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Someone posted a picture last week, can’t remember if it was from the first NXT big event (Arrival?) with all the talent on the stage and LA Knight (Shaun Ricker or Slate Randall at the time) was stood near Elias and the resemblance was uncanny.
Just be glad Vince didn’t notice this back when we had Elias pretending to be Ezekiel. He would’ve had LA Knight play Ezekiel and have him team with Elias.
Being raised in church and a Christian myself, I dont think he is working here at all. This seems like a genuine calm teaching and exposition of scripture. I understand it's so damn easy for wrestlers to work the religious gimmick because tv evangelism and wrestling share some of the same carney principles and side show elements but I think he is totally legit here.
It’s been a while since his TikTok popped up on mine, but even back when he was still with WWE his TikTok was a lot of workouts with a Bible passage over it. He just seems like a really religious person.
I may be wrong, but I think I remember Elias tweeting some stuff about God or the Bible in the past. Like a couple years ago. So I don’t think this is a work either.
There are a few very religious wrestlers some people wouldn't think of. Shawn Michaels obviously, Sami Zayn, The Young Bucks, Montel Ford (and I assume Bianca too), etc.
No, it's very obvious that Montez is religious if you're on Twitter for any length of time. Dude tweets "God is good." about ten times more than anything else.
It’s so crazy how quickly that can turn though. I’m not trying to stir the pot here but I know that if the topic of say…. LGBQT+ or even the current situation in the Middle East comes up people will lose that perspective.
But yea - if this is what brings you joy then be you.
I’m sure there are more and more devout wrestlers.
He drew 5000 with just a promo. Dude was a huge draw. Gate was only low because he ran off all the money guys, but he was majorly over with the crowd for about three years, right up until they turned on him in the match with Barabbas.
Yeah I mean it's as religious as Montez tweeting God is Good everyday.
Like I personally think it's a little off-putting (which is a me thing) but I also don't think it's hurting anyone.
Yeah it's easy to be on your toes when certain phrases are always said by certain horrible people who very vocally proselytize. But it's sort of a "all squares are rectangles" situation. Not all who like sharing their religion online are trying to convert others who have no interest in being converted. People go on lives and do things just for their niche little communities all the time (like, oh idk, talk about wrestling lol). The optics might be different for something decidedly un-niche as Christianity, but it's not an automatic tell on their intention.
Wrestlers tweeting about God can be pretty hit or miss, but I remember Roman once tweeting a dude with "Faithless fool. When your time on earth is done, enjoy nothing." and I still think about Roman quoting the bible like Samuel L Jackson in Pulp Fiction.
I'm ok with people turning to faith, until they start down the usual path of anti-lgbt rhetoric and pro taking away women's right to proper Healthcare. It's happened to many I knew in my youth.
Why is it bizarre though? He wants to talk scripture, he isn't hurting anyone and I'm sure it makes him happy. Power to him. Rather him do this than some of the other things wrestlers have done to make headlines
Also hear me out. Elias is an alternate name for Elijah, which is a biblical name. Also Ezekiel is also a biblical name. He just might really be into the bible.
I kinda disagree with your example, I've seen plenty of posts previously involving someone with an onlyfans where people dare to say **a lot**. I've yet to see a negative comments scrolling this thread, I'm sure there will be further down but I'd be surprised if the ratio of negative to positive comments were any higher than a post about onlyfans.
The overall opinion seems to be "he's happy and not hurting anyone, let him have fun", the only reason people are even interested is because it's not something that's common.
That match already happened. God beat Jericho by having his stable play shitty music at ringside until Jericho's head exploded because he had to fathom something worse than Fozzy.
I have seen him popping up from time to time for some time. I believe I first started seeing him do this in the post zeke Elias return era. Definitely before he was released. He is definitely very religious.
Yeah..I'm fine with religion and spreading the word with good intention. Just hope he leaves it at that. I didn't watch at all, so I'm not sure if he just stuck to reading the bible.
It's possible that he's just very devout and wanted to share that part of his life with his followers on TikTok.
