CHICAGO — Faced for the second year in a row with an impossible task that everyone assumed she was nowhere near ready for, Carmella once again achieved the impossible at WWE Money in the Bank. And for the second year in a row, James Ellsworth helped her do it.
The re-emergence of Ellsworth, who was released from his WWE contract late last year after months as Carmella’s henchman, was a truly poetic instance of history repeating itself: Ellsworth infamously helped her win the first-ever Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match at lastyear’s event, so it was only fitting that he resurfaced to help The Princess of Staten Island in a title match against Asuka that was fast becoming a formality for The Empress of Tomorrow.
James Ellsworth made a shocking return at WWE Money in the Bank 2018 to come to SmackDown Women's Champion Carmella's rescue against Asuka.
Speculation leading up to the showdown had mostly been on whether the end of Asuka’s undefeated streak had left the former NXT Women’s Champion too diminished to mount a credible challenge, and the Japanese striker wasted no time dispelling those notions in the most painful fashion imaginable. Carmella’s early confidence was quickly whittled away with each blistering chop, kick and hip-charge from Asuka; The Empress’ opening salvo was so savage that Corey Graves openly wondered if she’d get disqualified.
Carmella sets out to prove she’s ready for Asuka in a captivating title defense against The Empress of Tomorrow.
Carmella found some success with her surprisingly deep playbook of submissions and by using Asuka’s aggression against her, waiting for the champion to rev up and then simply getting out of the way so Asuka landed the most damage on herself. Though right as Asuka was moving in for the final push, a mysterious figure cloaked in Asuka’s robe and mask climbed onto the apron. When the individual unmasked to reveal Ellsworth, Asuka was so stunned that a savage kick from Carmella to Asuka’s dome was enough to put The Empress of Tomorrow down for the count.
Is this enough to prove that Carmella is truly “better” than Asuka, as she claimed when the reunited duo danced up the ramp? Debatable. But she was clearly more than ready.
CHICAGO — Faced for the second year in a row with an impossible task that everyone assumed she was nowhere near ready for, Carmella once again achieved the impossible at WWE Money in the Bank. And for the second year in a row, James Ellsworth helped her do it.
The re-emergence of Ellsworth, who was released from his WWE contract late last year after months as Carmella’s henchman, was a truly poetic instance of history repeating itself: Ellsworth infamously helped her win the first-ever Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match at lastyear’s event, so it was only fitting that he resurfaced to help The Princess of Staten Island in a title match against Asuka that was fast becoming a formality for The Empress of Tomorrow.
James Ellsworth made a shocking return at WWE Money in the Bank 2018 to come to SmackDown Women's Champion Carmella's rescue against Asuka.
Speculation leading up to the showdown had mostly been on whether the end of Asuka’s undefeated streak had left the former NXT Women’s Champion too diminished to mount a credible challenge, and the Japanese striker wasted no time dispelling those notions in the most painful fashion imaginable. Carmella’s early confidence was quickly whittled away with each blistering chop, kick and hip-charge from Asuka; The Empress’ opening salvo was so savage that Corey Graves openly wondered if she’d get disqualified.
Carmella sets out to prove she’s ready for Asuka in a captivating title defense against The Empress of Tomorrow.
Carmella found some success with her surprisingly deep playbook of submissions and by using Asuka’s aggression against her, waiting for the champion to rev up and then simply getting out of the way so Asuka landed the most damage on herself. Though right as Asuka was moving in for the final push, a mysterious figure cloaked in Asuka’s robe and mask climbed onto the apron. When the individual unmasked to reveal Ellsworth, Asuka was so stunned that a savage kick from Carmella to Asuka’s dome was enough to put The Empress of Tomorrow down for the count.
Is this enough to prove that Carmella is truly “better” than Asuka, as she claimed when the reunited duo danced up the ramp? Debatable. But she was clearly more than ready.
