James Ellsworth- The New 123 Kid?
- Thread starter Glacier
- Start date
Radical Canadian Goose
Getting Noticed By Management
I prefer the Barry Horowitz reference, but, either or, it is a great comparison.
wrestler36
Championship Contender
I'd say more like Gillberg. Kid ended up being a legit part of the roster and put on some great matches. One of the forgotten classics was 123 vs Bret Hart. He was very threatening in that match.
WorstWrestlingExcrement
Getting Noticed By Management
Are you kidding me? He has no looks or comparison to Sean Waltman aka 1-2-3.
Compared to more like Rockstar Spud!
Compared to more like Rockstar Spud!
stingray11214
Cena is no Bruno & Cole is no Solie
He is a jobber in the spirit of Johnny Rodz and Jose Estrada. At least Spud wins and looks good. Ellsworth looks like he does not even belong there.
S.J. Maximus
Championship Contender
123 kid is a guy who would eventually do enough to warrant hall of fame consideration. I'm not sure if Ellsworth will ever have half the impact. I'm actually pretty confident he won't come close.
American Male
Dark Match Jobber
He has a lot of potential to be a great glorified jobber like Al Snow I could see him becoming a regular roster member in the near future.
Vanilla Midget
Championship Contender
If the segments draw anything, they should sign him. Sean Waltman was a very promising young wrestler when he upset Razor. Ellsworth is in his 30s, the future X-Pac was barely 23 when he beat Hall on Raw.
James Ellsworth has the potential to be very entertaining. That potential could be very short lived. I get a real Colin Delaney vibe from James, and he's debuting on a top brand.
If the OP is trying to draw a line between the upsets, sure. On paper James Ellsworth never should have beaten AJ Styles, as The Kid never should have knocked off Ramon. The difference is Ellsworth got in zero offence and Styles ate two consecutive finishers from an interfering referee.
James has a very unique (chinless) look and a metric ton of heart. He did not take the Styles Clash properly on Smackdown, and that could hurt him being signed long term. I'm sure that'll keep the Clash from being used as infrequently as it already is.
I would like to see him stick around, and he is very over in his chinlessness. There's something endearing about him and he has some entertainment value. Long term, he's never going to be a big draw other than be a novelty. He's a Colin Delaney, a Gillberg or a Hornswoggle. He's meant to be fun for the now, not the long haul. Let's see where this goes.
James Ellsworth has the potential to be very entertaining. That potential could be very short lived. I get a real Colin Delaney vibe from James, and he's debuting on a top brand.
If the OP is trying to draw a line between the upsets, sure. On paper James Ellsworth never should have beaten AJ Styles, as The Kid never should have knocked off Ramon. The difference is Ellsworth got in zero offence and Styles ate two consecutive finishers from an interfering referee.
James has a very unique (chinless) look and a metric ton of heart. He did not take the Styles Clash properly on Smackdown, and that could hurt him being signed long term. I'm sure that'll keep the Clash from being used as infrequently as it already is.
I would like to see him stick around, and he is very over in his chinlessness. There's something endearing about him and he has some entertainment value. Long term, he's never going to be a big draw other than be a novelty. He's a Colin Delaney, a Gillberg or a Hornswoggle. He's meant to be fun for the now, not the long haul. Let's see where this goes.
Jack-Hammer
YOU WILL RESPECT MY AUTHORITAH!!!!
I wouldn't hold my breath. As others have pointed out, we've seen similar guys with similar gimmicks over the years and the interest usually dies down after a little while.
The thing about the 123 Kid was that while he was ultimately in over his head, he demonstrated that he had some degree of ability. In Ellsworth's case, he just gets the shit beaten out of him without really demonstrating anything. Also, Waltman's early wins came about as genuine upsets whereas Ellsworth only "won" his match because of the numerous antics of Dean Ambrose, which included talking on the phone while Ellsworth was tapping out, delivering two Dirty Deeds DDTs to Styles and a fast count. WWE couldn't have protected Styles more if they'd blindfolded and hog tied him.
I think WWE is taking this thing a bit too far in that it's not going to be as funny Tuesday when Ellsworth faces Styles with the title on the line. I'm not all that wild about using championship matches in these sorts of ways, it cheapens them and there's nothing to come out of it. Vince truly does have dementia of Ellsworth somehow wins the title next week, otherwise it'll just be Styles killing a guy that shouldn't be in the ring with him.
The thing about the 123 Kid was that while he was ultimately in over his head, he demonstrated that he had some degree of ability. In Ellsworth's case, he just gets the shit beaten out of him without really demonstrating anything. Also, Waltman's early wins came about as genuine upsets whereas Ellsworth only "won" his match because of the numerous antics of Dean Ambrose, which included talking on the phone while Ellsworth was tapping out, delivering two Dirty Deeds DDTs to Styles and a fast count. WWE couldn't have protected Styles more if they'd blindfolded and hog tied him.
