TNA's Elijah, formerly known as Elias or Ezekiel during his time with WWE, made a surprise return during "WWE NXT."
This week's episode saw a 25-man battle royal with an opportunity at Oba Femi's NXT Championship on the line, including Trick Williams, "WWE Evolve" star Timothy Thatcher, and "WWE LFG" contestants Jasper Troy, Anthony Luke, and Shiloh Hill. But there was also a surprise return-meets-TNA cameo as the strum of a guitar preceded Elijah, performing to the crowd on his way down to the ring before getting into a fight with Ethan Page as the bout got started. Elijah would last through much of the battle royal, eliminating Trick Williams after a distraction from TNA World Champion Joe Hendry. But he was then quickly eliminated by Shawn Spears to end his return.
Elijah signed with TNA in February after working the independent circuit throughout 2024. He was released from WWE in September 2023, ending almost a decade with the company having come through "NXT" as "The Drifter" Elias Samson. He was called up to the main roster in 2017, becoming a largely losing figure interspersed with four stints as WWE 24/7 Champion for just a combined total of 17 days before his repackaging as Ezekiel, the fictional brother of Elias, in 2022. He reverted back to the Elias gimmick later that year after being written off of TV by Kevin Owens, but he would only remain with the company for the next year.
