The ultimate jobber lived the dream for more than a year in the WWE. But the WWE finally squashed James Ellsworth, announcing his release.
James Ellsworth came into everyone’s life as the scrawny jobber ready to take a pounding from Braun Strowman. In fact, Ellsworth was Strowman’s first victim after he became a permanent singles fixture. Ellsworth was scared, looked meek and took the beating like a champ.
The crowd responded. And he parlayed it into a long storyline with SmackDown, including run-ins with WWE Champions Dean Ambrose and A.J. Styles as well as Ms. Money in the Bank Carmella. He had his own merchandise and his own theme music. He was living the jobber’s dream.
That dream is over as of Wednesday when the WWE announced it was releasing James Ellsworth.
Ellsworth, we hardly knew you.
In actuality, Ellsworth’s WWE run lasted more than a year. Somehow the guy who looked like he was new to an L.A. Fitness performed and held his own in the ring, playing a great foil to the strong men in WWE and helping invert norms as a heel valet to Carmella.
Ellsworth was the perfect interloper in his time with SmackDown. His appearance was half joke and half propelling a storyline. He helped Team SmackDown eliminate RAW against his rival Braun Strowman in Survivor Series last year, enabling the blue brand to steal the win.
Then, he entered the Royal Rumble last year and faced the Monster Among Men again.
His biggest claim to fame in the annals of WWE history was delivering the Money in the Bank briefcase to Carmella in the first women’s Money in the Bank match. Ellsworth gained instant heel status for climbing the ladder, unlatching the briefcase and dropping it to Carmella, recovering on the mat. A man had just won the first-ever women’s Money in the Bank match.
That was more than enough to give him a good heel pop and make him notorious. He was the valet usually reserved for women in the business to Carmella, all bravado. That inversion was important for the women’s revolution.
But the storyline had played itself out. He finally had his match with his other rival, Becky Lynch. And the women put Ellsworth in his place. There was very little more to do with him.
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Ellsworth was brought in to be squashed. And squashed he was.
But the man proved if you have two fists, you have a fighting chance. Even without a chin.