Elias’ brother Ezekiel, a man who could arguably pass as Elias himself if he grew a beard, was able to do what few new stars have managed in sidestepping NXT.
The master of politely interrupting other people’s promos arrived on Money Night Raw after the night after WrestleMania 38. Officially, it’s considered the very first time we’ve ever seen him in a WWE ring.
During a recent interview with KTALnews, Ezekiel discussed NXT and his luck in getting hot-shotted to the main roster:
“I’m very blessed. I was able to skip the whole NXT process, get right to the main roster. I think I’m growing leaps and bounds, way more than I would anywhere else. I’m getting to mix it up with the top talent in the world on Monday Night Raw, every week, and sometimes SmackDown. That’s definitely where I want to be.”
Ezekiel has predominantly feuded with Kevin Owens since debuting. The first man to wrestle Stone Cold Steve Austin in 19 years was interrupted by Elias’ brother’s arrival, leading to the incredulous Owens refusing to believe the brothers were two separate entities.
For Owens, working with ‘The Rattlesnake’ on the grandest stage of them all was a dream come true. Ezekiel has his own potential dream opponents in mind for a future ‘Mania:
“I’d love to go one-on-one with my brother. I think that would be a dream match. Me and him, in front of the world, that would be incredible. On top of that, Shawn Michaels was always my favourite wrestler. That is a dream match for sure.”
Despite the brothers being seen together on screen, they are yet to appear together in the ring to completely put to bed the notion that they’re one and the same.
From introducing purported footage of Ezekiel meeting Shawn Michaels as a child, to putting the two together on the titantron, the star has gone all-in on his main roster run.
H/t to Fightful for the transcription.