I think WWE is taking this thing a bit too far in that it's not going to be as funny Tuesday when Ellsworth faces Styles with the title on the line. I'm not all that wild about using championship matches in these sorts of ways, it cheapens them and there's nothing to come out of it. Vince truly does have dementia of Ellsworth somehow wins the title next week, otherwise it'll just be Styles killing a guy that shouldn't be in the ring with him.
stingray11214
Cena is no Bruno & Cole is no Solie
You know, a lot of people are comparing Ellsworth to Sean Waltman. That is an insult to Waltman. Before his 1-2-3 Kid exploits, he was turning heads as Lightning Kid in the old Global Wrestling Fed. He was also highlighted in The Wrestler and Pro Wrestling Illustrated (Apter mags) while he was in Global. So, fans of pro wrestling actually knew who he was before joining the WWF. This Ellsworth character comes from wherever, and nobody knows what he had done in the business. In the end, Ellsworth is going to join a long list of WWF jobbers that got their asses kicked every week until they leave.
Trance Metaphor
Floundering in Mid-Card Hell
I didn't like how they made a guy that could be squashed by Braun Strowman beat the WWE World Champion. I don't care if there was interference and fast counts. The WWE World Champion should not have to lose to an unknown with no prior reputation. It cheapens the WWE World title and adds no value to the title holder. The WWE World title needs all the value and prestige added to it. For me, this had no real entertainment value. It was like something you'd see happen in the Wrestling Revolution game and that's more entertaining because it's actually funny. It would have been better for James Ellsworth to pick up an upset victory over a Mid-Carder instead via school boy. I also don't understand the comparisons with 1-2-3 Kid, because Sean Waltman was an agile wrestler that stood a chance. He also developed the look to match his style and displayed his offence. James Ellsworth appears to have none of that. He looks like a kid that just came out for his first wrestling school match. It'd be easier to believe Brad Maddox (a wrestler with actual wrestling accomplishments) to bump off someone in an upset with the way they were using him back a while ago. It sucks enough that Ellsworth couldn't properly take the Styles Clash and now that move might be discarded. I hope he gets a landslide defeat by AJ Styles and that's the last of him.
nwocongo
Getting Noticed By Management
Spot on. I had been wondering since the reinstitution of jobbers if they would have a guy pull an upset and work his way up to be becoming a staple of the show's midcard like Waltman did, like him or not he was a mainstay on Raw from 93-96. They may still do this with someone who is younger and more talented but this stuff with Ellsworth should not lead to much.
To echo the sentiments of other posters, Ellsworth is more of a joke than a future legitimate contender, Waltman had already established a solid track record and was more than capable of having entertaining matches. Ellsworth is just a silly putty necked, no chinned jobber who will never be anything more than comedic relief.
stingray11214
Cena is no Bruno & Cole is no Solie
Zac Gowen did some stuff in WWE. However, his popularity came in the Indies, where he is far more appreciated. Hell, even PWS put the Tag Straps on him and CP-afflicted Gregory Iron. Again, Ellsworth is a mid-carder at BEST in a local promotion. Gowen is really so far ahead of him.
I guess that comparing him to Waltman at this moment is too soon to decide.
It's like over-rating Ellsworth at this time. He was squashed by Braun Strawman and should be squashed by AJ Styles too since the main story revolves around AJ and Ambrose. Ellsworth is just a pawn of this story. Ambrose and AJ are the kings.
Until I see Ellsworth work in the ring, Comparing him to Waltman is surely an insult.
It's like over-rating Ellsworth at this time. He was squashed by Braun Strawman and should be squashed by AJ Styles too since the main story revolves around AJ and Ambrose. Ellsworth is just a pawn of this story. Ambrose and AJ are the kings.
Until I see Ellsworth work in the ring, Comparing him to Waltman is surely an insult.
Bingo. That was the first name I thought of when I saw him. Clearly, an under-sized, underweight, underwhelming jobber talent who is just getting sympathy support because everyone knows he'll never go anywhere.
Comparisons to guys like Rockstar Spud, Zach Gowen, and even Al freakin' Snow are ridiculous.
Rockstar Spud is under-sized but the dude is in SHAPE. He's short but you could still believe he can kick most of our asses and that of regular guys, LOOK AT HIM. He's easily in even better shape than US soldiers who may be as short as him or maybe even a couple inches taller.
