Where are they now? Former Waldwick football player Eric Arndt

By ANTHONY LOCICERO

SPECIAL TO THE RECORD

The Record

The house lights dim and techno music blares throughout .NXT Arena in Winter Park, Fla. Red, green and blue strobe lights accompany the waving Italian flag displayed on the video screen.

The Eric Arndt alter ego: Loudmouth pro wrestler Enzo Amore in cheetah print and a pencil-thin goatee.

Then Enzo Amore comes streaking across the stage, mike in hand.

The 5-foot-11, heavily tattooed pro wrestler is decked out in an unzipped cheetah-print jacket with pants to match. His locks are long, and he has a pencil-thin goatee.

He’s billed as a product of his birthplace, Hackensack.

The 200-pound World Wrestling Entertainment star walks down the ramp, grasping the mike in his left hand, pointing a finger to the sky with his right.

"My name," he says before a short pause, "is Enzo Amore. And I’m a certified ‘G’ [gangster] and a bona fide stud."

The man behind the gimmick – a stereotypical cocky, Jersey Shore loudmouth – is 26-year-old Waldwick native Eric Arndt.

His wrestling persona is an outsized version of the man playing the part.

While at Memorial Elementary School in his hometown, Arndt was given a homework assignment: Draw a picture of where you see yourself in 20 years.

"All [my classmates] drew pictures of themselves as police officers and firemen, army guys, teachers and nurses," he said. "I drew myself as wearing a leather vest, with leather chaps, with a long mullet, and hearts all over me because I idolized [former WWE superstar] Shawn Michaels and his never-say-die attitude."

Arndt fondly recalls watching Michaels, a WWE Hall of Famer, win the 1995 Royal Rumble, a 30-man, over-the-top-rope battle royal. Michaels, regarded as one of the premier WWE superstars of all time, lasted nearly 40 minutes in the victory. From that moment on, Arndt was hooked.

"Growing up, I always wanted to be a pro wrestler," Arndt said. "I always said I was going to be [one]."

And while most wrestlers start from the bottom, in dreary gyms working for bum paychecks, Arndt bypassed that.

A chance encounter last spring with the chief operating officer of WWE, Hunter Hearst Helmsley (real name, Paul Levesque, wrestling name, Triple H), a former champion and the husband of Stephanie McMahon – WWE boss Vince McMahon’s daughter — at DeFranco’s gym in Wyckoff gave the former standout football player at Waldwick a foot in the door.

So now, eight years after graduating from Waldwick High School, Arndt is living his dream.

"I’m truly blessed," he said. "I’m a man of faith. I believe things happen for a reason."

Arndt, who played Division III college football at Salisbury, resides in Tampa, Fla., as a member of NXT (formerly Florida Championship Wrestling), one of the WWE’s shows that features developmental talent – similar to the minor leagues.

NXT shows take place in the Tampa area – TV tapings are done at entertainment media institution Full Sail University and broadcast on Hulu.com

Arndt has paid his dues, even working a program with former NXT champion Big E Langston, who is on WWE’s main roster.

"I’m kind of sold on the fact that, while you do determine your own destiny, and it’s your job and opportunity to fulfill it, I’m starting to really think I’m destined for this," said Arndt, who earned a journalism degree from Salisbury, where he played linebacker and safety. "I was meant for this. Here I am with this opportunity that arises and I seized it."

Arndt has come a long way, having worked as a manager for Hooters of Hackensack and Paramus, and as a DJ and piano mover, as he aspired for time in the ring.

"Nothing’s impossible," he said. "If you dream big, you can accomplish those dreams."