WWE Superstar Enzo Amore recently spoke with Sole Collector about his choice of wrestling in sneakers, how he came to wear them instead of boots, who has the best shoe game in WWE and more. You can read a few highlights below:
Enzo Amore talks about how his choice in sneakers has brought appeal:
“It all adds to your character, whether it be visually or verbally, it’s just something that people can relate to. Anybody who’s a fan of Jordans and happens to have on the same pair of shoes I’m wearing when I’m in the ring has something to relate to with my character.”
Has Enzo ever worn wrestling boots?
It’s actually a funny story. I used to wear wrestling boots when I first got signed to the WWE. It was mandatory that each and every single superstar under contract buy and wear boots, or wear amateur wrestling shoes, which are thin cut. It wasn’t a stipulation in our contract or anything, but when you showed up to wrestling school, the head coach would say “Hey do you got your wrestling boots?” So I had to go out and buy wrestling boots, which I had never worn before in my life. I did not feel comfortable in them.
What ended up happening was I had a freak incident where I broke my leg in training in the performance center while wearing wrestling boots. It wasn’t so much “Oh, he was wearing wrestling boots,” but in my mind I was like “It’s the wrestling boot.”
If you ever looked at the spectrum of people in the company wearing sneakers for a long period of time, it’s only John Cena. When I broke my leg I came to our head coach with a doctor’s note that said “Enzo needs to be wearing sneakers when he wrestles because he broke his leg and that’s what he feels comfortable in.” Breaking my leg was the be-all, end-all of wrestling boots [for me], and I turned it into an opportunity to capitalize on a market that I am infatuated with. When I came back, the first pair of shoes I wore when I got in the ring was the Ferrari 14 Jordans.
Does he has something special in store for WWE Summerslam in Brooklyn?
Oh, of course. I grew up a New York Knicks fan, a New York Giants fan, and a New York Yankees fan, so being in the area for hip-hop culture, sneakers and Jordan, you’re gonna see a little bit of that in my outfit, I assure you. That sneakerwatch is going to be serious. Sneakerheads are going to be scratching their heads like, “Is he really gonna one-and-done those?” It’s kind of like Ric Flair back in the day talking about his $2,000 alligator shoes. “I’m having a hard time holding these alligators down.” It’s 2016 and they’re not alligator sneakers, they’re Jordan Brand shoes and Enzo is going out and one-and-done’ing them.
Enzo talks about who has the best shoe game in WWE:
I’m #1 hands down in the business and in the game right now. Shane McMahon might give me a run for my money. First of all he’s got some customs that he wore on his feet at WrestleMania this past year that are probably worth more than my collection alone. I think Tinker Hatfield made him a pair of 30s or 31s or something that was custom that he wore. It stops for me at about 14 because I don’t really wear much past that.
