James Ellsworth: Vince McMahon Personally Hired Me Following WWE Match With Braun Strowman

James Ellsworth has revealed that Vince McMahon sought him out and personally told him he was going to offer him a job following his short match with Braun Strowman on WWE Raw in 2016.

Initially brought in as a local competitor, Ellsworth was destroyed by Strowman in quick fashion on the July 25 2016 episode of Raw, and quickly became a regular on WWE SmackDown a few weeks later. 

Speaking on the It’s My House Podcast, Ellsworth said: "It’s funny you bring up the internet wrestling community, and the memes, and all the support, which I appreciated. That’s not what [got me hired by WWE]. It’s that day when I wrestled Strowman. 

"After I was done in the match, Vince McMahon was looking for me and when he found me, he shook my hand. He said, ‘Great job out there! I’m going to hire you.’ And I thought he was kidding, I was like, ‘Oh, thank you.’ He said, ‘I’ll be in touch.’

"He thought for a while what am I going to do with this guy? He thought I cut a good promo, I sold well, he thought I looked different. Six weeks later, he hired me. 

"A lot of people aren’t in the internet bubble. Like, a majority of wrestling fans aren’t on the internet like your casual fans: your moms, dads and kids. They’re not on the internet, they come to the show and they enjoy it. They don’t get in anybody’s business, and they they just want to be entertained and have fun. There is a large internet wrestling community that’s a loud minority of actual fans.

"But yeah, it was this man. He just saw something in me, and I was very blessed and fortunate that he did. And it worked out for all of us. I mean, he hired me, my t-shirt was the number one seller for a month, and I feel where whatever they put me in worked. Like, I always tell everybody I had such a great time and I appreciated the opportunity that he gave me."

H/T Wresting Inc.