James Ellsworth On Wrestling For WWE Championship, Being New To WWE

Chuck Carroll of CBS Sports interviewed James Ellsworth. He discussed with him about what it felt like to be new to WWE, and also challenging for the WWE Championship. 

Six months ago, if someone were to have told you you’d be wrestling for the WWE Championship, what would you have said?

 "I would have just laughed at him. Like, yeah right! That’s a joke! I would have never thought in a million years that I would ever be wrestling for the WWE World Championship."

You’re new to the WWE Universe, but not new to the wrestling business. You’ve been around for 14 years. Does that give you a great appreciation for this opportunity?

I’m glad it happened now and not five or 10 years ago. I’m in a better place now than I was five or 10 years ago with my career. If this were to have happened five or seven years into my career, I don’t think I would have been as prepared for it.

Obviously, I am nervous. You’re wrestling, in my opinion, the best wrestler in the world in AJ Styles for the biggest championship in the world, the WWE World Championship. Yeah, the nerves are there. I’m trying to stay as calm and collected as I can right now at this time, but tomorrow I’m sure I’ll be very nervous.

 Your path to WWE wasn’t through NXT or anything like that. How did you break in there?

Years ago I went on WWE.com and kept on sending them my resume and my pictures and videos of matches. Finally, in 2014 they called me to be an extra talent. I got to be a rosebud with Adam Rose. Ever since then, every time they were 250 miles from where I live in Baltimore, they would contact me to be an enhancement talent for their shows.