Former WWE Superstar, James Ellsworth was a recent guest on the Steve Austin Show where he talked about his WWE debut and what Shane McMahon told him afterward. Below are some highlights of the interview with a h/t to Wrestling.Inc for the transcription.

His dreams of being a pro-wrestler:

“I can’t remember ever not wanting to be a pro wrestler. I started watching it at a young age. In kindergarten and first grade, they would ask us what we wanted to be when we grew up. People would dress as doctors or police officers, nurses, but I would come dressed as a wrestler. My dad would try to dress me up as a baseball player, but I’m like, no, I want to dress up like the Ultimate Warrior because I want to be a professional wrestler when I grow up,” Ellsworth said. “I can’t remember not wanting to be a professional wrestler my whole life. I started watching wrestling at a young age; around 4 or 5 years old. Ricky Morton was the first pro wrestler that I noticed in the NWA around 1988, 1989 when I was 4 or 5 years old. Then I noticed ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage and the Ultimate Warrior. I was just hooked right away.”

His WWE debut:

“After the six weeks, and I knew I would be appearing on TV, I was like, man, is this just an internet thing where guys were just having fun on the internet or did people really care? So, that first appearance on SmackDown AJ Styles was looking for a partner when AJ Styles was a heel. Daniel Bryan said that if you couldn’t look for a partner then we would find one for you. I was going to be revealed as a partner. I was thinking, man, hopefully they react when I walk into the camera into the shot,” he said. “So AJ Styles couldn’t find a partner, nobody wanted to team with him. It was a match against Dean Ambrose and John Cena.”

What did Shane McMahon say to him after the debut:

“When I walked into the camera I heard the crowd react. It was a live shot, and we did the shot, afterwards Shane McMahon came to me and said, ‘Kid, did you hear that pop?’ He was all excited for me. You know Shane; he’s one of the boys. Once he started doing that I realized that it was real and people wanted to see the character, and see it do something. That night before I debuted, Miz beat me up on the stage and stole the spot in the match and then you didn’t see me again for a month and that was when I came in to wrestle AJ Styles for the first time.”