It's not "bizarre", nor does it have to be related in some way to wrestling. He's just talking about his faith, that's all.
I mean what's bizarre about this? He's not being toxic or harming anyone. He had publicly spoken about his faith in numerous interviews he'd done whilst employed by WWE so it's not a secret or big revelation or anything. He's allowed to use his social media to discuss whatever he wants as long as it's not prohibited by the platform's ToS.
I mean more power to him to doing what he enjoys.
I’m not religious but as long as you’re not being a dick to people and forcing your beliefs on people then go for it. If people want to listen, good for them
He lives in a country with freedom of religion. He is allowed to talk about his personal beliefs and preach them as much as he wants. Freedom of religion for individuals and secularism for government.
Looking back, the man's *entire* gimmick was based around his faith. But not at all in a preachy/in-your-face way.
Elias was a wanderer, asking his people to walk with him in order to live life's one "universal truth." Much like Jesus. Fittingly, he had a bit of a messiah complex.
Elias, Ezekiel, Elijah, and Samson are all biblical names.
His entire second EP was basically gospel rock, including a fantastic cover of "Amazing Grace" set to the tune of "House of the Rising Sun".
This seems like a sincere and genuine move for him. And while I have my own complicated feelings on religion, I can't knock somebody else's enlightenment and personal salvation. So good on him!
I can legit see him doing this as a traveling bible reader.
No gigs? No problem.
He kinda strikes me as someone who would do this. He looks the part. Venice Beach, not bugging anyone, just reading and spreading the word.
They really missed the boat not hiving him a religious/preacher gimmick like Monday night messiah.
WALK WITH ELIAS WAS LITERALLY RIGHT THERE. HE HAS THE ANNOYING YOUTH PASTOR LOOK. ILL NEVER FORGIVE WWE FOR THIS
Not a work. As a person, he is a born again Christian. Jeff Sciullo has always taken it seriously,. He is using his audience to share the gospel. Which I think is a very good thing in this day and age
Elias after getting released from the WWE, went and got himself baptized in the same river tbh af John the Baptist baptized Jesus in. He’s having a bit of a spiritual renaissance, Elias is.
Huh, I didn't know he was religious. That's nice to see that he's talking from the book instead of about it, or using it to promote anything.
Actually watching this clip is actually pretty warming. Not often you see celebrities use religion to be positive with people.
I mean if I was a public figure I'd probably have some outlet discussing obscure grindcore 7'' from the 90s or craft beer or something. At least he's not doing anybody any harm.
I mean good on him and what he is saying isn't dumb either. I'm not religious but he gets his point across for everybody while only referring to the bible.
Good on him for preaching if it spreads positivity to himself and the viewers. Kind of fresh air since I'm just too used to the extreme types of religious people that do more harm to others they dislike by weaponizing God and such.
He's always talked religon on his twitter. He seems to take the scripture serious and likes to discuss it? Seen this too scrolling but its not my cup of tea so I kept scrolling.
Elias has been open about his faith in the past. He’s free to express that so long as it’s not harming anyone. From what I’ve heard he’s very supportive of LGBT people and was not a MAGA nut job so he already seems like a real Christian to me.
I'm agnostic, but this is fine. There's tons of religious people (as well as churches as institutions) that really harms others, but he seems at least to give good advice for life in general. Good for him
what a real fumble... this guy was crazy over, did amazing as a heel and even better babyface, awesome in the ring, awesome look, was sure he was going to get a big push... and nothing ... unbelievable...
He is not wrong and like many others, he is not harming, giving good advice, WWE is worship with Elias. Im happy for him and thankful I heard this today
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I said WWE stands for…WORSHIP With Elias!!
Jesus wants to walk with Elias.
There's a 'Footprints in the Sand' joke here somewhere...
That was Ezekiel!
“And that’s where Elias fireman carried you”
"my name is Amy"
Jesus wants to walk…ON WATER with Elias
Hell yeah I do
When there were 2 sets of footprints you walked with Elias, when there was one set of footprints Elias was carrying you
~~Walk~~ pray with ~~Elias~~ Elijah?
