Prior to joining WWE, Sciullo worked for various companies on the
independent circuit under the ring name Logan Shulo. He then joined WWE and was assigned to the
developmental brandNXT in 2014 under the ring name Elias Samson, which he portrayed as a musician who often used music to mock his opponents or the fans in attendance, and he was nicknamed "The Drifter". Shortly after joining the main roster in 2017, his ring name was shortened to Elias. In 2018, the album WWE: Walk with Elias was released by
WWE Music Group featuring Sciullo, which was followed by Universal Truth in 2020. After a hiatus starting in August 2021, Sciullo returned in April 2022, but as Elias' younger brother named Ezekiel. Later that year, Ezekiel was taken off television, and Sciullo returned as Elias until he was released from his contract in September 2023.
In early 2014, Sciullo was signed to a developmental deal by WWE under the ring name Elias Samson.[14] He made his NXT debut at the April 24, 2014, tapings, working as an
enhancement talent and teaming with
Buddy Murphy in a losing effort against
The Ascension. Samson was then used sporadically on television throughout 2014 and early 2015, mostly appearing as enhancement talent to wrestlers such as
Baron Corbin.
In August 2015, Samson debuted a new
drifter musician character in a match taped prior to
NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, approaching the ring with a guitar before defeating
Bull Dempsey, and established himself as a
heel at the same time. Samson then entered the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament, where he was paired with
Tucker Knight, but the two were eliminated from the tournament by
Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson. On the December 23 episode of NXT, taped before
NXT TakeOver: London, Samson defeated Bull Dempsey with a
diving elbow drop, which he would dub as a
finishing move onwards.[15] In the following weeks, Samson would rack up victories over various competitors such as
Steve Cutler and
Jesse Sorensen. On the March 23, 2016, episode of NXT, after he suffered a loss to
Johnny Gargano, Samson would attack him only to be fended off by
Apollo Crews. This led to a match between Samson and Crews that took place at
NXT TakeOver: Dallas, where Samson was defeated. Throughout the rest of the year, Samson would compete in different matches against competitors such as
Shinsuke Nakamura and
Finn Bálor, but he would be on the losing side.[16][17]
In what would be his final
feud in NXT, Samson faced
Kassius Ohno (whom he mocked after he had just lost an
NXT Championship match against
Bobby Roode) in the first ever
"loser leaves NXT" match that took place on the March 29, 2017, episode of NXT, where Samson was defeated.[18][unreliable source?] Just a week later, on the April 5 episode of NXT (which was taped as part of
NXT TakeOver: Orlando prior to the beginning of the event), Samson wrestled his final match on NXT as the masked "El Vagabundo" (Spanish for "The Vagabond"), where he lost to
Oney Lorcan, who unmasked him afterwards.[9]
Main roster beginnings (2017–2019)
On the April 10, 2017, episode of Raw, Samson made his main roster debut, appearing on the stage briefly during an
eight–man tag team match, as well as walking through the crowd during another match later that night.[19] Samson continued to appear in the background playing his guitar during backstage segments over the next few weeks.[20][21][22] In his in–ring debut match on the May 22 episode of Raw, Samson defeated
Dean Ambrose by disqualification after
The Miz intentionally attacked him.[23][24][25] In June, Samson started his first
feud as part of the main roster with
Finn Bálor, who interrupted him during one of his performances.[26][27][28] This led to a match between the two, where Samson defeated Bálor in a
No Disqualification match after interference from
Bray Wyatt.[29] In the end of July, WWE shortened his ring name to "Elias".[30][31]
On January 28, 2018, at the
Royal Rumble, Elias entered his first
Royal Rumble match at No. 6, lasting 26 minutes before being eliminated by
John Cena.[38] On the February 5, 2018 episode of Raw, Elias defeated
Braun Strowman and John Cena in a Triple Threat match.[39] Elias competed for the first time in an
Elimination Chamber match at the
namesake pay–per–view, where he entered last, but was the second participant eliminated by Braun Strowman.[40] Elias also appeared at
WrestleMania 34, where he was attacked by Cena.[41] Three weeks later, Elias competed at the
Greatest Royal Rumble event, where he entered at No. 20, lasting over 30 minutes and eliminating five wrestlers before being eliminated by
Bobby Lashley.[42][43][44][45][46] Shortly after, Elias started a feud with
Seth Rollins, whom he attacked with his guitar after interrupting his performance.[47] The two eventually faced off for the Intercontinental Championship at the
