WWE: Ranking The Top 10 Breakout Stars Of 2018

7. Elias, Raw

Elias had built up so much momentum for himself prior to his segment with John Cena on Raw 25, but when he informed the 16-time champion that WWE stands for “Walk With Elias”, he truly put himself on the map as a star in WWE.

After spending months disparaging hometowns with his endearingly awful music and drawing the ire of heel announcer Corey Graves, Elias is everyone’s favorite traveling musician. He has his own album, some classic disses of Lio Rush, a few “L’s” at the hands of Braun Strowman, and a couple of busted guitars that I think he stole from John Mayer.

Few wrestlers on this list have captured the audience’s attention quite like Elias, who essentially forced himself into a babyface run despite basing his character almost entirely off of cheap heat. Only the visionaries – and I am not a member of this distinguished list of wrestling fans – foresaw Elias’s meteoric rise when he was in NXT, but the Pittsburgh native has locked himself in as a future Intercontinental Champion in 2019.

In the ring, Elias still needs work, but he’s visibly improved, as evidenced by a fantastic Pay Per View match with 2018 men’s MVP Seth Rollins.