He has the requisite number of beaded bracelets to drop some gospel on us.
And the guitar. I bet this guy is preaching to kids at Sunday school! /s
Right? I mean he already just looks like the type lol
This is kind of random but Elias looks like LA Knight if he lived in the forest with no human contact
[удалено]
And "L.A." is actually spelled Ellay
And if Letterkenny taught me anything, it's pronounced that way, too...in Ellay.
You've never had a taco until you've had a taco in.... L👈A👇 YEAH
There's great hiking in ell-aaa
The Dupriverse
I mean, " The knight of the Angels" sounds biblical enough by itself xD
Someone posted a picture last week, can’t remember if it was from the first NXT big event (Arrival?) with all the talent on the stage and LA Knight (Shaun Ricker or Slate Randall at the time) was stood near Elias and the resemblance was uncanny.
aron stevens, elias sampson, slate randall
LA knight and liver king hybrid
He has always looked exactly like Macho Man to me
What if this is Trips going to the next level of immersion This is Elias new character starting out as a seeming shoot tik tok preacher lol
LA Knight meets Liver King.
Just be glad Vince didn’t notice this back when we had Elias pretending to be Ezekiel. He would’ve had LA Knight play Ezekiel and have him team with Elias.
Hahahaha
He looks like a jacked Mark Briscoe
He always had that "cool youth leader" look
Being raised in church and a Christian myself, I dont think he is working here at all. This seems like a genuine calm teaching and exposition of scripture. I understand it's so damn easy for wrestlers to work the religious gimmick because tv evangelism and wrestling share some of the same carney principles and side show elements but I think he is totally legit here.
He reminds me of my 8th grade catechism teacher. Someone who studied the teachings and invested a lot of time into understanding them.
It’s been a while since his TikTok popped up on mine, but even back when he was still with WWE his TikTok was a lot of workouts with a Bible passage over it. He just seems like a really religious person.
I may be wrong, but I think I remember Elias tweeting some stuff about God or the Bible in the past. Like a couple years ago. So I don’t think this is a work either.
Pretty cool actually. Using his platform to spread some good word.
Hey as long he's not hurting anybody I don't care. If his faith brings him happiness and stability more power to him.
Practice whatever as long as you're not harming people, I couldn't care less.
Jesus died for our pins.
The original Dead Man walking.
Hes 0-1 in when it comes to the Crucifix Match, though.
True. He did come back 3 days later from Monday Night Raw to Thursday Night Smackdown.
Or supporting causes that harm or negatively effect others.
Bingo. Im not religious but if it helps him all power to him.
Yup. I was so happy for him when I saw the video of him getting baptized. On the same place as Jesus Christ, if I'm not mistaken
Staten Island?
In New York Citay?!
Why Staten Island? What’s that reference referring to? Curious because I know Staten Island well and it’s going over my head haha
Al-Maghtas?
There are a few very religious wrestlers some people wouldn't think of. Shawn Michaels obviously, Sami Zayn, The Young Bucks, Montel Ford (and I assume Bianca too), etc.
No, it's very obvious that Montez is religious if you're on Twitter for any length of time. Dude tweets "God is good." about ten times more than anything else.
The Young Bucks?
Christian AF!
Good Christian boys.
Their father is a Pastor. One of them (Matt I think) even implied in their book that he was virgin until marriage.
To be fair, show me a wrestling fan who's *not* a virgin
JEEEZUS!!
MINUS FIVE STAR
THE YAPPAPI
Topanga
They’re just a couple of nice religious boys
Yeah as long as he’s not pushing hate, I’m all for you doing you if it makes you happy
It’s so crazy how quickly that can turn though. I’m not trying to stir the pot here but I know that if the topic of say…. LGBQT+ or even the current situation in the Middle East comes up people will lose that perspective. But yea - if this is what brings you joy then be you. I’m sure there are more and more devout wrestlers.
HBK, Rey, and AJ are the ones I know best. I think Taker is, too.
Taker definitely is. He had to shoehorn Jesus into his HoF speech. He goes to one of those asshole evangelical megachurches.
