Elias

Beasley Digital

WWE SuperStar, Elias, tells us why wrestling appeals to the young and old

Transcript

00:00You know, I gotta say, man, you know, people come, they let loose, they let go, they just

00:05enjoy the show, and nothing's more enjoyable than an Elias performance.

00:11WWE is in town, Monday Night Raw, and we want to welcome to our studio, the gentleman who

00:17will be there, ladies and gentlemen, Elias is with us this morning.

00:24Hello, I am Elias.

00:25Nice to see you, sir.

00:26Is this your intro music, or?

00:29No, so this was a song off of my debut EP album that came out, it was one of four songs

00:37that I released, it's called Walk With Me, went all the way up the charts on iTunes, beat

00:43out Taylor Swift, Post Malone, Panic at the Disco, the whole thing.

00:46That's just amazing.

00:47Yeah, it's pretty cool.

00:49Let's turn this up a little bit, hang on.

00:50But I know where you're gonna be, you're lost in this crazy world, searching for your destiny,

00:59Very bluesy and soulful, and kind of dark.

01:04That sums me up really well right there, man.

01:06Very Johnny Cash-esque, too.

01:08Very much so, absolutely.

01:09Wow.

01:09That's cool, but also it gives you an advantage, too, because you can smash guitars over people,

01:13too.

01:13It is.

01:14It's very nice to have that weapon with.

01:16Exactly.

01:16And this is you playing guitar as well?

01:18Yeah.

01:19It's actually a nice, oh, we don't have to get to it, but a cool guitar solo coming up

01:22that I also did, yeah.

01:24Yeah, it's all me.

01:25Hey, you know what?

01:26With that, and obviously, you know, wrestling is your trade.

01:29It's where you make your money, but you also want to have a music career.

01:33Are you careful with your hands when you're in the ring?

01:36Yeah, of course, man.

01:37I don't want anybody to target these things.

01:38You know what I'm saying?

01:39I make my money in the ring, but also with these.

01:42It's your cottage industry.

01:43Well, you know, you have Chris Jericho and Fozzy, you know?

01:46Yeah, sure.

01:47Yeah, yeah.

01:47I mean, this is not...

01:48You know, he's the singer, though.

01:49I don't think he plays any instruments.

01:51As far as I can tell, I don't think Chris Jericho plays any instruments, so...

01:54Right, right.

01:55But, I mean, they've got some good traction.

01:57It's not out of the realm of possibility.

02:00Yeah, no, Fozzy's doing great, man.

02:01All over the world, those guys.

02:02With the WWE, it's all about the marketing and the fans enjoying it

02:08and getting everybody out there to have a good time.

02:11You talk about the different people that come out.

02:12I was at a Raw event one time, and there was this woman,

02:16like, it seemed like in her 70s, going ape-ass.

02:20Like, I mean, the age range is astonishing who comes out to you,

02:26but who would you describe as the core Elias fan?

02:31Man, I mean, a core Elias fan is anybody that believes that WWE stands for

02:36Walk with Elias.

02:38There you go.

02:40That's all that matters to me, man.

02:41Walk with Elias.

02:41That's all that matters to me.

02:43And the world screams it at me every week when I tell them.

02:46So, you know, I've got to say, man, you know, people come.

02:49They let loose.

02:50They let go.

02:51They just enjoy the show.

02:53And nothing's more enjoyable than an Elias performance.

02:56How long have you been wrestling with the WWE now?

02:59So, I've been in the company for a little over four years,

03:02and I've been on Monday Night Raw for, I've got to say,

03:06maybe a year and a half now.

03:07Something about that.

03:08Is that when it steps up to the next level?

03:10Well, because, I mean, I assume there are certain levels of WWE.

03:13Absolutely, yeah.

03:14Monday Night Raw is the pinnacle of live television for WWE.

03:19You know, live TV every single week, millions around the world watching,

03:24tens of thousands in attendance, whatever it may be.

03:26It's amazing.

03:27How hard do you have to work as a performer to build a fan base?

03:31So, for me, it's been pretty natural progression from where I was in NXT,

03:38which was our kind of, you know, where you are right before Monday Night Raw,

03:42before SmackDown and stuff like that.

03:44So, I was starting to build something there,

03:46and then when I exploded onto Monday Night Raw,

03:49the world got to see kind of who I am and what it is,

03:51and you build, you know, an audience from that point on.

03:55So, for some people, it comes very natural.

03:57Others, it's very difficult.

03:59But that's all part of the game.

04:00Well, you wrestled the independent circuit for a while, right?

04:04Yeah, I was on the independents for a few years

04:06before I got scooped up by the WWE, probably about four years, yeah.

04:11Listen, what you do, you know, there's injuries are part of the deal.

04:15You know, I've been ringside, and his blood's not fake.

04:18You guys get, you know, you'll get your asses kicked sometimes.

04:21No, yeah.

04:22But, you know, there are people in place to make sure that you're taken care of.

04:26But how lawless and unchecked is the independent circuit,

04:32and, you know, when you're just working your way up?

