Hello and welcome to the WrestleTalk News - I’m Oli Davis.
Any Man With Two Hands...
“Yes, I’m nervous.
Yes I’m scared.
But if I could somehow, someway pull off the upset - as I truly believe that any man with
two hands has a fighting chance.”
No, not the words of Yeats, Philip Larkin or former WWE superstar Heidenreich, but those
of James Ellsworth on his WWE debut on the 25th July, 2016, in one of the most memorable
squash matches of all time - one that not only sparked Ellsworth’s main roster career,
but also one that began the transformation of Braun Strowman from lumbering, overpushed
Vince McMahon fetish to a genuinely over babyface monster main eventer.
WWE Release James Ellsworth Sadly, Ellsworth’s WWE career came to an
end yesterday, with the company announcing on their website:
“WWE has come to terms on the release of WWE Superstar James Ellsworth.
WWE wishes Ellsworth the best in all of his future endeavors.”
His debut loss against Strowman didn’t just get him over with fans, his performance also
impressed wrestlers and officials backstage, with Chris Jericho declaring in his book ‘No
Is A Four-Letter Word’, he was on “Team Ellsworth” as soon as he saw him, and “apparently
Vince [McMahon] felt the same way, as he found James after and personally congratulated him
for a job well done.”
In the following months, Jericho pitched Ellsworth to Vince, and WWE eventually signed him to
a multi-year contract.
James announced that contract at the independent promotion Big Time Wrestling last November,
where he cut an emotional promo through tears saying “For the kid who’s been wanting
to do this since he was five years old, you all made my dream come true!”
His humbleness continued in his parting tweet from WWE:
“Thank you @WWE for letting me live my dream,thank you fans for all the support, l'll continue
to prove #AnyManWithTwoHandsHasAFightingChance” And it wasn’t just Jericho who went to bat
for Ellsworth backstage.
According to wrestling writer Scott Fishman: Just yesterday Carmella told me she pitched
the idea of having James Ellsworth with her because nobody had a male manager.
Something different.
#WWE And Carmella herself simply replied to Ellsworth’s
parting tweet with a heart emoji.
But not ‘heart emoji’ enough to let James in on a rather significant personal status.
Replying to a tweet where WWE teased the next episode of Total Divas, which features real-life
couple Big Cass and Carmella thinking about moving to California, James Ellsworth posted:
Wait @BigCassWWE and @CarmellaWWE were dating this whole time and nobody told me????
😂 Rather fittingly then, it was Carmella turning
on Ellsworth last Tuesday that wrote him out of the company.
In Smackdown’s remaining European tour dates that followed, Ellsworth was beaten up every
night by the entire women’s division.
Which may seem as a mean spirited end to his run, but in kayfabe terms - being the man
that ruined the first ever Women’s Money in the Bank match - does hold some poetic
justice.
But according to Pro Wrestling Sheet writer James McKenna, Ellsworth’s release wasn’t
a case of his character running its course, as WWE have had WrestleMania plans in place
for him for months.
Instead, just like it seemed to be with the recent WWE releases of Emma, Darren Young,
Summer Rae, Sawyer Fulton, Bronson Matthews and Leo Gao, Ellsworth’s departure appears
to be another case of cost-cutting instead of James’ contract expiring.
Give him a ‘Thank You Ellsworth’ chant in the comments below, and tweet him @RealEllsworth.
And for all those asking, my weekly Smackdown review’s Ellsworthy rating will remain in
his honour.
WWE are considering a Hulk Hogan return!
And has this week been the best Raw and Smackdown combination of 2017?
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I’ve been Oli Davis, and that was wrestling.