James Ellsworth made history — of a sort — on this week’s Smackdown Live. He lost a match to former WWE Smackdown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch, in what ended up being the first singles intergender match in WWE since the Attitude Era. It was a match that both parties had been wanting to have for a very long time, and it certainly lived up to expectations.
It also very well may end up being part of Ellsworth’s swan song with WWE. This week on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that the one-year contract that Ellsworth signed with WWE last year is now up, and him being superkicked into oblivion by Carmella on Smackdown could very well end up being the end of his televised commitments with the company.
But if that does indeed end up being the case, he’s still working the remainder of the live events on WWE’s current European tour. That means he’s still getting beat up on a nightly basis, and during a stop in Nottingham on Thursday, he took a beating for the ages from the Smackdown women’s division.
Yes, that’s a big ol’ beatdown from seven different women. It begins with an EXTREMELY GOOD Stunner from Lana (please god, let that be Lana’s finisher), continues with a chokeslam from Charlotte Flair, then a People’s Elbow (She-ple’s Elbow?) from Lynch, Axe Kick from Naomi, and Superfly Splash from Tamina. Then all the women posed on the top of the ramp, united in their hatred of Ellsworth.
This wasn’t the only Attitude Era-inspired beatdown Ellsworth suffered on the current tour. On Wednesday in Leeds, we also got this great sequence, including an X-Factor from Lana, a Bronco Buster from Carmella, a Rock Bottom from Tamina, a big Hogan leg drop from Naomi, a huge Stunner from Lynch (complete with pinkie-fingers tea salute), and one final Sweet Chin Music from the Princess of Staten Island:
https://twitter.com/ActuaIWWE/status/928427491353493505
It’s entirely possible that this was Ellsworth’s humongous farewell from WWE, and if that ends up being the case, it would be difficult to think of a better way for the company to say goodbye to him.
