Enzo Amore: Realest Heel In The Room
His name is Enzo Amore, the certified G, the bonafide stud, former Cruiserweight Champion, and one of the most entertaining segments in the WWE whether it be on NXT, RAW, or 205 Live. Enzo is a talent, that love him or hate him, will not be ignored, and garners a reaction wherever he goes. Public opinion on Enzo goes from one extreme to the other. Some claiming that his personality, charisma, and mic skills are a breath of fresh air to the 205 live product. While others say his lacking in ring ability tarnishes the championship, claiming that while Enzo may meet the weight requirement of a 205 Live competitor, but not the skill set. So how did Enzo Amore, the Smacktalker Skywalker, go from being in one of the most loved tag teams in recent memory, to public enemy number 1 in just the span of a few weeks? I think it’s time we take a step back, and look at Enzo’s journey on the main roster.
“The Realest Guys in the Room”
Without question, the teaming of Enzo and Big Cass was a smash success. Although the team would never go on to win the tag team titles, their segments on Monday Night Raw became much anticipated commonplace each week. With Enzo armed with a microphone, spitting fire on tag teams each week, and with the backing of his enforcer, Big Cass, it seemed that this team would have a bright future ahead of them. Sure they weren’t the most refined tag team, or the most aggressive or intimidating, but they were the most ENTERTAINING. More often than not, the team of Enzo and Cass would usually fall short of a victory, typically being used to make other tag teams look good, but they didn’t need to win to gain the support of the fans each week. Whether they won or lost, everyone enjoyed their weekly antics, from calling out haters, to hotel rendezvous with a certain ravishing Russian, Enzo and Cass were always a winning combination.
“Brothers No More…”
‘Because everybody in the back doesn’t like you, I felt bad for you Enzo.” Turns out this statement from Big Cass to Enzo the night Cass turned on his long time partner, the Certified G, held a lot more weight than originally assumed. At the time the fans were shocked, to see Colin Cassidy pouring his heart and soul out in the ring in a passionate and aggressive promo to Enzo, with tears in his eyes and the audience stunned with what was unfolding before them, Big Cass laid everything out in the ring. That HE was the star, that HE was where the money was, and that the team of Enzo and Cass, was done. At this point, Enzo had become the most sympathetic character on the roster, the world shocked that not only had his long time friend turned on him but wanted to make it as painful as possible. It was clear in the following weeks that Enzo simply stood no fighting chance against Cass, with the big man seemingly walking over Amore on multiple occasions, it was clear Enzo would not get the better of Cass in a physical bout. Then tragedy strikes when Big Cass sustains an injury during his match with Enzo on RAW. Ending the match, and the feud, abruptly. It’s important to note at this point, the fans had not turned on Enzo just yet. Enzo was still a sympathetic character who was betrayed and was simply outmatched, for all intensive purposes he was still the underdog, at least for the moment.
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Joining 205 Live
So with the team of Enzo and Cass now disbanded, what was next for Enzo? Seemingly the entire internet community was speculating that he would soon join the ranks of 205 live, because in all honesty how would someone like Enzo Amore find a place on the card with guys like Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, Bray Wyatt, The Shield, etc. 205 Live was the next legitimate step for Amore, where he would not only find a place where he could succeed, but his over the top antics and persona would breathe new life into the land of the cruiser weights. This is where things take a turn for Enzo. Upon joining the roster of 205 live, Enzo wasted little time in letting the world, and his peers know, that he was now the focal point of 205 live, champion or not, he was about to make 205 live relevant. In the time it takes someone to have a cup of coffee, it seemed that not only had the entire 205 roster turned on Enzo simply for his mere presence stealing their thunder, but now the audience was starting to become very critical of his in ring ability. Claiming that someone with the limited skills of Enzo Amore, competing with world class athletes such as Neville, would only tarnish the championship and the entire division. As if this was David Arquette winning the WCW World Title all over again. The interesting thing to point out is that fans for the most part never really gave Enzo a hard time about his lacking in ring skills until he joined 205 Live. People weren’t complaining when he was in NXT and on RAW with Big Cass. Even when he broke away from Cass he was still receiving support from the fans. It wasn’t until Enzo was moved to 205 Live, that NOW his in ring ability became a concern. This I believe is a misunderstanding of basic wrestling fundamentals. As William Regal says, “The important thing is making a connection with the fans, it’s a BONUS if you’re good in the ring.” He is absolutely right. Unless the fans complaining about Enzo Amore, were also losing their minds over guys like Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior back in the day, they are being hypocritical. There have been tons of stars of yesterday and even currently, that get by, and even thrive, off of limited in ring ability. The difference with Enzo is that it is the bandwagon opinion to point to Enzo and criticize his skills. Lets be real, unless you are doing this to everyone who is below par, then you are on the bandwagon.
