WWE SmackDown: The Era of James Ellsworth

It’s been a big year for James Ellsworth, the “Big Hog”, but how much longer can his character sustain the abuse he’s taking on WWE SmackDown?

It’s been a little more than a year since James Ellsworth Morris made his singles debut against Braun Strowman in July 2016. In case you’ve forgotten, the WWE match went exactly as you would imagine. No, the plucky underdog did not defy the odds and somehow fell the Monster Among Men. Instead, Ellsworth was defeated in just over a minute, which in retrospect seems to be about one minute longer than was necessary.

Fast forward to September 2017, and Ellsworth has since found himself on the winning end of three matches against AJ Styles, one losing (but still granted) opportunity to win the WWE Championship, one Royal Rumble appearance, and an impressive nine month “relationship” with Carmella. All of this adds up to a great year for Ellsworth and a terrible year for us.

I get it, Ellsworth is a walking contradiction. He dresses like a discount hip hop artist despite having multiple tattoos endorsing The Offspring, who are a punk rock band. He confidently talks down to other superstars (both male and female) but grovels at the feet of Carmella every time she snaps her fingers. This is a storyline that can only work with a woman as the object of someone’s obsession, especially one where the victim’s physical appearance is so crassly criticized. Ellsworth has never had a problem degrading himself for the sake of the company and likely took some pointers from The Big Show. This doesn’t mean it makes for good television.

In typical pro wrestling fashion, there is plenty of inconsistency when it comes to Ellsworth’s actions. During the first ever women’s Money in the Bank match back in June, Ellsworth helped Carmella win by pushing Becky Lynch off the ladder, climbing up himself, and dropping the briefcase to her. Due to his shenanigans, Carmella was stripped of the briefcase but was able to win it back herself during a rematch on SmackDown, which made Ellsworth’s initial interference essentially meaningless.

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For his continued interference on Carmella’s behalf, Ellsworth was fined $10,000, suspended for 30 days, and warned by Daniel Bryan that if he again broke any rules Carmella would vacate her title shot.

Cut to Ellsworth’s return in August where he immediately broke the rules and helped Carmella defeat Naomi in a non-title match.

Despite this blatant violation of Bryan’s edict, Carmella is still the Money in the Bank contract holder and fans seems to have forgotten the threat entirely so, #YOLO.

This is not the first time I have criticized Ellsworth and it will not be the last. I have never been a fan of literal punching bags who serve no purpose on the roster other than to be the butt of everyone’s jokes. It’s no coincidence that WWE uses this awful gimmick on people who would never find their way on the cover of a swimsuit calendar or fitness magazine, e.g. Ellsworth, Hornswoggle, and most egregiously, Eugene. Their exploitation is borderline offensive and serves no purpose other than to degrade the performer.

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If this storyline follows a similar pattern to all of those before it, Ellsworth will eventually throw of his cheetah-print yolk and rebel against Carmella’s abusive behavior, perhaps even costing her a victory during a high-profile match. For now, we will watch helplessly as the Chinless Wonder takes a beating, both physically and verbally, until he realizes his own self-worth.