Six years after being unceremoniously fired from the WWE, 2023 could finally the year of Enzo Amore‘s big comeback in pro-wrestling.
A rape allegation that was claimed to be false cost him his job in the WWE, and the diss track on the woman in question soured most promoters to signing Enzo for a number of years.
Yes, I said diss track. Listen to it below, at your own peril.
Where Is Enzo Amore Now 2023?
Enzo Amore was released from his MLW contract in 2023, ending two years with the independent promotion.
He failed to reach the lofty heights of popularity that he did in the WWE, with the MLW fans failing to get behind the former WWE Superstar.
Wrestling under the name nZo, he was reportedly difficult to work with in MLW, which led to many angles involving him being dropped.
This included a world championship match against Alex Hammerstone being cancelled, which was originally meant to take place at Battle Riot V on April 8, 2023.
He continues to wrestle on indie shows in 2023, but Enzo Amore is not signed full-time for any major wrestling company.
However, he has been picked up for a tour with the top company in Japan – New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Enzo Amore NJPW Debut
Despite the controversy surrounding his WWE exit, and his apparent lack of wrestling ability, Enzo Amore (under the name “REAL1”) will be making his NJPW debut this year.
The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion was chosen to wrestle at NJPW’s All Star Jr. Festival USA 2023.
The event is a showcase of various Junior Heavyweight wrestlers from NJPW and across the globe. It features stars from NJPW, AEW and a variety of indepedent promotions – as well as free agents like Enzo.
Enzo Amore was chosen to wrestle in a six-man tag team match at the event. Wrestling as Real1, he is teaming with Jack Cartwheel and Starboy Charlie to take on the trio of Rich Swann, Ryusuke Taguchi and The DKC.
Enzo spoke to Busted Open Radio about his NJPW debut, comparing himself to Eminem in 8 Mile, claiming that nobody could do anything to stop him in the ring.
“What are you going to do, knock me out? What are you going to do, drag my name through the mud? Run my name through the dirt? I’m like Eminem in 8 Mile; there’s nothing you can say about me that hasn’t been said yet. I don’t give a f**k. Don’t you understand that thing about me?”
Enzo Claims He Never Had A Bad Match
Despite all evidence to the contrary, Enzo Amore has claimed to have never had a bad match.
While he is one of the greatest talkers on the microphone of the last decade, his in-ring work always left a lot to be desired.
This is what made his team with Big Cass perfect -they covered for each other’s faults, and were bigger than the sum of their parts.
Speaking with Busted Open Radio, Enzo Amore claimed that he’d “never had a bad match”, crediting his selling in matches that made them all “not bad”.
He also claimed he was the highest-selling merchandise seller in wrestling in his first year in WWE, while also comparing himself to Nazi Germany erasing history.
“I never had a bad match,” Enzo said. “You can’t have a bad match when you do this thing called selling, okay? Selling. And I sold my a** out to the point that we sold tickets, and we sold t-shirts, and I became the number one merchandise seller in all of pro wrestling as a rookie, and people want to act like it didn’t happen. So I don’t want to erase history. That’s what they did in Nazi Germany, you idiots. Don’t ever try to act like I didn’t happen.
“When you erase somebody’s history, when you pretend like it didn’t happen, you rewrite the book, okay? This is wrestling’s history. And when you put wrestling’s history on paper, the number one merchandise seller as a rookie in 2017 was Enzo and Cass, alright? The number one merchandise seller in NXT was Enzo and Cass. The longest-tenured guys in NXT were Enzo and Cass. Why? Cause we put a**es in seats.”
An interesting comparison, with a strong choice of words.
There’s one thing about listening to Enzo Amore speak – it is never dull.