WWE Changes RAW Superstars Name

It appears that WWE has decided to shorten Elias Samson’s name to just “Elias” moving forward.

In his bio section on WWE.com, the last name has been cleared away. This would be an indication that they have decided to shorten his name. WWE has done this in the past with Superstars like Big E Langston, Antonio Cesaro and Adrian Neville.

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Russo is joined on today’s show by his co-host Jeff Lane.

Speaking about the new Elias Samson/Finn Balor feud, Bruce Mitchell from PWTorch recently said that Samson needs programs like this, because he can learn from Balor and Balor can carry him in the ring. Russo says if we look at it from a promo perspective, he hasn’t seen Balor cut a good one yet, and Samson has been cutting great promos ever since he arrived on the main roster.

From a promo perspective Samson can ‘eat Balor alive’, but all these ‘journalists’ just look at things based on the in-ring product. Russo still wonders where Balor’s ‘Demon’ character is, and if the ‘Demon’ isn’t going to be a regular part of Balor’s presentation, Balor is going to have to show us more on the mic.

Russo also comments on the notion that perhaps Finn Balor doesn’t want to cover his face with paint every night because he’s a mark for himself and he wants to build his own brand. Russo says that this can happen when talents start to buy into their own hype from the niche audience. Today’s Superstars will never get over like Hulk Hogan or Steve Austin, because they don’t even understand what it takes to be a star in the wrestling business.

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A listener sends in a clip of Dave Meltzer, where Meltzer criticized The Drifter’s segment at Extreme Rules. Meltzer said that this was clearly just thrown into the show to kill time, and he wanted Samson off his television. Russo says that this proves that Meltzer has no experience in the wrestling business, because The Drifter’s presentation is a prime example of character development. WWE is being consistent with him and they have to be because he has a good look and they have a chance to do something cool with him.

Bryan Alvarez said this week that RAW has a great main event scene, where all five guys from the Fatal 5-way can be considered a legitimate threat to Brock Lesnar. Russo says he hates to break it to Alvarez, but wrestling is a work. In a real life environment, Russo thinks that Roman Reigns is the only guy in that group who could give Lesnar a run for his money, and he’d still get beat up.

Mike Johnson sent out a tweet this past week which you can read above. Russo says that this has to be the best line he has ever heard. He says that Johnson and these other ‘journalists’ are the biggest marks he has ever seen and comments like this just prove it. If you’re a grown man who’s dreaming about fake fights, you’re definitely a mark.