James Ellsworth the Braun Strowman victim was the "chinless insect" operating at his peak, but SmackDown Live galvanised the best bits of that act in its early days thanks to his broadly enjoyable interplay with AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose during their Championship programme.
In a very WWE move, the company waited until the joke wasn't funny anymore then doubled the f*ck down on it.
There was suddenly so much Ellsworth that his underdog charm had dissolved entirely, enforcing a heel turn that made little narrative sense beyond reflecting the crowd's disinterest. His union with Carmella showed promise and courted controversy, but his return after their original split brought about the unforgivable collapse of Asuka.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
