Big Cass admitted that the popularity he had with Enzo Amore has made it harder to establish himself as a heel since he returned to WWE in August.
On The Sal Licata Show, Cass was asked how his time with Enzo has affected his singles run. He said a lot of fans still remember him from back when the crowd was behind him, while his current character is supposed to get a completely different reaction.
“It definitely does, yes, because I’m coming back into WWE as a heel, right?” Cass said. “I think we can talk about heels and faces on your show, I’m pretty sure. I’m coming back as a heel, and the last time anybody in that viewing audience saw me, that they recognized me from, I was in one of the hottest babyface acts in the company.”
Cass was even more direct about how popular the team was.
“Top three, I would say, at that time. And argue with a wall if you don’t agree with that. I would say at that point, we were a top-three babyface act in the entire company.”
Cass said the crowd still chants the team’s catchphrases at him during his matches, even when fans are booing him.
“And now I’m coming back by myself as a heel. It makes things a lot harder. You go out there as a heel and people are booing you, but you do hear people in the crowds saying the old catchphrases at me.”
“And I think they’re doing that to get under my skin. And I think that’s their true intention, which as a heel is a good thing.”
“But yes, to answer your question, it makes it way more difficult than having a clean slate.”
After news broke that he had signed with WWE, there was talk that Enzo would return as well. “A lot of podcasts ran with that story, and people believed it,” Cass said. “So then I come back on my own, and some people are like, ‘Wait, what?’”
Despite that, Cass believes he has been doing his job by “getting booed out of buildings.”
Cass made his return to WWE on the August 3 Raw and jumped Je’Von Evans after Evans’ match with Ethan Page.
WrestleVotes Radio reported on Fightful Select on October 8 that some in WWE creative believed that anticipation for an Enzo return was hurting their plans for Cass. WrestleVotes noted that not everyone backstage shared that view.
Since then, WWE has paired Cass with Page. On Monday’s Raw, Cass and Page defeated Chad Gable and Dragon Lee in a tag team match.