Why It’s Time to Appreciate WWE’s Enzo Amore

In a WWE that features no Brock Lesnar, no Universal Championship, no John Cena, and 7 of WWE’s biggest players wrapped in the same Shield storyline, all of a sudden there’s only about 15 minutes of RAW worth watching. However, to combat fans’ apathy, WWE has employed Enzo Amore to keep you from changing the channel.

Regardless of how WWE fans feel about Amore, they can’t help but watch. Enzo Amore is the epitome of being remarkable. His brand of colorful squawking ranges from egregious self-importance to instances of undeniable charm, creating a reluctant magnetism. Amore has a touch of magic about him. And in WWE, magic means money.

Enzo’s success in WWE comes in the face of unrelenting scrutiny. He’s had his name openly slandered by a multitude of WWE Superstars and announcers, to the point that a narrative developed – WWE wants Enzo Amore out. Rumors surfaced that Amore had been kicked off buses, removed from locker rooms, and had essentially become the resident pariah in WWE’s family. However, according to WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross, this notion that Enzo Amore was being punished is a laughable concept.

“How would you go to that much trouble to bust somebody’s balls?” questioned, Ross. “And then you didn’t want them over and then all of a sudden they might actually get over because the exposure that you’re providing them in your punishment, are you kidding?”

Up Next: Is Enzo Amore a Victim of ‘Fake News?’

If WWE is indeed reprimanding Enzo, they have a curious way of doing so. Enzo has closed RAW 3 weeks in a row (an accomplishment that’s impossible to overstate). And while he lost his precious Cruiserweight Championship, he’ll be winning it back at next week’s TLC because WWE is undeniably building around Enzo Amore.

Enzo commands his relevance in the most classic of ways – the microphone. By cutting a slew of revealing, character expanding promos Amore has quite literally talked his way into the hearts of WWE fans. While his act is routinely comical, Enzo’s diatribes carry an irrefutable edge that demands we listen. Stone Cold Steve Austin did the same thing, but the WWE Universe isn’t quite ready to draw a line from Stone Cold to Enzo. They will one day.

From a higher perspective, it seems like Enzo is in the middle of his version of the YES Movement. While it likely won’t end in him tapping out Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, he’s already established himself as one of WWE best characters. The question begs, how close is Enzo to becoming a sensational WWE attraction?

“Close. Closer than most people want to admit,” reasoned Ross.

Good Ol JR would go one to divulge a full character analysis of the budding WWE Superstar:

“Here’s the deal, the kid takes a great ass whooping. He’s a unique character. He’s athletic. I know that to be a fact. But he’s different. He’s the kind of cat that you walk through the airport and you look over during his dance and you take another look. And there’s something about that concept as far as old promoters and marketers and talent scouts and Hollywood and so forth are concerned that still matters. Head turners. Head-turners,” concluded Ross.

More: Possible Spoiler on WWE’s Plans for Enzo Amore

Enzo is just the latest installment of WWE’s post-Modern formula for success. Like John Cena and Roman Reigns, Enzo has his supporters (mostly younger demographics) and his vehement opponents (men from 25-40), both of which are eager to express their joy/disdain the instant Enzo’s music hits.

This power to summon emotion is the rarest (and most profitable) quality wrestlers can possess. A compelling personality outranks a unique arsenal of in-ring maneuvers or the impeccable body by lightyears. WWE is all too keen on what Enzo represents and have supplied him unprecedented freedom.

WWE is riding Enzo’s wave, mostly because they have to. With so much of their main event absent of occupied, Enzo Amore has monopolized not only the mid-card but has claimed real estate in some of the WWE most coveted time slots.

Love and hate Enzo Amore as much as you please, but stay cognizant of the fact that he’s doing things that have been reserved to the most iconic of WWE Superstars. Remember that in only a few weeks, Enzo Amore single handily took 205 Live, WWE’s most inconsequential offspring, and made it must watch TV.

If Enzo’s first chapter is reviving a nearly dead division, then what could possibly be next?