WWE (2012–2018) Early career (2012–2013) Arndt had no prior wrestling experience before
WWE signed him. He had trained with Joe DeFranco at the DeFranco's Training Systems gym in
Wyckoff, New Jersey since the age of 16. By chance, WWE executive
Triple H also started training with DeFranco; Arndt, a lifelong fan of professional wrestling, made a compilation video of himself doing various exercises and
cutting a promo. When DeFranco showed the video to Triple H, Arndt was given a tryout at WWE, In November 2012, he was given the ring name of Enzo Amore when he debuted in WWE's
developmental system
NXT as a wrestler.
Teaming with Big Cass (2013–2017) at
WrestleMania Axxess in March 2015 On May 22, 2013, Amore debuted on
NXT television as a
heel, portraying an
Italian American who is described as a "stereotypical cocky,
Jersey Shore loudmouth" and an "outsized version of the man playing the part", On the July 3 episode of
NXT, Amore went on to form an alliance with
Colin Cassady, and they named themselves "the realest guys in the room". Despite Amore and Cassady's alliance, Ryan easily defeated them in consecutive singles matches in July, but lost to them in a handicap match. After the feud with Ryan, Amore and Cassady went on to feud with
Alexander Rusev,
Scott Dawson and their manager
Sylvester Lefort, turning
face in the process. On the September 25 episode of
NXT, Amore and Cassady participated in a gauntlet match for a future shot at the
NXT Tag Team Championship; they started the match, first defeating
CJ Parker and
Tyler Breeze, then defeating Rusev and Dawson but lost to
The Ascension (
Konnor and
Viktor). In November 2013, Amore suffered a broken leg while training. According to fellow wrestler
Simon Gotch, who at the time was also signed to NXT, Amore was training with
Kalisto and "broke his own leg trying to counter a wristlock. He blamed it on the canvas being loose." Amore returned on June 26, 2014 episode of
NXT, saving Cassady from an attack from Sylvester Lefort and
Marcus Louis. In early August, Amore and Cassady participated in the NXT Tag Team Championship tournament. They defeated
Jason Jordan and
Tye Dillinger in the first round, but were eliminated by
The Vaudevillains (
Aiden English and
Simon Gotch) in the second round. Lefort and Louis then renewed their rivalry with Amore and Cassady by attacking them and shaving Amore's beard. As a result, Amore challenged Lefort to a match with the loser's hair as forfeit at
NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way which Amore won, but Lefort ran away, leaving his partner Louis to lose his hair and eyebrows. Amore and Cassady then formed an alliance with the debuting
Carmella. The duo had accidentally cost Carmella her hairdressing job, causing her to demand to get a job as a wrestler. Carmella had her televised in-ring debut on the October 16, 2014, episode of
NXT. On the March 11, 2015, episode of
NXT, Amore and Cassady defeated The
Lucha Dragons to become the number one contenders for the NXT Tag Team Championship. At
NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable, Amore and Cassady faced
Blake and Murphy for the title in a losing effort after interference from
Alexa Bliss. In December, Amore and Cassady began a feud with
Dash and Dawson, where they challenged them for the NXT Tag Team Championship at both
NXT TakeOver: London and
Roadblock unsuccessfully. On the
Raw after
WrestleMania 32, Amore and Cassady debuted on the main roster and confronted
The Dudley Boyz. A week later on
SmackDown, Amore and Cassady defeated The Ascension in a tournament to determine the number one contenders for the
WWE Tag Team Championship. The team went on to defeat The Dudley Boyz on the following week's
Raw in the semi-final of the tag team tournament, advancing them to the finals. In the finals, they faced the Vaudevillains at
Payback, with the match ending in a no contest after Amore suffered a legitimate concussion during the match. At
Money in the Bank, Enzo and Cass faced
The New Day, The Vaudevillains and
Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, in a fatal-four-way tag team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship, in which The New Day retained their titles. On the July 4 episode of
Raw, Enzo and Cass helped
John Cena, who was getting attacked by The Club (
AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson) involving themselves in the feud between Cena and The Club. At
Battleground, Enzo and Cass teamed with Cena to defeat The Club in a six-man tag team match. On July 19 at the
2016 WWE draft, Enzo and Cass were drafted to the
Raw brand. Enzo and Cass then proceeded to feud with
Chris Jericho and
Kevin Owens, which culminated at
SummerSlam, where the two lost to Jericho and Owens. On the November 7 episode of
Raw, Enzo and Cass joined Team Raw for the
Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination match at
Survivor Series, during which Team Raw defeated Team SmackDown. On the November 21 episode of
Raw, after Amore was locked out of the locker room naked by Cass as a practical joke and ran into
Lana in the hallway, her husband
Rusev challenged Amore to a match later that night, in which Amore was quickly defeated. On the December 5 episode of
Raw, after Amore stood up for Lana after seeing her and Rusev argue backstage, Lana invited Amore to her hotel room. Later that night, this was revealed to be a trap when Rusev attacked Amore in the hotel room. Over the following weeks, Enzo and Cass feuded with Rusev and
Jinder Mahal. On January 29, 2017, Amore participated in the
Royal Rumble match, entering at number 27 but was eliminated by
Brock Lesnar. At
WrestleMania 33, Enzo and Cass competed in a fatal-four-way ladder match for the Raw Tag Team Championship against defending champions Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson,
Cesaro and Sheamus, and the returning The
Hardy Boyz, where The Hardy Boyz emerged victorious. The following night on
Raw, Amore and Cass were defeated by Cesaro and Sheamus in a tag team match to determinate the number one contenders for the Raw Tag Team Championship. On the May 22 episode of
Raw, Amore was found unconscious backstage after being attacked from behind by an unknown assailant, and again the following week. Big Cass went on to accuse
The Revival, who had been seen in the background in the aftermath of the attacks. On the June 5 episode of
Raw, Cass was found knocked out backstage in the same fashion as Amore was. Later, Cass claimed he was not cleared to wrestle, so Amore teamed with
Big Show in a match against Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, which they won. The following week, Cass was again found knocked out backstage. He claimed the attacker had to have had a giant fist and blamed Big Show, who denied having been the attacker. On the June 19 episode of
Raw, General Manager
Kurt Angle attempted to expose the attacker before security footage found by
Corey Graves revealed that Cass had faked his own attack in order to lure away suspicion. Cass admitted to this, expressing his frustration during his time teaming with Amore. Cass then attacked Amore, thus disbanding the team. On the June 26 episode of
Raw, Amore called out Cass to the ring and the two seemingly reconciled; however, Cass again viciously attacked Amore on the stage. At the
Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view, Amore was defeated by Cass. At
SummerSlam, Cass defeated Big Show while Amore was suspended above the ring inside a
shark cage. During the match, Amore escaped from the shark cage, but was quickly attacked by Cass. The next night, on the August 21 episode of
Raw, Amore challenged Cass to a Street Fight, which he won after the referee stopped the match after Cass suffered a legitimate knee injury.
