With their defiant and sometimes risqu attitudes, Shawn Michaels and Triple H of D-Generation X established themselves as heavy influences on the youth and young adult audience of WWE's Attitude Era. In the case of former WWE star Enzo Amore, however, the two made an impact in another way.
"For me, there wasn't wrestling; there was Shawn Michaels. It would be like 'Hey mom, could you put on Shawn Michaels?" Amore told Marcus "Buff" Bagwell while recalling his childhood fandom of Michaels.
For a young Amore, it was Michaels' resiliency in the ring that enthralled him the most as a wrestling fan. And accordingto him, the most captivating moment came in the 1995 Men's Royal Rumble match, when his eight-year-old self watched "The Heartbreak Kid" run the gauntlet from the number one spot.
"If we're talking about storytelling, that's David versus Goliath in a modern-day world," Amore said. "You're just a kid and you see the smallest guy in the Royal Rumble outlast everyone. Then the British Bulldog, who's jacked, that guy looks like he should win it, and then Shawn goes over, he hangs on, he flips himself back in the [ring], skin[s] the cat, so he gets back in a ring and he Sweet Chin Musics brother out. He gets Pamela Anderson as his prize, which if you were a kid at that time, 'Baywatch' was the hottest thing on TV. The smallest guy just came in, all he had to do was be the man, be smaller than everybody, take a beating."
Nearly 30 years later, Amore is now passing on the lessons he learned from watching Michaels to up-and-coming performers of today. Specifically, Amore asserts that pro wrestling isn't about the moves, and for smaller performers especially, he encourages them to keep kicking out and "survive" the in-ring beatings like Michaels did.
In the case of Paul "Triple H" Levesque, his biggest influence came at a pivotal point in Amore's life. In fact, it was Levesque who directly helped propel Amore into a professional wrestling ring.
Throughout his teens and early 20s, Amore trained alongside world-renowned strength and conditioning coach Joe DeFranco in his home state of New Jersey. Sometime in the early 2010s, Levesque also began training at DeFranco's gym, opening the door for Amore to forge a connection, specifically by asking DeFranco to show Levesque a YouTube page of him exercising and cutting a promo. Seemingly impressed by the footage, Levesque, then serving as the Chief Operating Officer, subsequently granted Amore a tryout with WWE, where he was later signed and received his formal in-ring training.
"I got to thank you, Triple H. Paul Levesque, thank you for saving me that three grand on wrestling school and giving me the best school in the history of the world with the greatest coaches in the history of the world," Amore said. "When people ask me about wrestling, I say I learned how to wrestle on WWE TV. I watched it and I understood what I was watching. I got it."
As he continued his in-ring training, Amore made his official pro debut in October 2012 during a six-man tag match at a "WWE NXT" live event. From there, Amore debuted on "NXT" television and formed a notable partnership with Big Cass, which eventually transcended to WWE's main roster.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Marcus "Buff" Bagwell with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
