James Ellsworth On Who Came Up With Carmella Pairing, Vince McMahon's Reaction
James Ellsworth's unique look helped him go from unknown jobber to a WWE comedy act, and then he managed to carve out a niche for himself that allowed him to remain on the roster for longer than anyone would've initially predicted. On the latest episode of Dinner With The King, Ellsworth spoke to Jerry "The King" Lawler about his career up to this point.
Ellsworth was inserted into last year's storyline between AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose. Once he was done with that, many fans expected him to fade away, but he was picked up by Carmella to become her valet of sorts. Ellsworth said it was Carmella herself who came up with the idea for the unique pairing.
"I think it was last year at the European tour in November, she came to me and said, 'Hey, I have this idea about putting you with me whenever you're done with the Dean Ambrose and AJ stuff comes to an end, I have this idea to pitch to them. They put you with me, you fall in love with me, and I use that to my advantage to win matches and get me to the women's title,'" Ellsworth explained.
Ellsworth was receptive to the idea even though he hadn't had a previous working relationship with Carmella. The idea eventually earned them a pitch meeting with Vince McMahon himself.
"I said yeah, that would be a great idea. I didn't know her much back then," he said. "She went to Vince, and she pitched right to Vince, and Vince loved it. It's ten, going on eleven months that we've been on TV together."
The on-screen pairing has worked well for them, as Ellsworth helped Carmella win the first-ever Women's Money In The Bank briefcase. Carmella is poised to be a cornerstone for the future of the WWE women's division. Ellsworth said he has enjoyed working with her and their working relationship has blossomed into a friendship outside the ring.
"We are good friends. We text all the time," Ellsworth said. "She's a very, very smart girl, and she's easy to talk to. We get along great."
You can listen to the full podcast below:
Source: Dinner With The King