Comparing him to Zach Gowen is unfair to Gowen's accomplishments. The guy was an actual athlete, received proper wrestling training, and could wrestle a match. It's not his fault he was FUCKING MISSING A LEG.
The Al Snow comparison I saw was by far the most ridiculous. 6'1, jacked up ECW guy who had HARDCORE matches day in and day out with names like Bob Holly, Raven, Big Bossman, and rubbed shoulders with Mick Foley and The Rock. Likewise, the comparison to 1-2-3 Kid is just as crazy as Waltman by that time had proper wrestling training and a decent build.
Nothing against James Ellsworth, I'm digging his character, and he likely does have wrestling training and just isn't showing it since his role is what it is, but just going by look and physique, and the fact he's not missing a LIMB, he's in Colin Delaney territory. Besides, if he was some fantastic worker, they'd let him show his stuff.
This is just something for comic relief to keep Styles busy and extend his reign a bit until he has to drop the title at the Rumble or something. That and somewhere up high, someone must like the kid and wanted him to just at least get a few WWE checks and get his name out there to increase his indy stock, but by no means do I think they have long-term plans for him.
nwocongo
Getting Noticed By Management
I was listening to X-pac's new podcast where he addressed this Ellsworth stuff, he said he sees the similarity of the upsets but thats where the comparison stops. According to the co-host, Ellsworth has been working on the East Coast for 14 years and he is a promoter for a Baltimore based Indy. He sent a résumé to WWE's website and that's how he came to work a few spots for them.
Despite being "in the business" for 14 years, he was still more or less completely unknown while Waltman had been making waves and had a buzz around him due to his work, so again the upset was similar, the two wrestlers however are not.
I agree with those who have mentioned Colin Delaney. That was who I first thought of during the Ellsworth segment. He's not the new 1-2-3 Kid. As much as I disliked him later on, X-Pac had a much better career than Ellsworth could ever dream of at this point. Would I like to see him succeed? Sure. I doubt he would be anything more than a jobber though. The guy comes off as a guy who would get used as enhancement talent for guys like Zack Ryder. Delaney was a joke of a jobber who did nothing of relevance other than becoming Tommy Dreamer's sidekick for a bit before he made a 100% pointless heel turn and vanished shortly afterwards. I predict Ellsworth goes down a similar path to Delaney's in the WWE, hopefully without that stupid heel turn at the end this time around.
Dmbfantomas
Bald Billy was Better
He throws a hell of a Superkick, though.
Ellsworth recently spoke with Joe Dombrowski on this very topic. He compared his recent situation to a number of talents who've found themselves in the same role. He said that nearly every past example was actually book as the lovable underdog with the intention of the fans getting behind them in some manner. With Ellsworth this was never meant to be the case. It was all intended to be a one off in his squash loss to Strowman. He was fortunate enough to be the first name called and actually allowed to give a bit of creative input. Thus the birth of a "Man w/Two Hands" line that seriously made his appearance pop. From there the fans lifted him up and continue to fuel his success.
Ellsworth will be Bischoff On Wrestling tomorrow. It should be an interesting listen.
Ellsworth will be Bischoff On Wrestling tomorrow. It should be an interesting listen.
Interview with James from a CBS affiliate- very good read.
Interview With James Ellsworth, WWE’s Most Unlikely Star
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/10/18/interview-with-james-ellsworth-wwes-most-unlikely-star/
Interview With James Ellsworth, WWE’s Most Unlikely Star
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/10/18/interview-with-james-ellsworth-wwes-most-unlikely-star/
I rarely find a need to comment on anything in the WWE universe, though I have plenty of opinion I am a very casual fan that mostly checks into WWE programming at the Royal Rumble, follows it loosely until Wrestlemania, then becomes mostly disinterested in a week to week fashion.
I have seen the last few weeks, and have found the James Ellsworth 'run' entertaining. I just have to give the WWE merchandising a HUGE thumbs down on his shirt .....
I am serious, they had a chance for a flash in the pan income stream & they put that thoughtless, uncreative, junk out there??? You can't put his 'slogan' somewhere or give kids a 'nerdy', 'geeky', shirt that they could still wear to school??
I dunno _ i have such an incredible problem with that shirt - I could do a better job at that - just don't get it!!!!
I have seen the last few weeks, and have found the James Ellsworth 'run' entertaining. I just have to give the WWE merchandising a HUGE thumbs down on his shirt .....
I am serious, they had a chance for a flash in the pan income stream & they put that thoughtless, uncreative, junk out there??? You can't put his 'slogan' somewhere or give kids a 'nerdy', 'geeky', shirt that they could still wear to school??
I dunno _ i have such an incredible problem with that shirt - I could do a better job at that - just don't get it!!!!
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