James Ellsworth Comments On His WWE Status – Could He Return?

Following an angle on SmackDown LIVE where he seemed to be written off WWE television, James Ellsworth has released a statement on his status with the company.

Just as Paige was about to announce WWE Champion AJ Styles’ challenger for SummerSlam, Ellsworth arrived to claim that he was the rightful challenger for the WWE Title at “The Biggest Event of the Summer” since he had beaten Styles three times. With Paige and Styles greatly perplexed by Ellsworth’s arrival, the SmackDown LIVE General Manager quickly brought Ellsworth down to earth, informing him that not only would he not be challenging for the championship at SummerSlam, but that, in fact, he was fired.

A shocked Ellsworth was then dragged away by security, and with Styles distracted by the shenanigans, he never saw Samoa Joe enter the ring from behind. The Samoan Submission Machine viciously blindsided The Phenomenal One with a barrage of strikes before locking in the Coquina Clutch, then signing the contract for the title match.

In his statement, Ellsworth reflected on his time with WWE, wrote that he doesn’t know what’s next for him, and noted that he’ll never give up on his dream. He returned last month and was paired back with Carmella to be part of her feud with Asuka, which included Ellsworth being involved in their matches at Money in the Bank and Extreme Rules and facing Asuka twice on SmackDown LIVE.

Ellsworth has also been using the hashtag “#RehireEllsworth” since the angle on SmackDown LIVE. Here is his statement:

Two years ago today I went to Pittsburgh PA for Raw to be an extra talent for WWE.

Little did I know I would be facing Braun Strowman that night. I was picked by Arn Anderson who was the agent for the match to be the one that got to be apart of raw against the Monster Among Men..

Before the match started I got to cut a promo as Braun made his way down to the ring, talking on a microphone in a WWE ring is a moment I’d dreamed about my whole life. During the promo, I said the most important words of my life, words I’ll always live by, ‘Any Man With Two Hands Has A Fighting Chance’ I believe those words, the beating I took from Braun and my lack of Chin of course is all what caught the WWE Universes eye about me.

These past 2 years has been the best years of my life! I’ve been able to support my daughters by doing what I love to do for a living! I’ve been on WWE television the last two years more often than not, got to travel the world more then once, wrestled in my opinion the best wrestler in the world AJ Styles, even shared the ring with the #1 guy in the business John Cena! Not to mention I got to be apart of WrestleMania!

Smackdown Live has been my home for the majority of the past two years, and that show along with every writer, producer agent, camera man, and all other staff will always have a place in my heart! Last but certainly not least spent a lot of time on tv with my home girl Carmella! She’s an amazing person, and so fun to work with, Can’t say enough good things about her.

What an amazing ride the last 2 years have been!! The fans have been great, WWE has taught me so much and giving me opportunity’s I woulda never dreamed I would get.

In closing, I’m not sure what’s next for me, but I promise you this, I will keep fighting, never give up on my dream, if anything when people look back at James Ellsworth I want them to be inspired by the fact that I refused to give up on my dream, even after accomplishing so much, because there’s so much more left to do, and to prove, I’ll continue to show the world ‘Any Man With Two Hands Has A Fighting Chance’

Thank you all – James Ellsworth

The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported that Ellsworth wasn’t under contract for his most recent run with WWE and was working on a per-date basis. However, he wouldn’t be surprised to see him return.

He wasn't under contract so was only meant for limited appearances. The TV version was a work. He's so good at his role I'd be surprised at some point he's not back. https://t.co/tvB2YxThfU

— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) July 27, 2018