WWE NXT’s Wren Sinclair has pointed to an unexpected live-event memory as a major spark behind her decision to pursue professional wrestling.
Speaking on No-Contest Wrestling Podcast with O’Shea Jackson Jr. & TJ Jefferson, Sinclair reflected on growing up as a wrestling fan before eventually drifting away from the product for a period of time. Her interest was reignited, she explained, when she attended a show in Austin, Texas, with her brother and saw an act that was then helping define WWE’s developing NXT brand: Enzo Amore and Big Cass.
For Sinclair, the significance of that night was not simply that she saw a popular tag team. It was the immediate connection Amore had with the audience. Although she was unfamiliar with much of the roster and had only just been introduced to the idea of NXT, she recognized the impact of a performer commanding an entire building through personality, timing and a well-known entrance routine.
“I hadn't really seen many of these people and this was the first time I'd heard of ‘NXT,’” Sinclair said. “I just remembered, I think it was a triple threat. Enzo Amore and Big Cass came out and I had no idea who they were. But, as soon as he started talking, ‘My name is Enzo Amore,’ the whole place just started saying every single word with him. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. This is power.’ Like, I need that. That really kind of brought me back. I was like, ‘How do I do this?’”
For more background on this topic, read Cody Rhodes Survives Randy Orton in Crown Jewel Last Man Standing War.
That reaction helped turn Sinclair from a returning fan into someone considering a future in the industry. The exchange captures a familiar path for many wrestlers: an experience in the crowd can make the larger world of professional wrestling feel immediate and attainable, particularly when a performer creates a moment that goes beyond the match itself.
Why the Enzo and Cass act stood out in NXT
Amore debuted on NXT television in May 2013 and later formed a partnership with Big Cass. The duo became especially recognizable for their pre-match entrances, with Amore delivering his distinctive introduction and catchphrases while Cass provided the imposing visual presence beside him.
Their presentation was built around audience participation. Fans were invited to know the words, react to the rhythm of the promo and treat the entrance as part of the act rather than merely the period before a match began. In an environment such as NXT, where emerging wrestlers were establishing identities in front of a passionate fan base, that approach made the pair stand out.
Sinclair’s recollection makes clear that she experienced that effect firsthand. She did not need prior knowledge of every storyline or competitor on the card to understand the response. The fact that an entire venue was reciting Amore’s words gave the act an instant sense of importance. To a fan rediscovering wrestling, it demonstrated how a performer could direct the energy of a crowd and create a shared experience.
That is what Sinclair described as “power.” It was not presented as a technical evaluation of the match or a detailed recollection of the event’s card. Instead, it was the power of audience connection: a wrestler saying a few familiar lines and receiving every word back from the building.
Amore and Cass remained together on NXT until their move to WWE’s main roster in April 2016, shortly after WrestleMania 32. By that point, their entrance had become one of the defining features of their act, and their popularity followed them from the developmental brand to a much larger stage.
Sinclair’s route from fan to WWE NXT
Sinclair’s story also places her current WWE position in a broader personal context. She did not describe a straight line from childhood fandom to the Performance Center. Like many viewers, she said she fell out of watching wrestling as she got older. The live event in Austin helped bring her back, and it also encouraged a new question: not just how to keep following wrestling, but how to become part of it.
She went on to build experience on the independent scene before signing with WWE and reporting to the WWE Performance Center in December 2023. The signing represented the next major step for a performer whose inspiration was tied to the atmosphere of an NXT event years earlier.
There is a natural full-circle element to that journey. Sinclair first encountered NXT as a fan at a live show, unfamiliar with much of the brand but captivated by the reaction to one entrance. She later joined WWE’s system and became an NXT talent herself. Her comments show that the brand’s reach can extend well beyond weekly television narratives and title programs. A single live experience can leave a lasting impression on someone who eventually chooses to enter the profession.
It is also a reminder that wrestling careers are often shaped by presentation as much as by athletic competition. In-ring ability remains essential, but the visual, verbal and emotional sides of the business can be just as influential in drawing people toward it. For Sinclair, Amore’s delivery and the crowd’s synchronized response were enough to make wrestling feel like something she had to investigate seriously.
Where Enzo Amore and Big Cass stand now
The careers of the two men Sinclair saw that night eventually took separate paths. Big Cass later spent time away from WWE and also had a stint in AEW before re-signing with WWE. Amore, meanwhile, has not returned to WWE since his January 2018 release.
There have been rumors at different points that Amore and Cass could reunite, but no such WWE reunion has taken place. That does not change the impact their original NXT run had on viewers who watched it unfold, including Sinclair.
For a generation of NXT fans, the act was memorable because it was so immediately identifiable. The entrance announcement, the call-and-response element and the contrast between the outspoken Amore and the towering Cass offered a clear example of how a team could establish itself quickly. Sinclair’s memory of seeing them without prior familiarity reinforces that point: the act was designed in a way that could make an impression even on a casual attendee or a lapsed fan.
The importance of crowd connection
Sinclair’s comments offer a useful look at the kind of connection that can inspire future wrestlers. The reaction she remembered was not manufactured by explanation or long-term viewer investment on her part. It was visible in real time. She saw a crowd responding in unison, understood that the performer had created that response, and wanted to learn how such a connection was built.
That pursuit eventually led her through the independent scene and into WWE NXT. While Sinclair is now creating her own body of work as a performer, the memory she shared remains rooted in the feeling of being in the audience and realizing the unique influence wrestling can have when a character truly reaches the crowd.
For Sinclair, the live event in Austin was more than a return to watching professional wrestling. It was the moment the possibility of becoming a wrestler came into focus. Enzo Amore and Big Cass may have been one act on one card, but the response they generated helped give a future NXT talent a reason to ask the question that changed her path: how do I do this?
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Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.