WWE Releasing James Ellsworth is a Huge Mistake

Everyone’s favorite chinless wonder boy was released from WWE on Wednesday after one of the most bizarrely improbable runs in recent memory. Brought on as solo Braun Strowman’s first jobber, the weird charisma he mustered during his promo got him brought back on Smackdown.

How often does someone get memed into a WWE contract?

As a full-time wrestler, he became the centerpiece of the Ambrose-Styles feud, often sharing screentime with two of the brand’s biggest stars, even having a match for the WWE Championship. He turned heel in a PPV main event. When that ran dry, he became Carmella’s sleazy, dogged manager/quasi-boyfriend.

And once that storyline ended, apparently he was done. There’s no indication as of yet regarding if he was fired or simply chose to leave, but when someone voluntarily takes off, that tends to get reported.

But I’m a little baffled by any scenario that doesn’t involve Ellsworth wanting to spend more time running his school. On his part, it seemed like he was living the dream and probably making more money than he ever had before in wrestling. On WWE’s part, this was a man who had proven himself able to pull off comic relief in almost any context. Even if creative had nothing for him, there’s no reason he can’t just go back to being a jobber. Ellsworth being shuffled out while Curt Hawkins sticks around doesn’t even begin to compute. This is someone who’s versatile, unselfish with his character’s dignity, and genuinely funny, which is almost unheard of in something as inherent silly as wrestling.

At least it seems like a no-brainer to have him pop up in Royal Rumbles from time to time, but for now, the loss of Ellsworth seems to be a gigantic missed opportunity.

Written by Bobby Murphy (@RobertJMurph)