Money in the Bank, where Elias lost.[48]
In October, Elias turned
face for the first time in his career, as he attacked
Baron Corbin with his guitar.[49][50] Throughout November, Elias started a feud with Bobby Lashley, who would defeat him in different matches via count–out, disqualification or a distraction by his
managerLio Rush.[51][52][53][54] This led to a match at the
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs event, where Elias defeated Lashley in a
ladder match with a guitar hanging over the ring, after which Lashley would attack him with the guitar after the match.[55][56] The following night on Raw, Elias would gain revenge as he would attack Lashley with a guitar.[57] This sparked a
Miracle on 34th Street Fight between the two, in which Elias was victorious.[58]
At the
Royal Rumble on January 27, 2019, Elias entered the Royal Rumble match at entrant 1 and was prepared for a concert before being interrupted by
Jeff Jarrett, who proposed a duet. After seemingly accepting, Elias attacked Jarrett with his guitar. Afterwards, as the match officially began, Elias lasted fifteen minutes before being eliminated by the eventual winner Seth Rollins.[59] The following night on Raw, Elias turned heel after insulting the crowd, proclaiming that they disappointed him for lackluster reactions towards him, and was subsequently interrupted by Jeff Jarrett and
Road Dogg, who proceeded to sing "With My Baby Tonight" until Elias attacked both men, smashing a guitar over both Jarrett and Road Dogg.[60] On the February 4 episode of Raw, Elias defeated Jeff Jarrett, who wrestled in his first match on Raw since Jarrett left WWE after
No Mercy 1999. After the match, Jarrett smashed Elias with his guitar as payback for the previous week. Elias was attacked on both
WrestleMania 35 and the Raw after the event by
John Cena and
The Undertaker respectively during his musical performances.[61][62]
Various alliances and feuds (2019–2021)
During the
2019 WWE Superstar Shake-up, Elias was drafted to the SmackDown brand. Just before Elias was to have a musical performance, he was interrupted and attacked by
Roman Reigns who was also making his SmackDown debut.[63] The following week,
Shane McMahon challenged Reigns to a fight for attacking his father. Reigns came out and was attacked from behind by Elias, who assisted McMahon in beating up Reigns. Elias then challenged Reigns to a match at
Money in the Bank, and Reigns accepted. At the event, Elias was defeated by Reigns
in 8 seconds.[64] On the May 28 episode of SmackDown Live, Elias pinned
R-Truth with the help of McMahon and
Drew McIntyre, winning the
24/7 Championship, his first title in WWE. He lost the title in the same night against R-Truth, after a tag team match that also involved Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre. R-Truth pinned him after the match with the help of Roman Reigns.[65]
The following week at SmackDown Live he defeated again R-Truth in a
Lumberjack match for the 24/7 Championship, but in the same episode, while the lumberjacks brawled with each other, Truth pinned him under the ring ending his second reign.[66] Elias participated at the 51-Man Battle Royal at the
2019 Super Showdown but he was the last competitor eliminated by the eventual winner
Mansoor.[67] After this, Elias continued his alliance with Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre, helping them in various feuds and matches.[68] During the special episode
WWE Smackville, he was defeated by Shane's new rival
Kevin Owens.[69] On August 12, 2019, during the Raw episode post-SummerSlam, Elias pinned R-Truth in the backstage after hitting him with his guitar, regaining the 24/7 Title.[70]
One week later, at SmackDown, Elias participated in the King of the Ring tournament, defeating Kevin Owens during the first match thanks to the help of Shane, who made himself the special referee while the match was in progress and distracted the latter.[71] Elias then lost and regained the 24/7 title on August 23 during the
Fox Sports Founder's Day events in Los Angeles, ultimately pinning Fox Sports host
Rob Stone on the set of the Fox College Football pregame show immediately after Stone had pinned R-Truth (who had pinned Elias earlier in the day while Elias was doing a concert to kick off the Founder's Day festivities). On August 27 at SmackDown Live,
Drake Maverick defeated Elias for the title after the latter was attacked by
Kevin Owens. It was announced on September 10, 2019, that Elias was suffering from an ankle injury and was not able to compete in the
2019 King of the Ring semi-final match against
Chad Gable. After a two-month hiatus, He returned on November 29, 2019, edition of SmackDown making fun of Drake Maverick, turning face in the process. The next week, he cemented his face turn when he sang with Dana Brooke and attacked Maverick.
