"I need to hire you" - How Vince McMahon reacted to unsigned star's incredible WWE RAW performance
James Ellsworth recently recalled how Vince McMahon immediately wanted to hire him after his WWE debut against Braun Strowman.
The Monster Among Men defeated Ellsworth in a 69-second match on the July 25, 2016 episode of RAW. The enhancement talent received widespread praise for his performance and pre-match promo, in which he claimed, “Any man with two hands has a fighting chance.”
Speaking on the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast, Ellsworth disclosed details of his post-match conversation with the WWE Chairman:
“Vince McMahon after the match was like, ‘You did a great job.’ He said, ‘I need to hire you.’ I thought he was kidding. I was like, ‘Thanks.’ He goes, ‘I’ll be in touch.’ ‘Huh?!’ Six weeks later, he got in touch with me and they brought me back and he gave me the contract. It was mind-boggling – that’s everybody’s dream.” [6:48-7:13]
Ellsworth appeared regularly on WWE television between September 2016 and November 2017, during which time he formed alliances with Dean Ambrose and Carmella. He briefly returned in the summer of 2018 to revisit his storyline with Carmella before leaving the company once again.
James Ellsworth is grateful Vince McMahon gave him a chance
HE'S BAAAACCCKKKKK..... @realellsworth
@CarmellaWWE @NaomiWWE #SDLive https://t.co/rkrOEgSHh0
While James Ellsworth was a rookie by WWE standards in 2016, he was not new to the wrestling business. Known as “Pretty” Jimmy Dream on the independent scene, the 37-year-old began his wrestling career in 2002.
He added that every independent wrestler dreams of appearing on RAW one day, and he still struggles to believe his WWE experience even happened:
“At that point I’d been wrestling 14 years, and that’s your thing, ‘Man, I wish I could be on RAW tomorrow!’ Then, all of a sudden, I was on RAW tomorrow, and then they sent me over to SmackDown six weeks later, and I was there for the better part of two years on SmackDown. It was just nuts, man.” [7:13-7:32]
Ellsworth’s most recent WWE appearance came in October 2018 when he featured in a YouTube video after the 1,000th episode of SmackDown.
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.