alexa Bliss and addresses whether she should leave the company.
Vince Russo doubts WWE’s ability to produce Elias/Ezekiel segments
Over the last month, Ezekiel has referenced Elias in various segments on RAW. He even took a lie detector test to prove he is Elias’ storyline younger brother.
Russo believes WWE can improve the outlandish angle by creating split-screen conversations between Elias and Ezekiel. However, he does not think the company is capable of making the segments entertaining.
“If they knew what they were doing, you actually could pull off him being both characters,” Russo added. “You could actually pull it off… You bring in the right people, you could get the beard to look the same. You could put in hair extensions. You could literally tell a story with these two individuals. In editing, you could have them having a conversation.” [4:43-5:10]
The latest episode of RAW saw Kevin Owens dress as his “older brother” Ken in an attempt to make Ezekiel admit he is Elias. The segment ended with Owens joining forces with Chad Gable and Otis to attack Ezekiel.
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