What Is WWE Planning For James Ellsworth?

The ‘Chin That Got The Win’ over the WWE Champion, twice in as many weeks has come a long way in his short time in WWE, but does he have a future with the company?

James Ellsworth was originally brought into WWE as a jobber in a squash match against Braun Strowman as a way to prove how dominant the former Wyatt Family member is, but the internet reaction for the debutant has seen WWE decide to sign him as a permanent superstar.

A few weeks after he was decimated by Strowman, he appeared on the SmackDown brand as AJ’s tag team partner, before once again re-appearing over the past few weeks in the main event picture.

The crowd seems to have really got behind Ellsworth, so much so that his newly released shirt is currently the top selling item on WWEShop.com, which proves that WWE can literally make a star out of anyone.

It seems that WWE is playing on the fact that Ellsworth doesn’t look like he has a chin with his finisher called no-chin music and the crowd reacting the expected way when the commentators announced this on SmackDown.

The problem here is that whilst Ellsworth is having the time of his life on the SmackDown brand, AJ Styles’ credibility is taking something of a knock. AJ is without a doubt one of the best wrestlers in the world currently and WWE are making him look like a joke as the champion.

Dean Ambrose has obviously been a part of this as well, but it is AJ who’s first WWE title reign will be remembered for this blip. The former TNA Legend has handled himself quite well in recent weeks against the glorified jobber, but it seems that his DQ win this past week could only set up another showdown between the two.

AJ has already shown Ellsworth up in the ring for the amateur that he is when he had to literally save him from a broken neck when he got in the wrong position for the Styles Clash. This can’t have gone down well backstage but was fast thinking from the WWE Champion.

Many thought that Ellsworth was just a local superstar that WWE had decided to bring in for a few matches and then he would disappear and never be heard from again until WWE decided to include him in a ‘where are they now’ show in a few years.

Sadly, this doesn’t seem to be the case since rumors are now suggesting that the chinless superstar could be set to land a place in the Royal Rumble. Which will be the biggest Royal Rumble in the history of the event, celebrating 30 years of over the top rope competition in the company.

This means that Ellsworth will continue to be at the forefront of WWE programming until at least January, but how much more of the unlikely main event star can the WWE Universe handle?

It was made obvious that SmackDown needed some new stars after John Cena’s hiatus was announced, but Ellsworth was not the replacement that the WWE Universe requested, and whilst it’s been fun watching Dean Ambrose use him to annoy AJ over the past few weeks, it seems the storyline has reached it’s finale.

WWE need to think about the credibility of AJ in this storyline and if they want him to continue holding the WWE Championship for as long as it was intended, then they can’t allow him to look like a weak champion or fans won’t believe that he will be able to beat all on comers in his quest to retain the Championship.

Ellsworth is definitely a feel good story, he is one that has allowed the WWE Universe to enjoy watching wrestling for that kind of excitement all over again and if he was in the mid-card then this could well continue for a while longer, but this isn’t the case. Heading into Survivor Series SmackDown needs to ensure that their Champion is at their best as they fight for Brand dominance and someone like Ellsworth could well get in the way of that.

Whilst it is interesting to see where Ellsworth goes from here after capturing the attention of the WWE Universe, the company needs to realize that they have one of the best wrestlers in the world at their disposal and they are making him look like a joke.