James Ellsworth went from getting destroyed by Braun Strowman to becoming a regular on WWE SmackDown, but there’s something fans didn’t know about his sudden rise. WWE apparently had absolutely no idea what to do with him after Vince McMahon decided to hire him. There was no long-term storyline, no planned direction, and the creative team was left scrambling to figure out how to fit him into the show.
While speaking on Developmentally Speaking, Ellsworth explained that his WWE career started in an unusual way. After impressing McMahon during his 2016 match against Braun Strowman, he was offered a contract and immediately brought to SmackDown without going through NXT. Ellsworth admitted that he initially assumed he would be heading to WWE’s developmental system, but McMahon had other ideas.
“When they call and they’re like, ‘Hey, you’re coming to SmackDown.’ I’m like, ‘All right, well, am I going to NXT?’ Because that, you know, that’s what everybody does. They’re like, ‘No, man. Vince wants you. Vince wants you on SmackDown.’ They’re like, ‘We don’t know what the future holds.'”
The problem was that WWE already had months of television planned before McMahon suddenly decided Ellsworth needed to be part of the show. According to Ellsworth, that meant the writers had to make room for someone who wasn’t originally supposed to be there.
“So they have all this television written for months and months and months. They have ideas for months. Now Vince is going into this writer room and going, ‘Hey, you got to write stuff for this guy,’ which means, you know, and you live and you learn, which means now they got to take somebody off the show to give me their time, and now they got to rewrite all this stuff just to put me on.”
Ellsworth even suspected that his arrival may have annoyed some people behind the scenes because WWE had already invested time and money into wrestlers coming through NXT. Meanwhile, he was getting television time simply because McMahon personally wanted him there.
“It probably got on their nerves at first, like, ‘Why is Vince, what’s okay?’ You know, because again they have time and money invested in the people they bring through NXT, and I get that. I understand it.”
Things didn’t get any less confusing once Ellsworth actually started appearing on SmackDown. He recalled being told he would work with The Miz, only for that plan to change to AJ Styles. Ellsworth admitted that facing Styles was intimidating because of how talented he was in the ring.
“Soon as I got there they’re like, ‘Oh, you’re going to be working with The Miz.’ Then The Miz switched to, ‘No, no, you’re gonna work with AJ Styles.’ And I’m, you know, so every week I’m like, ‘What’s going on? I’m wrestling The Miz? Oh, that’s easy. Oh, I’m wrestling AJ? I’m scared to death because he’s so awesome I don’t know what to do.'”
Ellsworth said WWE continued figuring things out as his character developed, with no real plan beyond whatever the company wanted to do that particular week.
“They were winging me the whole time because they had nothing planned for me at all ever. They just had to plan week to week with me and get to know me and see what I could really do on the microphone and everything.”
Despite the lack of direction, Ellsworth became a regular part of SmackDown, worked with AJ Styles, and eventually joined Carmella as her on-screen ally. He said he enjoyed being a babyface for a few months before spending the remainder of his run as a heel.
“It was a great run. I had a great time. I got to be a babyface there for a couple of months. Then I got to be a heel the rest of the years I was there with Carmella and stuff. So it was awesome, man. I have no regrets.”
Ellsworth’s story is another example of how quickly things could change in WWE when Vince McMahon decided he wanted someone on television. The company might not have had a plan when Ellsworth arrived, but his unexpected run still turned into one of SmackDown’s more memorable underdog stories.
What do you think about WWE having no long-term creative plans for James Ellsworth despite Vince McMahon personally bringing him to SmackDown? Do you think his character could have lasted longer with better planning? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
