10 Things We Learned From James Ellsworth On Talk Is Jericho

6. He Still Wasn't Signed During That AJ Styles Feud

AJ Styles James Ellsworth
WWE.com

James Ellsworth didn't sign a WWE contract until he was backstage at a SmackDown taping in Glasgow, Scotland on 8 November 2016. That's a full three weeks after he had worked a match on the show against AJ Styles for the WWE Title, meaning Ellsworth competed for the most prestigious belt in wrestling as a free agent.

Up until learning this, it was easy to imagine that James had worked something out behind the scenes with WWE and knew he'd be signing at some point. It turns out he didn't. In fact, Ellsworth spent every waking moment wondering when he'd be cast aside. Much like he would for very different reasons upon being released, James cried when WWE offered him a proper deal.

Ellsworth may be the answer to some obscure trivia question, because there can't be too many workers who have wrestled for the WWE Title without being contracted. Throughout his entire series of matches against AJ, Jimmy was working freelance.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.