Why Enzo Won’t Be Back Because the Charges Were Dropped.

Word is getting out that the sexual assault charges against Enzo Amore have been dropped. Many of Enzo’s supporters are trumpeting this and voicing hopes that this means that WWE will right the ‘wrong’ of Enzo’s firing now that he’s in the clear.

Here’s the problem with this thinking: Enzo was NOT fired for being under investigation for sexual assault, what he WAS fired for was not telling WWE that he was under investigation for sexual assault and representing the company as one of their champions. WWE’s stance on any superstar being charged with a crime is to wait until they’ve had their day in court. Usually, the superstar is suspended and WWE takes a wait and see; this would’ve happened to Enzo if he had just been honest.

What’s worse is that WWE found out about this mess when the alleged victim tweeted about it and the press asked WWE for comment, on the day of RAW 25, the biggest RAW of the year. Reports say that Vince and Triple H were furious with Enzo about this, and you can hardly blame them. Finding out that one of your champions has been under investigation for sexual assault for three months and hid it from them, but they had find out because the alleged victim tweeted about it and it caught the attention of the press.

One of the things I’ve heard and observed about Vince McMahon in my nearly thirty years of being a WWE fan is that he is very forgiving. He’s forgiven and brought back people that he’s had serious issues with because he believes in second chances. Personal issues are one thing, but dishonesty is another and Vince isn’t going to bring back someone he can’t trust.

Let’s be honest here, Enzo was a sleazy lowlife in the ring and outside of it, he wasn’t popular in the locker room, and he was an atrocious wrestler, but Vince and Triple H gave him opportunities over more talented wrestler because he got a great pop, could work the mic, and sold merchandise. To then find out that this person you’ve given a leg up to has lied to your face about something as serious as a sexual assault investigation would be infuriating.

There’s also another issue with this: Just because charges were dropped doesn’t mean Enzo’s in the clear. Charges being dropped simply means that there isn’t enough evidence to take it to trial or there was a problem with the alleged victim’s story, which is possible. Neither of which means something unsavory didn’t happen, just that there wasn’t enough to build an airtight case.

Now, some unfortunate comments have been made about what should be done to the alleged victim since she ‘ruined’ Enzo’s career. There are several MAJOR problems this this line of thinking:

1. The allegations alone didn’t get Enzo fired. Enzo not telling WWE about the allegations got him fired. This cannot be stated enough.
2. Again, the charges being dropped doesn’t mean he didn’t do something wrong. It just means that the prosecution’s case wasn’t good enough to go to trial.
3. Though the prosecution COULD file charges against the alleged victim for filing a false report, that would only be viable IF it could be proven that she lied. The prosecution probably won’t do that because a jury could see this as a victim being persecuted for speaking out about allegedly being raped because the alleged perpetrator was famous. The same goes for Enzo suing her over this.
4. This discourages victims from speaking out. Since we don’t know why the charges were dropped, we shouldn’t assume that the victim lied and to punish her sends a terrible message.

Even if Enzo was cleared of any wrong doing, I doubt WWE would bring him back, not after the whole mess with how they found out. Enzo proved that he was untrustworthy and embarrassed the company on a very important day, this combined with his other issues, pretty much slams the door on his return. Don’t believe me? WWE pretty much told us he wasn’t coming back in the statement they issued when announcing his release. Any superstar who is released, for whatever reason, gets a note in the press release stating that ‘WWE wishes ___ the best in their future endeavors’. This not only signals that there’s no hard feelings (at least on WWE’s end), but leaves the door open for them to return down the road. Eric Arndt (Enzo) didn’t get those well-wishes. WWE is done with Enzo Amore, and that should be enough for everyone.