A Justified Heel
In one of the more shocking events in recent history, Enzo Amore was able to pull a page from Eddie Guerrero’s playbook and low blow his way to a title win, against the king of the Cruiserweights, Neville. At this point, I don’t believe Enzo was officially a heel, but a face character using a heel tactic, which happens from time to time, just last week Bobby Roode used the tights to secure a win over Dolph Ziggler, but I don’t recall anyone booing Roode for this, hypocritical much? Not long after winning the Cruiserweight Title, Enzo received a beatdown of epic proportions from the entire 205 live roster, while the fans chanted “You deserve it.” So at this point, Enzo had his best friend turn on him, then all of his peers, then the fans. All for what? Being the same bold personality he had always been? For winning a title with a low blow? For not being as athletically talented as the other cruiserweights? At this point Enzo has every right to tell his peers and the fans to stick it. Literally everyone turned on Enzo, and you would expect him to still try to win over anyone’s approval? Enzo’s character has every right to have a “me against the world” mentality, because in many ways, it is. For anyone who has watched Enzo this past week on RAW, after having Kalisto jumped, he stopped to ask the crowd why they didn’t like what was going on, because it was all fun and games when Enzo had an entire ring of competitors all taking their shots at the champ. However when it is Kalisto getting the beatdown (by fewer people I might add) they booed him. Enzo is flat out calling the fans out for being hypocritical. It was OK for Enzo to get jumped, but not Kalisto. It’s OK for anyone else to talk crap about Enzo, but if he says anything, its bad. In my opinion, Enzo is the product of his environment. The fans that boo him made him the heel he is but refuse to acknowledge their hand in it.
Whats Next?
This past week on RAW, I believe we see the start of a new direction for Enzo Amore. Like him or not, Enzo has never tried to pretend to be anything he isn’t. He IS the star he claims to be or he wouldn’t be in WWE to begin with. He doesn’t get TV time every week because he is boring. He doesn’t outsell the majority of the roster in merchandise because he is irrelevant. Enzo has never come out and said he was the most physically gifted or athletically talented, or unstoppable. Enzo this week really did establish his heel persona, that he is where he is because he is a star, and that because of that, he has made his fortune. In an unexpected twist, Kalisto gets jumped by Enzo’s new paid muscle apparently. Which was a fantastic idea in my opinion. If Enzo can’t compete on an even playing field because of his lack of ability, he CAN compete using his wealth. Enzo armed with his fortune can now afford to buy a group of enforcers to have his back at all times. Unlike the Miztourage, where Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel support the Miz to get TV time, Enzo gets his support because cash rules all, and this is just business. Fantastic idea for Enzo to have a competitive edge, and for him to not be hated by the ENTIRE roster. This makes Enzo a credible threat much in the way the Singh Brothers support Jinder Mahal. Enzo will be able to succeed at times where otherwise he would not. Like it or not, Enzo is an over the top character that brings interest and relevance to anything associated with him, and in this business, there’s only ONE WORD to describe that, and I’m gonna spell it out for ya……O-V-E-R!
