"I have no choice but to hire you" – Vince McMahon's words to non-WWE star in 2016
James Ellsworth recently recalled a conversation he had with Vince McMahon after his memorable WWE moment with Braun Strowman.
On the July 25, 2016, episode of RAW, Ellsworth performed as an enhancement talent in a short match against Strowman. The 38-year-old cut a famous promo before the one-sided contest, in which he boldly claimed that "any man with two hands has a fighting chance."
Ellsworth spoke on the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast about McMahon's backstage reaction after the segment:
"He said, 'James, James, come here. Your verbiage was great, your selling was great, and your facial expressions were out of this world. I have no choice but to hire you. I'll be in touch,' and he shook my hand. I just got my a** whooped, like I was sore. I just stood there. I said, 'Thank you very much.' Then Triple H said, 'Hey, he's not kidding. He'll be in touch with you.'" [6:38 – 7:07]
Vince McMahon initially planned to book Ellsworth vs. Heath Slater in August 2016 at SummerSlam, but the match was nixed due to Slater's increasing popularity. Ellsworth eventually returned to WWE television on SmackDown in September 2016.
James Ellsworth thought Vince McMahon was mad at him
WWE enhancement talents are sometimes instructed not to walk down the aisle on the way to the ring. Instead, they are told to quietly make their entrance at the side of the ramp to avoid drawing attention to themselves.
James Ellsworth disobeyed the order because he wanted to experience the feeling of walking down the ramp for the first time.
On this day in wrestling history July 25, Braun Strowman squashed James Ellsworth on Monday Night Raw in 2016. https://t.co/mfye28mx3P
Before Vince McMahon's positive feedback, Ellsworth expected the WWE Executive Chairman to be annoyed about his rule break:
"I thought he was gonna yell at me because I walked down the ramp and, as an enhancement talent, you're not supposed to walk down the ramp, and I did because I thought this was gonna be my only match in WWE, so I was like, 'I'm walking down the ramp because I'm never gonna be here again.'" [6:07 – 6:23]
Ellsworth also spoke about the time Triple H helped him put together his ladder match against AJ Styles on SmackDown in 2016.
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Please credit the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.