James Ellsworth’s squash to Braun Strowman earned praise from Vince McMahon

Future WWE champion James Ellsworth was on the Talk is Jericho podcast this week. As well as thanking his parents for getting him over, he talked about that magical Raw where he was decimated by Braun Strowman.

When retelling the story, he mentioned that his act of getting murdered by Big Braun earned personal praise from the one person in WWE who’s opinion matters most: Vince McMahon.

“I come through the curtain. Arn [Anderson] comes up to me and he said, ‘You did a very good job, kid. Vince wants to see you.’ I’m like, ‘Vince wants to see me? What?’ So I go up to gorilla where Vince is and he’s coming down the stairs looking for me. He’s like, ‘Come here!’ He said, ‘Good job, kid! Great job!’ and shook my hand... That meant the world coming from him obviously.’ “

Jericho made it known that praise from the Chairman isn’t a common occurrence, even for a multi-time champion like himself.

It’s fascinating to hear that Vince was so intent on telling the local talent of a brief squash match that he did a good job. He obviously pays attention to the smallest details of the show. Or he realized like the rest of us the caliber of superstar he had just witnessed. It’s one of those two things.

Ellsworth’s work got him a chance to main event a SmackDown alongside the likes of John Cena, Dean Ambrose, and AJ Styles. Unfortunately, the dastardly Miz attacked our beloved hero, denying him and us of that greatness. We’ll see if he pops up again in the future. If Vince is a fan, it’s a good bet.

Here’s to the chinless wonder!