Will Elias Ever Ditch Gimmick and Become Legit Main Event Contender in WWE?

Although Elias has spent the past two years toiling away in Raw's midcard scene, his move to SmackDown Live in the 2019 Superstar Shake-up could be his chance to finally become a legitimate main event contender in WWE.

As far-fetched as that may sound, Elias has proved himself to be a solid hand in the ring as well as a terrific talker. Despite accomplishing nothing in NXT, he exceeded expectations upon being called up to the main roster in 2017 by becoming a recurring highlight on Raw and getting over as a heel fans love to hate with his weekly concerts.

The peak of his push came at the 2018 Money in the Bank pay-per-view, when he unsuccessfully challenged Seth Rollins for the Intercontinental Championship. His flopped face run didn't help matters, though he appears to be in prime position to win gold on SmackDown.

Elias floundered for the first few months of 2019 on Raw, interacting with everyone from Kalisto and Jeff Jarrett to John Cena and The Undertaker. As entertaining as those encounters were, they hardly boosted his stock and caused him to become a background player on the brand.

Thus, his move to SmackDown couldn't have come at a better time.

His debut on the show was met with plenty of fanfare, at least from Mr. McMahon, who touted him as one of the biggest acquisitions in the history of the show. Although he was then laid out by fellow SmackDown newcomer Roman Reigns, that angle planted the seeds for a feud between the two that could end up being Elias' first step toward achieving superstardom.

Tuesday's SmackDown saw Elias aid Shane McMahon in his assault on Reigns before challenging him to a match at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, which Reigns accepted.

On paper, Reigns vs. Elias doesn't sound terribly exciting, but the implications of what it might mean for Elias' career are major. The blue brand lacks strong heels, and with Daniel Bryan out of action indefinitely, the Pittsburgh native has a golden opportunity to break out as a top talent on Tuesday nights.

His program with Reigns should serve as a test for him, and assuming he's able to hold his own against the four-time world champion, he will have a bright future ahead of him on SmackDown.

In order to cement his status as a main event player, however, Elias must evolve as a character. He has undoubtedly come a long way since his early days on Raw two years ago, but his gimmick is holding him back from bigger things.

Based off what transpired on SmackDown, he appears to be on the verge of dropping the goofy elements of his act and instead taking it in a more serious direction. His weekly concerts never cease to elicit massive heat from fans, but they won't win him a world title.

Rather, developing an aggressive edge would be the best thing for him. Fans saw shades of that on Tuesday night, when he viciously attacked Reigns and established himself as a threat to the rest of the roster in the process.

Furthermore, his alliance with Shane McMahon will elevate him to new heights, but that shouldn't be WWE's long-term plan for him. Being associated with authority figures tends to be more of hindrance nowadays, not to mention that there is more money in allowing Elias to branch out on his own than in making him a punching bag for Shane.

Keeping Reigns strong is obviously of great importance to WWE, so the odds of Elias beating The Big Dog at Money in the Bank are slim to none. But he should be more than a stepping stone for Reigns in his pursuit of the WWE Championship, so in order for this feud to be considered worthwhile, Elias must get the better of The Big Dog in some fashion.

From there, he can set his sights on other beloved babyfaces on the brand, stack up as many monumental victories as possible and continue to climb the card.

Once he starts to strip his on-air persona of everything that has limited him to the midcard, only then will fans get a good enough grasp of whether he has what it takes to thrive at the elite level of WWE.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is an Endicott College alumnus and aspiring journalist. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.