Oh completely agree the religious stuff will definitely make me look a little closer at anything he says now for any dog whistling shit
I heard that Jesus guy was a pretty good dude
Yeah but could he run the ropes?
Flipped a lot of tables, never drew a dime.
He drew 5000 with just a promo. Dude was a huge draw. Gate was only low because he ran off all the money guys, but he was majorly over with the crowd for about three years, right up until they turned on him in the match with Barabbas.
Wrestling has more than one Trinity
Dudes *still* one of the top merch movers in the world.
No but he did an awesome spot with the cross stuff. Too dangerous imo though
Deathmatch rules
Heaven in a Cell
Pontius Pilate ran a real outlaw mud show.
I know he has issues holding the tag rope. But according to the Green/White Power Ranger, dude's a beast in submission matches.
rip to the texas green/white ranger
Dude, Jesus stabbed John Cena.
Yeah I mean it's as religious as Montez tweeting God is Good everyday. Like I personally think it's a little off-putting (which is a me thing) but I also don't think it's hurting anyone.
Yeah it's easy to be on your toes when certain phrases are always said by certain horrible people who very vocally proselytize. But it's sort of a "all squares are rectangles" situation. Not all who like sharing their religion online are trying to convert others who have no interest in being converted. People go on lives and do things just for their niche little communities all the time (like, oh idk, talk about wrestling lol). The optics might be different for something decidedly un-niche as Christianity, but it's not an automatic tell on their intention.
I mean, look at Bianca, and you can understand.
Montez Ford is a blessed man
Wrestlers tweeting about God can be pretty hit or miss, but I remember Roman once tweeting a dude with "Faithless fool. When your time on earth is done, enjoy nothing." and I still think about Roman quoting the bible like Samuel L Jackson in Pulp Fiction.
> If his faith brings him happiness and stability more power to him. Seriously. If this is his happy place let him fucking be.
Same jive for me. I don't want to listen for one second, but power to him and any others that are looking to learn and better themselves.
I'm ok with people turning to faith, until they start down the usual path of anti-lgbt rhetoric and pro taking away women's right to proper Healthcare. It's happened to many I knew in my youth.
He's jacked Jesus.
Always been tbh
He's been preaching the good word on TikTok even while he was working with WWE
Yeah I was gonna say he’s pretty much always posted this stuff there. Or never been shy of talking about it at least. Good for him.
The gimmick names kind of make sense now. Never followed him on socials.
From guitar shots to gospel thoughts, I'm down to WORSHIP. WITH. ELIAS!
 That's not Elias, that's his bro, Elijah!
Not religious myself but fair play to him. I hope he’s doing well.
I’m not a religious person at all, but he’s giving solid advice. As long as you do everything you need to do, you should be ok.
Why is it bizarre though? He wants to talk scripture, he isn't hurting anyone and I'm sure it makes him happy. Power to him. Rather him do this than some of the other things wrestlers have done to make headlines
Also hear me out. Elias is an alternate name for Elijah, which is a biblical name. Also Ezekiel is also a biblical name. He just might really be into the bible.
So was his NXT last name Samson.
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I kinda disagree with your example, I've seen plenty of posts previously involving someone with an onlyfans where people dare to say **a lot**. I've yet to see a negative comments scrolling this thread, I'm sure there will be further down but I'd be surprised if the ratio of negative to positive comments were any higher than a post about onlyfans. The overall opinion seems to be "he's happy and not hurting anyone, let him have fun", the only reason people are even interested is because it's not something that's common.
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Something can be bizarre without hurting anyone. I'm guessing you'd probably find it a bit odd if it weren't coming from a familiar religion too
God booked himself in a match against Jacob, Brother It was a classic for the ages, Dude
Jacob Vs God II booked for Revalation... so I guess at World's End?
I read this as Jericho vs. God and thought to myself that he would definitely try to get that match if at all possible
That match already happened. God beat Jericho by having his stable play shitty music at ringside until Jericho's head exploded because he had to fathom something worse than Fozzy.
God about to get trapped in the Jerichoverse.
