James Ellsworth released by WWE
After he was written off television last week, WWE announced that they’ve released James Ellsworth today.
The company’s statement: “WWE has come to terms on the release of WWE Superstar James Ellsworth. WWE wishes Ellsworth the best in all of his future endeavors.”
Ellsworth lost to Becky Lynch in a match that was billed as a “battle of the sexes” at last Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings in Manchester, England. He was superkicked by Carmella after the match but continued to be featured on the rest of the tour stops, getting beaten down by the entire SmackDown women’s division after their matches on the house shows.
Following a memorable cameo in a squash match against Braun Strowman last year, WWE started using Ellsworth on SmackDown and eventually signed him to a contract. He was first used as an underdog babyface and faced AJ Styles multiple times before turning heel and being paired with Carmella.
Ellsworth joins Emma, Darren Young, Summer Rae, NXT’s Sawyer Fulton, Performance Center trainee Leo Gao, and former Tough Enough winner Josh Bredl as wrestlers WWE has released over the last few weeks.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.