After sexual assault allegations against Enzo Amore became public on Monday, WWE suspended him, then quickly ended up announcing that they instead released him the next day.
The reason that WWE pivoted to a full on release is not due to any new evidence against Enzo that WWE discovered, PWInsider says. The case is still open by the Phoenix police and Enzo has not been charged with anything yet. Typically, WWE would suspend Enzo, then release him if he is found guilty or bring him back if he is cleared.
The reason for his release appears to be a “final straw” situation. Enzo was reportedly aware of the allegations and the criminal investigation, which was opened in October 2017, but did not make WWE aware of it. WWE only found out when they started receiving media calls about it on Monday, while they were planning the big Raw 25 show, so obviously the timing for them was pretty terrible. Enzo was asked by WWE and he confirmed to them that he knew about the investigation. WWE suspended him, then announced his release the next day.
Enzo has had a lot of backstage heat during his time in WWE, including the much-talked-about situation where he was thrown off a WWE tour bus by Roman Reigns in Europe. According to PWInsider, the situation there was that other people on the bus were trying to sleep in the middle of the night, but Enzo was talking loudly on the phone and would not keep quiet after being repeatedly asked. Enzo was rumored to be one of the least liked people in the locker room and often dressed and traveled on his own.
Enzo was originally scheduled to be part of the Raw 25 show on Monday. The plan, according to PWInsider, was that Enzo would face Goldust and the Zo Train would interfere, then the Dudley Boyz would come out and put one of the heels through a table, then celebrate with Goldust and Cedric Alexander. That match was changed to Titus O’Neil & Apollo Crews vs. Heath Slater & Rhyno.