Cruiserweight Champion (2017–2018) On the August 22 episode of
205 Live, Amore debuted in the cruiserweight division and began a feud with
Cruiserweight Champion Neville. On the September 5 episode of
205 Live, Amore earned a title opportunity against Neville, winning a
Fatal five-way elimination match also involving
Cedric Alexander,
The Brian Kendrick,
Gran Metalik and
Tony Nese. At
No Mercy on September 24, Amore defeated Neville with a
low blow to win the Cruiserweight Championship. This decision was made because of
205 Lives lack of success;
Vince McMahon thought a "strong" character as Amore would improve the brand, making him the core of the show. The following night on
Raw, Amore closed the show with a "championship celebration", where he insulted the cruiserweight division and stated that he made
205 Live "relevant" and that the
205 Live roster was "jealous" of his accomplishments, turning heel for the first time since 2013. He also showed a signed clause by General Manager Kurt Angle that if any cruiserweight touched him, they would lose their title opportunities. The week after on
Raw, Amore revealed another paper clause stating that any cruiserweight that tried to touch him would be fired. Subsequently,
Kalisto was introduced as the newest member of the cruiserweight division and attacked Amore. On the October 9 episode of
Raw, Amore lost the Cruiserweight Championship to Kalisto in a
lumberjack match. However, he regained the title in the rematch at
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on October 22, via an
illegal thumb shot to the eye behind the referee's back. At the
Survivor Series pre-show on November 19, Amore successfully defended the title against Kalisto. This was his last WWE pay-per-view appearance. In early January 2018, Amore was unable to compete due to suffering from
influenza. Amore was suspended from WWE on January 22, 2018, due to his sexual assault allegations (
see below). The next day, Amore was fired from WWE and the title was vacated. After his release, Amore retired from professional wrestling to focus on his music career. On November 18, 2018, Arndt attended the
Survivor Series event. He stood on his seat, causing a disruption, and was eventually removed from the venue by security as well as banned from future events at the
Staples Center.
Ring of Honor (2019) Arndt, alongside former tag team partner William Morrissey, appeared at the
G1 Supercard at Madison Square Garden. Following a tag team match involving
Ring of Honor and
New Japan Pro-Wrestling talent, the two jumped the barricade and attacked several wrestlers. The broadcast cameras cut away from the incident to indicate a
legit outside attack, but it was later reported the angle was a
worked shoot.
Independent circuit (2018–present) On June 15, Arndt, under the ring name nZo, debuted for
Northeast Wrestling (NEW), accompanying Morrissey, now known as CaZXL, in his match against
Jon Moxley. During the match, nZo attempted to interfere, but was attacked by Moxley as a result. Caz would go on to lose the match. At NEW's "Prison Break" on August 16, nZo wrestled his first match since January 2018, defeating
Brian Pillman Jr. Real1 participated in
Chris Jericho's Rock 'N' Wrestling Rager at Sea cruise championship tournament from January 31 to February 4, 2025, performing a notable entrance and reuniting onstage with his former WWE tag team partner
Big Cass for fan engagement activities.
New Japan Pro Wrestling (2023) Amore was set to make his
NJPW debut in a six-man tag team match in 2019, but the match never materialized. Four years later, Amore made his debut on August 19, 2023, in a six-man tag team match, teaming up with
Jack Cartwheel and Starboy Charlie in a losing effort against
Rich Swann,
Ryusuke Taguchi, and The DKC.
Major League Wrestling (2021–2023) On November 6, 2021, at
War Chamber, nZo made his
MLW debut, defeating
Matt Cross. He subsequently changed his ring name to Real1 and worked as a heel in feuds against the likes of
Jacob Fatu,
KC Navarro and
Mance Warner. On April 1, 2023, it was reported that MLW would no longer be working with Arndt, who had been working on a per-appearance agreement.
Fightful reported that Arndt was refusing most
angles pitched to him, including a scheduled match against
Alexander Hammerstone for the
MLW World Heavyweight Championship at
Battle Riot V on April 8, 2023. Arndt claimed the match against Hammerstone was advertised without him agreeing to the match. He also claimed he turned down a program with
Richard Holliday after the company wanted him to "
bury a guy who just beat cancer". nZo had been written off TV at
Blood and Thunder after losing to
Microman in a quick squash.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2025) On July 20, 2025 at the pre-show edition of
Slammiversary, Real1 made his
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) debut, teaming with
Zilla Fatu and Josh Bishop to defeat
Steve Maclin,
Jake Something, and
Mance Warner. == Music career ==