Enzo Amore’s WWE return could be very close, more than eight years after being released by the company.
PWInsider reports that there are people backstage who believe Amore signed a new deal with WWE over the last week.
One source said Amore is headed to NXT, where he made his TV debut in 2013, rather than the main roster.
Last week, Fightful Select reported that Amore had spoken with WWE at some point this year and still wanted to come back, but the two sides hadn’t reached a deal yet.
Since May, reports have said NXT would be his next destination. In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that month, Dave Meltzer revealed WWE’s plans for him.
“The current plan has Enzo Amore to be in NXT soon,” Meltzer wrote.
The rumors picked up when Amore was recently seen at the Performance Center in Orlando. Amore, who had been working in the independent scene under the name Real1, then started turning down bookings he would regularly take.
Meanwhile, Amore’s former tag team partner Big Cass returned to WWE by himself on the August 3 Raw after SummerSlam, where he attacked Je’Von Evans. Since then, Cass has been a heel on Raw, and on October 26, he teamed with Ethan Page to defeat Chad Gable and Dragon Lee.
On Wrestling Observer Radio in October, Meltzer noted that WWE wanted to keep them apart, because Cass’s potential would be very limited as part of a team due to the way WWE handles tag teams.
Amore’s last appearance on WWE programming was in January 2018. He was suspended during an investigation into sexual assault allegations and released the following day while still Cruiserweight Champion. The case was closed by Phoenix police that May due to a lack of evidence.