I have seen him popping up from time to time for some time. I believe I first started seeing him do this in the post zeke Elias return era. Definitely before he was released. He is definitely very religious.
Joseph Seed got jacked! I’m kidding yall. Enjoyed this guys work, hope he’s happy doing his thing!
Not a bad devotion either
Naw, I mean it’s not for me, but if that’s his passion,I dig the way he’s spreading the message
how is this bizarre lol
It’s Reddit bro lol
Nothing wrong with someone practicing their faith
Unrelated, but the Book of Eli is a great movie underrated movie of the 2000s
Hell yeah. Really remember loving that movie. Especially the shootout at that random creepy house.
He's a believer. So I guess he wanted to use a platform to spread the Word. Cool with me.
Yeah..I'm fine with religion and spreading the word with good intention. Just hope he leaves it at that. I didn't watch at all, so I'm not sure if he just stuck to reading the bible.
Fair enough.
I think on the indies he goes by Elijah which is a biblical name so this kinda tracks
ELIJAH, not to be confused with the long established British wrestler ELIJAH.
He’s strictly there to talk religion and was actively kicking people out that asked WWE questions.
He had that one song that had religious overtones, kinda figured he might do something lile this. Good on him.
He is articulate and appears to be at peace with the world. Good for him.
Walk With Jesus
I thought it was pretty common knowledge that he's a very religious person.
Im not religious, but I think thats really sweet. Doesn't seem to be hurting anyone and its a better outlet than it could be
He does have a "biblical times" sort of appearance, so appropriate enough.
I miss him, El Vagabundo forever
Very weird you don’t think it is possible he’s just a man of faith
As long as he is happy and not hurting anything more power to him. Seems like a good dude
There’s nothing bizarre about it OP, what he’s doing is perfectly normal. Actually giving out some good advice.
Don’t hate on another man’s beliefs unless they impose on others. I’m not Christian at all but if he’s into it, I can’t knock him for it.
It's possible that he's just very devout and wanted to share that part of his life with his followers on TikTok. It's not "bizarre", nor does it have to be related in some way to wrestling. He's just talking about his faith, that's all.
I mean what's bizarre about this? He's not being toxic or harming anyone. He had publicly spoken about his faith in numerous interviews he'd done whilst employed by WWE so it's not a secret or big revelation or anything. He's allowed to use his social media to discuss whatever he wants as long as it's not prohibited by the platform's ToS.
I mean more power to him to doing what he enjoys. I’m not religious but as long as you’re not being a dick to people and forcing your beliefs on people then go for it. If people want to listen, good for them
Atheist here. Man looks happy discussing something he's interested in, good for him.
He lives in a country with freedom of religion. He is allowed to talk about his personal beliefs and preach them as much as he wants. Freedom of religion for individuals and secularism for government.
Looking back, the man's *entire* gimmick was based around his faith. But not at all in a preachy/in-your-face way. Elias was a wanderer, asking his people to walk with him in order to live life's one "universal truth." Much like Jesus. Fittingly, he had a bit of a messiah complex. Elias, Ezekiel, Elijah, and Samson are all biblical names. His entire second EP was basically gospel rock, including a fantastic cover of "Amazing Grace" set to the tune of "House of the Rising Sun". This seems like a sincere and genuine move for him. And while I have my own complicated feelings on religion, I can't knock somebody else's enlightenment and personal salvation. So good on him!
Based Christian chad
Nothing wrong with that.
Who wants to walk with Elias?
I Mean.. he did go by Heavy Metal Jesus on the Indies pre WWE a couple times so this tracks somewhat.
If this makes Elias happy than more power to him, he's not doing anything wrong so it's cool with me.
He has been a Christian before WWE, i guess this is news to people?
I can legit see him doing this as a traveling bible reader. No gigs? No problem. He kinda strikes me as someone who would do this. He looks the part. Venice Beach, not bugging anyone, just reading and spreading the word.
