5 Biggest Winners & Losers From WWE SmackDown Live (Oct 11)

by Andy H Murray

1. James Ellsworth

Dean Ambrose James Ellsworth AJ Styles
WWE.com

Picture this. Your name is James Ellsworth, a 31-year-old independent wrestling promoter from Maryland. You’re asked to play a small role on WWE Raw when the show passes through your neck of the woods in July. Braun Strowman needs a jobber to murder and, naturally, you agree to take the job.

You take the loss, but it doesn’t end there. Somehow, you go viral. Your popularity explodes throughout the internet, your Twitter followers soar, and your catchphrase (“any man with two hands has a fighting chance”) becomes a meme. You become the unlikeliest of cult heroes, Chris Jericho declares you his favourite wrestler, and one month later, WWE invite you back.

You take another beatdown, this time from The Miz, and that, theoretically, is that. You’re thankful for your 15 minutes of fame, but it’s over now, and you’ll go back to your day job and get on with your life.

Nope! It’s October, and WWE are back on the phone again. “A win over the WWE World Champion and consensus best wrestler in the world?” you ask. “Don’t mind if I do”.

James Ellsworth’s is a great story. Nobody had ever heard of him three months ago, but he just scored a pinfall victory over AJ Styles, and has earned himself a title shot next week. There was extenuating circumstances, of course, but a win’s a win, and the most unlikely hero in professional wrestling history will now challenge for WWE’s most prestigious belt.

Can he pull it off? Of course he can’t, but his little WWE run has been endlessly entertaining. However long it lasts, James Ellsworth is living out his childhood dreams on live television: who could possibly hate on that?

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.