Not many wrestlers can boast of beating AJ Styles two times in a row, and I’m not sure if anyone in the world can claim they’ve beaten him 3 times. Well, now they can, because if you saw Smackdown this Tuesday, November 22nd, you will have seen James Ellsworth defeat AJ Styles in a ladder match, his third victory over ‘the face that runs the place’ in a row.
I’ll admit it, when we first started to see Ellsworth on WWE television, it was humorous. Braun Strowman wanted ‘competition’ on Raw, and one of his weekly challenges, was a puny little guy from Baltimore by the name of James Ellsworth.
He did catch the eye of some fans due to his odd looking appearance and his pre match interview when he expressed ‘any man with two hands has a fighting chance’ (which is pretty good actually).
For some reason, Ellsworth started to feature prominently on Smackdown, alongside (a begrudging) Dean Ambrose. After initially costing Ambrose a title opportunity, Ellsworth would play a big part in ensuring that ‘The Lunatic Fringe’ would stay in the WWE World Heavyweight Title picture.
The way it was booked along with the way it was executed on television was actually quite entertaining, but there’s always a limit.
At this years Survivor Series, James Ellsworth was made the ‘Smackdown Live mascot’, which basically meant he was the supporter at ringside for the Smackdown Live mens team. To his credit, he would actually ensure former nemesis Braun Strowman was eliminated by holding his foot from under the ring. Now I don’t think we need to get into how ridiculous that a small weakling like Ellsworth was apparently able to out strength the ‘mountain of a man’ Strowman by holding his foot leaving him unable to move, but that’s how it panned out.
Strowman ended up chasing him up the ramp before throwing him off the stage into a table, leaving Ellsworth dismantled.
The following week on Smackdown Live, Ellsworth was sporting a neck brace to sell the injuries sustained at Survivor Series. Shane McMahon offered Ellsworth a contract, however, Ellsworth would accept a challenge from AJ Styles where if Styles were to be victorious Ellsworth would lose his contract, where as if the reverse happened, Ellsworth would be granted a future World Championship opportunity.
Here is my problem.
Ellsworth DID win with a lot of help from Dean Ambrose, but on paper, it still records 3 victories over AJ Styles for James Ellsworth, which demeans Styles a LOT to me.
I know people have said that wins and losses don’t count for anything, but I strongly disagree, because if a superstar is continuously losing on television, it’s hard for fans to get behind them or believe in them. Case in point, Dolph Ziggler.
Now James Ellsworth is officially a Smackdown Live superstar, my question is, what can they possibly do with him?
I personally wouldn’t buy Ellsworth defeating anyone on the roster, not because of his look, but because the whole roster is far superior. Are we expected to believe at some point that Ellsworth stands a chance against the likes of Baron Corbin, The Miz or even Kane? He won’t have Ambrose assisting him forever.
I have no doubt that WWE would book him to score victories over superstars like Fandango & Tyler Breeze, who are pretty much at the bottom of the barrel right now, but what would that actually accomplish?
I fear the credability of both Styles and Ambrose has been dinted, and a lot of fans have actually turned on Ambrose due to his association, deaming him not worthy of being in the main event. So where does Ellsworth lie within WWE?
They could book him as part of a fatal four way match for a title where one person has been laid out, the other two fight outside the ring, and Ellsworth capitalises.
Another question is why have WWE decided to put so much stock in James Ellsworth? He’s become very popular, at one point his t-shirt was outselling almost the entire roster at live events.
My theory, and bare with me on this one, is that James Ellsworth is in fact ill. I suspected that Ellsworth will receive the ‘Warrior Award’ at Wrestlemania, hence why he’s being used so frequently at the moment, to give him so many feel good moments in the ring, and so many lasting memories for his family.
I thought perhaps WWE want Ellsworth as an inspiring figure for anybody going through an illness, or anyone with disabilities who think it means they can’t achieve their dream. It’d be quite the story don’t you think?
Then again, maybe James Ellsworth simply went out there one night on RAW, and made the fans take notice, and instead of fading back into obscurity, held his two hands in front of the WWE Universe and gave himself a fighting chance.
Do you like James Ellsworth? Will he still be in WWE this time next year?
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