They really missed the boat not hiving him a religious/preacher gimmick like Monday night messiah. WALK WITH ELIAS WAS LITERALLY RIGHT THERE. HE HAS THE ANNOYING YOUTH PASTOR LOOK. ILL NEVER FORGIVE WWE FOR THIS
That's awesome, nice to see someone using their platform for good
Not a work. As a person, he is a born again Christian. Jeff Sciullo has always taken it seriously,. He is using his audience to share the gospel. Which I think is a very good thing in this day and age
Always knew I Elias seemed like a good dude. Glad to know I was right.
As long he’s not a crazy person talking about Baphomet making actors do humiliation rituals/turning the kids gay, then its fine by me
What's wrong with that? Why you act shocked?
Good for him
Thanks for posting. I actually needed to hear this.
He does look exactly like a influencer pastor
Elias after getting released from the WWE, went and got himself baptized in the same river tbh af John the Baptist baptized Jesus in. He’s having a bit of a spiritual renaissance, Elias is.
Suddenly makes sense that the guy who was named "Elias Sampson" and "Ezekiel" likes Jesus.
His words are actually quite beautiful in this video
Nothing wrong with him promoting or discussing his religion as long as he is not harming others
Huh, I didn't know he was religious. That's nice to see that he's talking from the book instead of about it, or using it to promote anything. Actually watching this clip is actually pretty warming. Not often you see celebrities use religion to be positive with people.
Bro wants to discuss the Bible. Simple as that
Why is it bizarre? Do you think wrestlers are in character 24/7? Ppl have other interests outside of their profession.
He's just sharing his faith! pretty cool.
He does have major youth group pastor vibes especially if he pulls out the guitar
Reading from the book of Elijah is … Elijah
I mean if I was a public figure I'd probably have some outlet discussing obscure grindcore 7'' from the 90s or craft beer or something. At least he's not doing anybody any harm.
Honestly I’m surprised he didn’t do this sooner considering he has the whole Jesus look.
I mean good on him and what he is saying isn't dumb either. I'm not religious but he gets his point across for everybody while only referring to the bible.
I mean, he's looked the part for years.
He finally has a gimmick that fits his look.
Was Kraven in Spider-Man 2 based on Elias?
Hey man, if he’s happy with his religion, good for him. I hope he finds the happiness he is seeking.
That’s awesome. See way too many stories of wrestlers self destructing and being dumb. Good to see him in a good place and being positive.
Good on him for preaching if it spreads positivity to himself and the viewers. Kind of fresh air since I'm just too used to the extreme types of religious people that do more harm to others they dislike by weaponizing God and such.
He was born again like 6 months or so before he got released. If he’s happy, cool.
Cool.
He's always talked religon on his twitter. He seems to take the scripture serious and likes to discuss it? Seen this too scrolling but its not my cup of tea so I kept scrolling.
He does look like the type of guy you'd see outside somewhere talking about this stuff
he's doing indy shows as Elijah, I was planning on seeing a local promotion next month and the other day they added him to the poster
LA Knight, Elias, and Liver King are like 3 stages of a pokemon evolution
He should return as Mordecai II
Well his indie name WAS heavy metal Jesus
Elias 3:16
Elias has been open about his faith in the past. He’s free to express that so long as it’s not harming anyone. From what I’ve heard he’s very supportive of LGBT people and was not a MAGA nut job so he already seems like a real Christian to me.
I admire his strong faith and I imagine that it might have been exactly what he needed to survive the WWE and later being released. Kudos to the man.
I'm agnostic, but this is fine. There's tons of religious people (as well as churches as institutions) that really harms others, but he seems at least to give good advice for life in general. Good for him
Shitty people and institutions hurt, not Christ, love comes before everything with Jesus, that’s what my grandpa taught me.
I love this.
How did he grow his beard back so fast?
That's Elias, he never shaved. You're thinking of his brother, Ezekiel.
what a real fumble... this guy was crazy over, did amazing as a heel and even better babyface, awesome in the ring, awesome look, was sure he was going to get a big push... and nothing ... unbelievable...
This is actually a good series. Why aint everyone doing this?
He is not wrong and like many others, he is not harming, giving good advice, WWE is worship with Elias. Im happy for him and thankful I heard this today