5 Surprising WWE Accomplishments Of James Ellsworth
3. He Turned Being Squashed By Braun Strowman Into A Year Long Run
You really have to hand it to anyone who, for whatever reason, is able to connect with a crowd over the course being destroyed by Braun Strowman. Not since the days of the 1-2-3 Kid have we seen a scrawny jobber make the jump to full fledged superstar.
In July of 2016, the WWE was starting to build Strowman on the Raw brand as his own monster, having separated him from his Wyatt family brothers in the brand extension draft where Rowan, Harper and Wyatt all headed to SmackDown. As you do with a monster, they were having him run through ‘local enhancement talent’ at an alarming rate on Raw. One of those unlucky fellows was Ellsworth.
In a pre-match interview only moments before being obliterated by Strowman, the scrawny underdog said the line that would win him the hearts of the WWE crowd: “Any man with two hands has a fighting chance.” Somehow, it all fell into place from there.