WWE News: Former WWE Superstars To Compete In Hilarious Dream Match Next Month
Two of WWE’s former superstars are set to battle in a dream match which might have been best suited for an episode of SmackDown Live. For years now, WWE fans have tended to latch onto the skinnier underdog superstars in the ring, often rallying behind them in hopes they’ll capture that elusive win. One of the earliest examples was the 1-2-3 Kid, who finally defeated Razor Ramon in a WWE match. The rest was history, as the kid eventually became X-Pac. There are two other lightweight stars that have also been backed by the fans and are often compared, leading to a hilarious match being booked.
Those two superstars are Duane “Gillberg” Gill and James Ellsworth. During the International Wrestling Cartel’s recent event, Gillberg was the first surprise as he arrived out to the ring and defeated Bulk Nasty for the High Stakes Title. As he was finishing a celebration in the ring, the lights soon went out, and a “Gillberg” chant started from a voice over the speakers. A mysteriously hooded superstar showed up on the screen. As the mystery man turned around and removed his hood, fans were surprised to see it was James Ellsworth.
The former SmackDown Live star (and Carmella’s pet dog for a while) would go on to mock Gillberg and say that the fans often compared them. He told Gillberg that he’d be coming to see him next month at IWC so they can put all the talk to rest. From there, the match was made official and is now being promoted on IWC’s official website. It will feature the High Stakes title on the line.
Gilberg was originally used as a mock representation of WWE legend Goldberg. However, the gimmick superstar would go on to get the last laugh as he became a champion, winning the WWE’s Light Heavyweight title. Not only did he win, but he also owned the longest reign as recognized by WWE. Fans last saw Gillberg emerge on WWE Raw back in February of last year. It was another mocking of Goldberg, this time set up by Chris Jericho for then-WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens.
Fast forward to years later, and fans saw the emergence of a new, scrawny-bu-likable superstar in James Ellsworth. He first showed up as an overly optimistic jobber opponent for Braun Strowman where he coined his “any man with two hands” phrase before getting squashed. Ellsworth would go on to record non-title wins over champion AJ Styles on SmackDown Live, before ultimately ending up as a comedy act to accompany Carmella to the ring.
Ellsworth was released in late 2017, but he’s managed to continue with his fame in a short amount of time this year. He won Destiny World Wrestling’s “first-ever Santino Cobra Cup” in January. Ellsworth has also gone on to challenge Nick Aldis for the NWA World Heavyweight title but lost that match. Still, Ellsworth made up his own title, the World Intergender Championship, and successfully defended it three days ago against Joey Ryan.
As far as the tale of the tape, Gillberg checks in at 6-foot-0 and weighs 227 pounds. The 58-year-old debuted in WWF back in 1991 and would go on to win the Light Heavyweight title in 1998, holding it for the next 15 months. Ellsworth’s WWE resume is a bit shorter, but he may have some things on his side. He’s 25 years younger and has battled with some of WWE’s toughest including Strowman and Styles. However, Ellsworth is much smaller and lighter, standing at 5-foot-8 and weighing just 176 pounds. Still, as he’s mentioned multiple times, he’s always got a “fighting chance.”
For those fans interested in seeing the match take place, it’s booked for March 17th, 2018 at Court Time Sports Center in Elizabeth, PA. Tickets are available at the IWC website. As of that date, fans will finally have a better idea of who the superior star is between Gillberg and James Ellsworth.
