I do see some fans getting annoyed by him. Some are happy for him. But, much like virtually everyone, he does have his critics. Do his critics have a point? Some people have complained that this Ellsworth stuff has ruined the title push AJ Styles has been getting. I have seen some fans say they should just put Styles out of his misery and take the title off him. The issue isn't that AJ Styles is flopping as WWE Champion. The issue, as far as these fans go, is that Ellsworth's awkwardness and looking good at the expense of AJ Styles on occasion is just not good for Styles. I would agree that Styles could be pushed better. A heel Champion does not need to be protected too much and all that, and AJ Styles has been pushed very well in his rookie year in the WWE, but the WWE should provide a better storyline than this. James Ellsworth does not need to be involved in the main-event scene.
Go back to Zack Ryder. When that guy got over and fans wanted to see him get pushed, no one said it absolutely had to be a main-event push. I never said that. I honestly cannot recall any fans I have seen say that. A proper midcard push would have been enough. Of course, the WWE acted like that was as bad as pulling teeth. You can also throw Santino into the conversation. He got over with a comedy gimmick. He got a lot of midcard title success. No one ever said he needed to win a World title. I saw some fans saying it would be nice if he won it during the last few years of his career, but it is no tragedy that he did not.
James Ellsworth just became a thing in the WWE a few months ago. Why is he already involved in a top-tier storyline on Smackdown? And how does his overness really compare to that of Zack Ryder and Santino Marella? People were going crazy for Zack Ryder to get a push. I don't think anyone was going crazy for Ellsworth in the same way. People were just laughing at his awkwardness on the Internet and the WWE has ran with it. It doesn't really mean that he is popular. It just means he is some kind of fad.
I have seen some fans unhappy that certain guys on Smackdown have nothing important to do, like Jack Swagger and Apollo Crews. I have seen some fans roll their eyes at Ellsworth main-eventing, while guys like Neville and Sami Zayn are not. There are definitely guys on both brands that have been with the company a lot longer than Ellsworth that are being underutilized. People used to say that Smackdown was better than Raw in featuring talent. They would wish certain guys being mistreated on Raw could go to Smackdown. Even I might have recommended that for certain guys. But people on Smackdown are taking a backseat to this guy, and that isn't really right.
The WWE is obviously going for a storyline that has some shock value. An oddity like James Ellsworth is causing all this buzz. A local jobber with no chin is shooting up the ranks. People are talking about it. But it obviously is not drawing. The WWE is just pandering to a fanbase that already has so much to talk about. And it is coming at the expense of other guys not getting proper opportunities, like I just pointed out. This is just not a good investment.
How far will he go? I doubt the WWE will be dumb enough to put the WWE Championship on James Ellsworth. Miz, a heel, is once again Intercontinental Champion. I can imagine Ellsworth winning that title in the kind of upset you would expect Santino to have back in the day. But I even question if he really deserves that much. He will be a lower-midcarder in time. Meanwhile, guys that worked their way through development and have been not pushed anywhere near the level Ellsworth has are just there.
No comments:
Post a Comment