04:34I mean, is it, I mean...

04:36Well, I mean, you're going to come across all different kinds of things,

04:39not only when it comes down to the performers.

04:41Yeah, yeah.

04:42You know, maybe not being as trained as they should be or things like that.

04:45That's what I'm thinking.

04:45Guys who don't know what they're doing can really, you know...

04:48But you've got rings and, you know, that might not be up to quality.

04:52Sure.

04:52The thing said, though, I mean, the level we're at, people get hurt, man.

04:57I mean, I could tell you, I myself, it just was a random situation in Nashville a few years ago.

05:03I had a guy come off the top rope, land on the side of my shin, and snap my tibia.

05:07You're a bit of a resonance, man, and not just the music, but you're an artist as well.

05:12Absolutely.

05:13Yeah, man, I do a little bit of it all.

05:16I play all different instruments.

05:17I wrestle.

05:18I paint, of course.

05:20I guess you're pulling up my instrument.

05:21It's pretty damn good, man.

05:22I found one.

05:23It's very Bob Ross-ish.

05:25Yes.

05:25I'm looking at one that's, which is beautiful, and Bob Ross kind of gets, you know, I guess

05:32chucked aside, but he did some wonderful things, I thought.

05:35And he was Muay Thai, Preston.

05:36I did not know that.

05:37Muay Thai?

05:37He fought the octagon, yeah, absolutely.

05:39I had no idea.

05:39Is this stuff that you do, do you have time to do this while you're on the road, or do

05:43you have to do that at home?

05:45No, no, no.

05:45So if I have any time at home, you know, yeah, and it is, it's Bob Ross, the same style as

05:51Bob Ross, which is the oil painting and things like that, which I love.

05:55And yeah, so that is if I have any kind of free time, it's just another creative outlet

06:00for me, but definitely not painting on the road.

06:03That would be nice.

06:04Well, dude, if you can smash a guitar over people, imagine you're bringing that little paint

06:07spatula that he would use, you just jab it in some of the throat, pain pressures and

06:13stuff, that'd be cool.

06:14I have to ask tonight, will Miss Rousey be part of the show?

06:19Rhonda Rousey will be in the house tonight, she'll be at Philly.

06:23I'm not sure what she's doing, she's got some issues going on with the Bella Twins after

06:26last week.

06:27It was sort of brutal.

06:29Called them a bunch of untrustworthy bitches, I think.

06:31I believe those were her words, exactly.

06:34It didn't sound good.

06:36I love her, I have such a crazy crush on her, it's ridiculous.

06:39Rhonda?

06:39Yeah.

06:40She's fantastic, man.

06:41She's come into WWE, she's lit the place on fire, and above all else, she walks with

06:46Elias, so I'm a big fan of hers.

06:47All right.

06:47And Elias, it seems that she did the right thing.

06:50You come in, she didn't come in like, well, I'm entitled, she earned the audience a bit

06:58and did her deal, correct?

06:59Well, you know, she's shown the world, you know, aside from her amazing background, she's

07:06shown them that she is passionate about what we do also.

07:10And if you could be real on TV, the fans, the people, they will see that, they will feel

07:17that, and they'll either connect to you or they won't, man.

07:21And I think she's just been real and she's been true to herself, and that's just a huge

07:25key in what we do.

07:26I have to ask, when it's all going down, when the production's on and, you know, the cameras

07:32are rolling, because there's cameras backstage as well and stuff like that, is it now such

07:37a machine that there's no, okay, here, here, go, go, go, or is there ever like you're running

07:42around like, you know, is it pandemonium, you know, behind the curtains there, you know,

07:47as you're putting on the whole show?

07:49I'm not sure what you're referring to.

07:51No, I mean, in other words, as you're getting everything ready, as you're doing the, you know,

07:54because there's a backstage area.

07:55You start, like, preparing for the show, right?

07:57Right, right, right, yeah.

07:58Oh, it's different every single time you show up, man, you know what I mean?

08:03It's just, it's a machine, and then it's the human element, you know what I mean?

08:08And they're coming together, and you've got to make a big show, so yeah, there's all

08:11kinds of stuff going on all the time.

08:12It's several hours long, so you guys, it's a long day of work for everybody, especially

08:16the crew, the people that puts all that stuff together and make sure that everything

08:19runs properly, but when you're waiting for your match, when you're backstage, wherever

08:23they have you guys set up, are you watching what's going on, or do you just wait until

08:27it's showtime?

08:28No, I'll be honest with you, man.

08:29I'll keep an eye on what's going on, but usually I'm in the back, I'm playing guitar, just kind

08:35of getting in my own mind as to whatever I got to do for my performance tonight.

08:39You know, sometimes I like to take a pre-performance nap if I can, get in the right mindset.

08:44Yeah, I knew I liked you.

08:46You know, sit teased to get my voice ready, you know, whatever it may be, I'm doing my

08:50own thing.

08:51Great to meet you.

08:51Thanks for coming by here.

08:52You got it.

08:53Have fun tonight.

08:54WWE Raw Tonight.

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