Big Cass admits his WWE return after eight years away came with one big problem: fans already knew exactly who he was. And since the version they remembered was one-half of one of WWE’s hottest babyface acts alongside Enzo Amore, getting those same people to suddenly hate him has not been easy.
Big Cass (Credits: Ringside News)
Big Cass on Fighting Nostalgia as a WWE Heel
Speaking on The Sal Licata Show, Cass was asked whether his previous success with Enzo made establishing himself as a singles star more difficult this time around. He did not hesitate: returning as a heel meant fighting years of nostalgia. “I’m coming back as a heel, and the last time anybody in that viewing audience saw me, that they recognized me from, I was in one of the hottest babyface acts in the company.”
Cass believes he and Enzo were comfortably among the company’s biggest babyface acts at the time. “Top three, I would say, at that time. And argue with a wall if you don’t agree with that.” That history followed him right back through the door when he returned on the August 3 episode of RAW — alone, as a heel, attacking Je’Von Evans instead of reuniting with Enzo.
Old Catchphrases Follow Big Cass to WWE Return
Cass revealed fans still shout the Enzo and Cass-era catchphrases at him during matches — and he suspects they do it specifically to annoy him. “I think they’re doing that to get under my skin. And I think that’s their true intention, which as a heel is a good thing.”
Cass has since been teaming with Ethan Page, making the pairing an interesting test of whether he can finally build a WWE identity that does not lead straight back to Enzo. “It makes it way more difficult than having a clean slate,” he admitted.
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Source: Ringside News — read the full story there.