Former WWE Superstar Enzo Amore, now going by name Real1 as he pursues a career in the hiphop industry, recently sat down with This is 50 for a giant-sized interview spanning more than 40 minutes.
The former Cruiserweight Champion recently released a second single on YouTube, as previously noted, but revealed during the interview that he actually recorded the now-infamous single “Phoenix” one month after accusations of sexual assault were brought to the public’s attention, prompting his release from WWE. Enzo also claimed that he has dozens of new tracks already written and ready to go, including a song called “Brass Ring” he believes wrestling fans will enjoy.
You can check out the full 41-minute interview in the video above. Below are highlights from the conversation for your convenience.
Enzo on the best three wrestlers in the world during his time with WWE:
“Adrian Neville, who is my best friend. I rode with him on the road. He is the most crisp, athletic, poignant – the guy never missed a step. It was insane. I’ve never seen somebody who can move in a ring like he him. It was like second nature to him.”
“Finn Balor. He takes such good care of his body, and of his mind for that matter. He’s a class act, and he’s a pro.” … “Seth Rollins. He takes care of himself. So in tune with his body and with his work.”
On why he would never compare himself to guys like Finn Balor and Seth Rollins:
“These people, they take what they do seriously. I was different. I wasn’t like anyone else. The business had never seen the likes of me, and probably never will. They were hitting the gym, working hard, athletic, and looked great. And yeah, they worked on the other things that I was working on too, I’m not taking away from that. But at the end of the day you know I’m not on PEDs. Enzo wasn’t poppin’ from PEDs.”
… “They were working on lifting weights and wrestling moves, and I was working on trying to make people laugh and pay attention to me. Because I did not know how to wrestle yet, and it’s important, but it can’t be learned overnight. The skill set that I did have, I could go out on TV overnight with. All they had to do was protect me in the ring at the beginning in NXT. I didn’t have to wrestle. I just went out there talking my s—, got in your face, and you dropped me.”
Enzo’s response to people who criticize him for “not being able to wrestle”, especially during his reign at WWE Cruiserweight Champion:
“If I got punched in the face and fell down, the people laughed their ass off, and then they’d cheer for me to get back up. I didn’t need to run and hit the ropes and do a dropkick. All I had to do was get [Big Cass] in, because when I got that 7-foot guy in, it’s f—ing over. I played a role. That was a character on TV. That was my role. Had I wanted to hit the ropes and done a dropkick I could have, but that wasn’t my role.”
“When I was the bad guy my job was to make everybody else look like the best wrestler in the world, and I was the worst wrestler in the world. My job was to hang on to that title that I had no means [of retaining]. When you get in the ring with me I make you look like you’re the best wrestler in the world, then kick you in the nuts and pin you. I understood that.”
On why he considers himself more of a writer than a wrestler, and having to fight to keep his job from the very beginning:
“I was focussed as a writer. I was like Jim Carrey. I would be up until 3 or 4 in the morning on nights where I was facing a wall. When I walked into WWE I was told I was gonna be fired 10 times, because I was the smallest guy around. I was a washed-up rapper who never made it – I’m blessed. The stars aligned. I had to beat my boss to work every day, and no one can take that away from me.”
“I would be up until 3 in the morning, talking in the mirror like Jim Carrey. Just talking, making faces, doing dumb dances – like what’s gonna work? What’s not? How am I gonna say this word?
Editor’s Note: If you would like to use any of our transcriptions from this interview, for any reason, please credit ProWrestling.com for the initial write-up. Thank you.