Ariya Daivari Comments On Working With Enzo On WWE 205 Live
In 2017, Enzo Amore moved over to 205 Live, and within a month of joining the cruiserweight division, he defeated Neville with a low blow to win the Cruiserweight Championship at the No Mercy pay-per-view.
The following night, Amore closed out RAW with a championship celebration where he insulted the cruiserweight division and stated that he made 205 Live "relevant" and the 205 Live roster was "jealous" of him.
During his recent appearance on The Wrestling Inc. Daily, former WWE Superstar Ariya Daivari reflected on his time working with Enzo on 205 Live.
"At first, everyone was like, 'he's not a cruiserweight-type wrestler' and wondered if it will work out," Daivari recalled. "But, at the end of the day, Vince McMahon really, really liked Enzo despite what people say about him, or his attitude. Vince likes characters and promos, and Enzo was both of those.
"Vince was always going to make time for Enzo. Because we got to work with Enzo, we were allowed to close out RAW a few times and that was cool. Say what you want about him, the guy brought star power to 205 Live, and working with him was cool. When management cares about someone, it creates opportunities for others."
When asked by Wrestling Inc. Managing Editor Nick Hausman if Enzo gets a bad rap in the wrestling industry, Daivari said: "I always got along with him great. I don't know what happened before he came to 205 Live. I did hear that he alienated himself from the RAW locker room. But when he came to 205 Live, he was very encouraging and was committed to making the brand better.
"He wasn't selfish or anything, he was always coming up with ideas. He's just a brash and in-your-face kind of guy, and that rubs people the wrong way sometimes. But I always got along with him."
Daivari was also a part of Amore's faction "The Zo Train" along with Tony Nese, Drew Gulak, and Noam Dar. During Enzo's entrance, all five members would do the popular Enzo dance, which became one of the more popular wrestling GIFs at the time.
"There's a popular GIF always popping on my social media feeds," Daivari said. "It's the one with me, Gulak, Tony, Dar and Enzo all doing the Enzo dance. That was actually Enzo's idea. He was like, 'you guys do that with me in the ring and I assure you it'll become a viral GIF.' And he was like, 'do it shi–y, don't do it like me.'
"Turns out he was right. He really had his finger on the pulse on what worked for his act, his character. He knew what his fans would like, and what would get a pop. He was a very creative person."
Daivari was released by WWE in June after spending nearly five years with the company. You can click here for Daivari's post-release comments made on last week's episode of The Wrestling Inc. Daily.
You can follow Ariya on Twitter @AriyaDaivari.
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