Elias participated in the
Royal Rumble match at the
namesake pay-per-view and entered at No. 2 but was eliminated by the
WWE ChampionBrock Lesnar. Elias would then begin a feud with
King Corbin defeating him at
Wrestlemania 36 at Night 1 of the event with a roll-up pin. On the May 15 episode of SmackDown, Elias defeated Corbin again during the first round of the tournament for the vacant Intercontinental Championship. On the May 29 episode of SmackDown, he was unable to continue the tournament when he suffered an injury caused, in storyline, by a car incident. In reality, Elias had suffered a torn pectoral muscle and required surgery rendering him out of action for 6–9 months.[72] As part of the
2020 Draft in October, Elias was drafted to the
Raw brand.[73] On the October 12 episode of Raw, he returned from injury and attacked
Jeff Hardy by bashing his guitar, turning heel once again.[74] At
Hell in a Cell, Elias defeated Hardy by disqualification after Hardy smashed him with his guitar. On the November 2 Raw, Elias was defeated by Hardy in a Guitar on a Pole match and a few weeks later would again be defeated in a Symphony of Destruction match, ending the feud.
In December 2020, Elias formed an alliance with
Jaxson Ryker.[75] At the
Royal Rumble, Elias would enter his fourth Rumble match at No. 13, eliminating
Carlito before being eliminated by
Damian Priest. At
Fastlane, Elias would replace
Shane McMahon in his match against
Braun Strowman, in which he was defeated. On the May 31, 2021 episode of Raw, after challenging
AJ Styles and
Omos for the
WWE Raw Tag Team Championship in a losing effort, Elias split up with Ryker. The two would briefly feud until the July 19 episode of Raw, where in a match between the two Ryker was victorious. In August, WWE aired vignettes where Elias burned his guitar, ending the musician character.[76]
Ezekiel's debut and return of Elias (2022–2023)
On the April 4, 2022 episode of Raw after
WrestleMania 38, Elias returned to WWE television as a
face, sporting a look consisting of a clean shaven face, shorter hair, and trunks, and claiming that he was Ezekiel, the younger brother of Elias.[77][78] In the following weeks on Raw, Ezekiel entered a feud with
Kevin Owens, who refused to believe Ezekiel was really Elias's brother, and thought he was actually Elias himself.[79] At
Hell in a Cell, Ezekiel lost to Owens.[80] On the June 20 episode of Raw, the two brothers "reunited" in a doctored backstage segment.[81][82][83] Later that night, Elias appeared to perform a concert, before being interrupted by Owens. Still refusing to believe that the brothers were different people, Owens challenged Ezekiel, Elias or their "even younger brother Elrod" to a match.[84][85] On the August 8 episode of Raw, Owens stretchered Ezekiel out of the arena after attacking him with an Apron Powerbomb, thus ending their feud.[86] On September 16, the Ezekiel gimmick was scrapped and Sciullo would revert back to his Elias gimmick.[87]
Elias then returned on the October 17 episode of Raw.[88] He went undrafted in the
2023 WWE Draft, and was released from his WWE contract on September 21, 2023.[89][90]
National Wrestling Alliance (2024–present)
On January 1, 2024, Sciullo posted a video on his
Twitter account to promote his new gimmick, named Elijah.[8] On February 18, 2024, Elijah wrestled his first match since leaving WWE at Wrestling Revolver in a losing effort against
Mike Bailey.[91]
Personal life
This section needs expansion. You can help by
adding to it. (July 2024)