8 Horrible WWE Returns That Absolutely Nobody Asked For
4. James Ellsworth (2018)
Fair play to this in-over-his-head goober for somehow hustling a fun jobber spot against Braun Strowman into a full-time WWE contract, but the company stretched the James Ellsworth character way beyond its natural lifespan.
Ellsworth's number should have come up long before he'd devalued the WWE Championship by beating AJ Styles thrice in 2016. What little goodwill remained was wiped off the face of the earth when he snatched the first women's Money In The Bank briefcase the following June. Finally, 'The Chin That Eats The Pin' was binned in November. It was long overdue, and it seemed inconceivable that he'd ever return... but he did, and helped tank the career of one of WWE's brightest female stars in the process.
Make no mistake: the Asuka vs. Ellsworth and Carmella feud was a catastrophe. Rather than protecting 'The Empress,' Ellsworth made he look like an idiot for falling for his obvious heel shenanigans. So diminished was Asuka that her Extreme Rules beatdown of James (clearly designed as a crowd-popping moment) drew nothing from an audience who'd already lost interest in a once special talent.