Shortly after the first WWE Draft, WWE decided to reboot Braun Strowman and spent months getting him over by pitting the Monster Among Men against a number of jobbers. That plan ultimately succeeded but his most memorable opponent remains James Ellsworth, the first person he destroyed on RAW. He ultimately landed a WWE contract and is now part of SmackDown Live (again).
During a recent interview, Ellsworth was asked to reflect on his first day in WWE and reflected both on what that was like and his first meeting with the man who would decimate him hours later.
"The day of, Arn Anderson says ‘I wanna see everybody throw a punch and whoever throws the best punch gets the match with Braun,’ and he picked me first to throw a punch. I threw it, and he said ‘Oh, I don’t need to see anybody else. Let’s get in the ring,’ and I’m like ‘Holy sh*t!’ I didn’t know who I was getting in the ring with, and he was like ‘You’re wrestling Braun,’ and I knew Braun from the Wyatt Family. I’m like, ‘This is the biggest guy in the company, size-wise, like woah! This is cool.’
"He introduced me to Braun, and Braun was very nice. He’s just a big ‘ole country boy. Fun-loving country boy, y’know? He’s very cool. We put together a little match, and next thing I know, Jimmy Jacobs, who I love says ‘Hey man, we’re gonna give you a 15-second promo,’ and this is all happening so quickly, by the way. Like, you’re just standing there around the ring. Next thing you know, you’re wrestling on RAW, you’re getting a promo and you’re wrestling Braun and that all happened within a four-minute stretch of me knowing."
Ellsworth has, of course, crossed paths with Strowman a few times since his debut and the Monster Among Men has never shied away from destroying him. As of right now, though, he's once again serving as Carmella's lackey and is scheduled to face Asuka next week in what will likely be another squash match. What did you think of Ellsworth's RAW debut? Share your thoughts below.