– On Talk is Jericho, Enzo Amore recalled his infamous crashing of Survivor Series 2018. Amore had been released by WWE in January of that year due to allegations of sexual assault levied against him. Amore left the wrestling business at that time and turned to music, but he made a huge splash when he bought a second-row ticket to Survivor Series and managed to get seen on camera. He ended up ejected from the arena and it became major news, trending #1 on Twitter even ahead of the PPV itself.

Highlights from the discussion, and the full podcast, are below:

On why he enjoyed it so much: “That’s one of the funniest things that’s ever happened to me in my life, hands down. I don’t care what anybody says. Because you know — you [Jericho] were one of the first people to hit me back about that. And why did it pop you? Because you thought of the instant reaction that Vince McMahon had, sitting there in that computer [room]. He loses his mind when he sneezes because he lost control.”

On being contacted before he appeared about a possible return: “So, they had called me a week before, bro … somebody called me from WWE, and it might have been Vince. It was the office’s number plus one. So that’s the first number outside the generic office’s number, I don’t know who it is. Maybe they’re calling me to tell me, ‘Hey, we’ve got some copyright issues’ or something. Or maybe they’re calling me to bring me back or something. But I had a few people in the office contact me about a month prior about coming back. Would I interested, or where my head [was] at. [I was] like, ‘Hell no, I’m in a different headspace, I’m not trying to come back.’ I had bought Survivor Series tickets, that second-row seat about a month and a half prior, so I knew I was doing it. So by the time they called me, it was, ‘Do I answer this call, or do I show up at their PPV?’ And I knew, like I said, I wanted to book myself back into pro wrestling, and I wanted to be the nWo. But how do you do that in 2019 and make it real, and make it interesting, and make the world buzz? Well, let’s throw a wig on. [laughs]”

On being recognized in the venue: “When I walked into the arena, there were people who recognized me. And I pretended I had a disability, God forgive me, to make it awkward so you wouldn’t stare at me. I was making a weird face, I had a crutch in one arm, I had this wig on…My favorite part is, I don’t know if people pop for it much, but I screenshotted it. My Uber driver to the venue was Jesus, and I was like, ‘Jesus take the wheel, brother.’ [laughs]. So I’m sitting in the second row, and I wanted to come out when the cruiserweights came out, you know what I mean? But I didn’t know when that match was. And I got to the arena dude, and as I’m walking people are like, ‘Hey, is that Enzo?'”

On being seen on television before he was ready: “I’m in the crowd, and my brother-in-law texted me screenshots of Twitter, of people that are tweeting screenshots of their TV. And my face with the wig on. ‘Enzo’s here.’ So I know in a moment’s time, I’m not gonna have enough time to do the cruiserweights match, and the office is tipped off about this. So I gotta go. I got to stand up and rip this wig off. And I stand up and rip the wig off, start doing my dance, I don’t know what I’m saying, bro. But Lisa [WWE security guard] comes over and grabs me and rips me down. And Vince is brilliant … she’s a bad motherf**ker, but more importantly Vince — why does he hire a woman security? Because you ain’t gonna punch a woman.”

On what happened after: “So Lisa rips me down [off] the chair, but what happens is, she rips me into the back. And police and security are coming from every angle. But I show them my ticket. I purchased my ticket, I’m a law-abiding citizen and a fan, I didn’t not break any laws. And I knew that I didn’t break any laws. Now with that being said, if you knew that you were not going to break any laws, and you are a pro wrestler and you have the ability to trend #1 in the world over Survivor Series, over Brock Lesnar, over the main event and know that Vince has no control, and it’s his product and you’re not even on it. And the next day, Monday, when they go over all those Twitter statistics and they’re sitting in that room full of f**king writers, they don’t have a choice but to talk about it. And I win.

“So when I get pulled backstage Lisa immediately grabs me and goes, ‘You gotta go and see Vince.’ ‘Wait, so you want me to walk by the boys’ locker room right now, and go see Vince in gorilla? Ooookay!’ So I look at her, hold my ticket up and go ‘Lisa, I don’t f**king work here!’ And the cops are coming from both sides, and I look at her. And she’s holding my shirt and it’s stretching, and I go, ‘You know I’m a good person.’ And she kind of looks at me, like, almost like tears welled up. And she’s like, ‘You’re right.’ And she let go of my shirt, and I sprinted out the side door of the arena as the cops were closing in on me. And the Uber was waiting for me outside, there were two fans who got the most incredible picture. Because two fans were late for the show, and they were walking in. And they were like, ‘Wait a second! Is that Enzo Amore?’ And I’m like so disheveled because I just came running out. And I’m like, ‘Yeah, man, let’s take a picture!’ I don’t know if I’ve ever been tagged in it, but if that kid’s listening, you got a great photo.”

On if he every heard anything from WWE after that: “The next day, a company-wide memo went out to anybody who was in the office to tell them not to talk to me. To not do business with me. And the next day, my picture was pasted all over the Staples Center, and told not to let me into the arena.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Talk is Jericho with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.