Elias

Elias Samson is the ring name of professional wrestler and musician Jeffrey Logan Sciullo, whose rise in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in the mid-2010s was thanks in part to the popularity of his character's guitar-playing drifter persona. After a three-year stint with the NXT program, in 2017 Elias moved to the Raw brand, where his songs were often featured either backstage or live in the ring preceding matches. He later released four of his original songs on an acoustic EP called Walk with Elias, which made a strong showing on several Billboard charts in the summer of 2018. A native of Pittsburgh, Sciullo got his start in the Northeastern independent circuit in 2008 and spent five years wrestling primarily for the International Wrestling Circuit (IWC) under the ring name Heavy Metal Jesus, Logan Shulo. This was where he first established a musical, guitar-playing character, and he found some success as a wrestler, winning IWC's Super Indy and World Heavyweight Championships before signing his first development deal with WWE in 2014. About a year into his WWE career, he debuted his drifter musician character, solemnly playing his guitar as he walked toward the ring before a match with Bull Dempsey, whom he then defeated. Over the next three years, Elias embedded the musical aspect deeply into his character's narrative, building feuds with other wrestlers who interrupted or derided his performances. His guitar even came into play in a handful of matches, one of which saw him using it to attack wrestler/actor/rapper John Cena. In July 2018, he released his debut EP, Walk with Elias, a sparse four-song acoustic affair recorded in character. Walk with Elias reached number ten on Billboard's Top Album Sales survey and made a strong showing on several other charts. ~ Timothy Monger