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WWE released several stars from their contracts last September due to budget cuts following the merger between WWE and UFC to form TKO.
Talent cuts
Those let go include Matt Riddle Elias, Dana Brooke, Dolph Ziggler, Shelton Benjamin, and Mustafa Ali. Several of those stars, such as Brooke and Ziggler, have landed in TNA Wrestling while Ali is working for NJPW as well as Ziggler. Riddle is in MLW and working some dates for New Japan.
Benjamin and Elias are still on the free agent market. The former Elias is slated to make his in-ring return at an upcoming event following his departure from WWE, as his last match happened last May on an episode of Raw, where he worked the Intercontinental Championship #1 Contendership Battle Royal.
Elias worked for WWE from 2014-2023, where he started out in NXT under the ring name Elias Samson, which he portrayed as a musician, and then moved to the main roster in 2017 with just the Elias name.
New beginnings
He went on hiatus in late 2021 before he returned the following April but as Elias' younger brother named Ezekiel. He had cut his hair and shaved his beard. That same year, he was taken off TV again before returning as Elias and then released.
Elias, now known as Elijah, has been announced by Wrestling REVOLVER, an independent promotion, for their upcoming Whatashow event on February 17th, where he will take on TNA’s “Speedball” Mike Bailey for the first time ever.
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