Enzo Amore has been released by WWE following allegations that he raped a woman in October.

The accusations came to light Monday when Twitter user @MissGucciWitch, who has not disclosed her real name aside from the first name Philomena, claimed that Amore – real name Eric Arndt – had drugged and raped her at a hotel in Phoenix. WWE has a strict zero-tolerance policy toward domestic abuse and sexual assault, and the company was quick to suspend Amore following the allegations. However, they made the further decision to release him less than 24 hours later.

If you want to read an extensive and objective write-up of the full allegations against Amore, Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp wrote an excellent article covering the subject. Phoenix PD confirmed to Fightful that Philomena filed a report from a Phoenix hospital on October 23, four days after the alleged rape. Further, Sapp revealed on Twitter that Amore knew about the investigation and failed to disclose it to WWE, which could potentially be the reason for his release.

Clearly, this was a huge miscalculation on Amore’s part. Had he informed WWE of the allegations against him, chances are he would have remained suspended until the conclusion of the investigation, not unlike Rich Swann.

Then again, Amore has grown increasingly reckless since reports of his negative attitude and poor backstage standing emerged last summer. Perhaps WWE determined he was more of a liability than an asset, and ultimately decided to cut ties with the Cruiserweight Champion.

Not Popular Backstage

The first strike against Amore came last July when the Wrestling Observer reported that he’d been kicked off a tour bus in Europe by Roman Reigns, the de facto locker room leader, for acting disrespectfully. John Bradshaw Layfield seemed to confirm the reports when he presciently suggested on an episode of “Bring It To The Table” that Amore wouldn’t be employed for much longer with “the locker [room] turned against him.”

A second report from Sports Illustrated stated that Amore further drew the ire of his co-workers for “bringing a series of questionable guests” backstage who “broke locker room etiquette by filming and taking pictures of the wrestlers.” Based off these reports, it seems that Amore cared far more about being famous than he did about being a good wrestler.

DMV Trouble

Amore also landed in trouble with the state of Delaware in December when he refused to change the “signature” on his license – which he’d signed in a rather um…suggestive manner.

While this incident is trivial compared to the others mentioned here, it’s yet more proof positive that Amore has an attitude problem and doesn’t seem to care about he comports himself, which is definitely problematic for a high profile company like WWE.

Another Woman

Although Monday’s allegations are far and away the most serious that have ever been leveled against Amore, Philomena is not the first woman to take to social media and speak out against him. Back in July, a Buffalo, N.Y. stripper by the name of Queen Bee went on a long Twitter rant that Amore had come to the club where she worked and bragged about how he can get away with taking drugs because a Wellness Policy violation is “only a $2,500 fine.”

Queen Bee later deleted the tweets. Again, her accusations are not at all comparable to Philomena’s, but they’re more proof that Amore is not fit to represent WWE as a champion or otherwise.

And, really, that’s unfortunate. Amore injected a much-needed dose of energy and entertainment into the Cruiserweight Division, which at this point seems to be cursed. Hopefully WWE will hold another tournament to crown a new champion, and hopefully, justice will be served in this case so that everyone can move on.

What do you think of WWE’s decision to fire Enzo Amore? What do you think should happen with the Cruiserweight Champion and division? Share your thoughts below.

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