Enzo Amore Reportedly Signs New WWE Deal, Expected to Head to NXT
Enzo Amore is believed to have signed a new contract with WWE. PWInsider's Mike Johnson reported on Wednesday that there are people backstage who believe Amore agreed to a new deal over the last week, and that he is expected to go to NXT.
This is a report, not an announcement. WWE has not confirmed the signing, and Amore has not commented on it publicly. No debut date has been reported. If it happens, it would be his first WWE appearance since January 2018.
What we know so far
- Status: Reported, not official. The report says people backstage believe a deal was done within the past week.
- Brand: NXT, not Raw or SmackDown, according to the report.
- Timing: Unknown. Talk of an Amore return to NXT has been building since the spring.
- The Cass question: In October, WrestleVotes said on Fightful Select that WWE creative felt the audience was waiting for Enzo, which limited what they could do with Big Cass. The report also said the idea was not unanimously agreed upon inside the company.
His first WWE run (2013 to 2018)
Amore, whose real name is Eric Arndt, is from Hackensack, New Jersey. He debuted on NXT TV in May 2013 and soon teamed with Colin Cassady, later known as Big Cass. Their loud promos made them one of the most popular acts in NXT, and they won the NXT Year-End Award for Tag Team of the Year in 2015.
They moved up to the main roster on the Raw after WrestleMania 32 in April 2016, where they confronted The Dudley Boyz. The team ended in June 2017, when Cass was exposed as having faked an attack on himself and then turned on Amore.
Amore then moved to the cruiserweight division. He beat Neville for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship at No Mercy on September 24, 2017. He lost it to Kalisto on Raw on October 9, then won it back at TLC on October 22. He was still champion when his run ended.
The January 2018 release
In January 2018, a woman accused Amore of sexual assault in a public post. WWE suspended him, saying the company has "zero tolerance for matters involving sexual harassment or sexual assault." A day later, on January 23, 2018, WWE announced it had released him, and the Cruiserweight Championship was vacated.
Amore denied the allegations through his attorneys. In May 2018, the Phoenix Police Department ended its investigation, citing insufficient evidence, and no charges were filed.
What he did after WWE
Amore first turned to music. Starting in May 2018, he released rap songs and mixtapes under the names Real1 and nZo. He returned to the ring in 2019 as nZo on the independent scene, and later worked for MLW as nZo and then Real1, from November 2021 until MLW released him in April 2023.
He made his NJPW debut in August 2023 in a six-man tag match. He has also worked for GCW and many independent promotions. In July 2025, he appeared on the TNA Slammiversary pre-show, teaming with Zilla Fatu and Josh Bishop for a win.
Where Big Cass fits in
Cass was released by WWE in June 2018. He later worked for TNA and then AEW, where he wrestled as Big Bill. He came back to WWE on the August 3, 2026 episode of Raw, attacking Je'Von Evans. He has been working on Raw since, including a tag match with Ethan Page against Chad Gable and Dragon Lee on October 26.
With Amore expected in NXT and Cass on Raw, the two would be on different brands for now. No reunion has been announced or reported as a plan.
Our view and what to watch
In our view, NXT makes sense as a starting point. It is where Amore first connected with fans, and it lets WWE bring him back slowly. Fans will have strong and mixed reactions to this news, given how his first run ended, and that is fair. For now, watch for official word from WWE and any post from Amore himself. Until then, treat this as a report.
