Giovanni Vinci talks WWE release, new gimmick, Imperium, and more

Fabian Aichner, better known to fans as Giovanni Vinci, sat down with Chris Van Vliet at West Coast Creative Studio in Los Angeles, California to discuss his WWE release, getting kicked out of Imperium, his repackaged character, losing to Apollo Crews in less than 10 seconds on SmackDown, the way he was introduced by ring announcer Samantha Irvin, staying in NXT when Imperium was called up to main roster, his match with John Cena and Seth Rollins in India, and more!

How surprised were you by that call that you were getting released?

“I was and I wasn’t because, I mean, during the summer of the year previous, I wasn’t on TV, but I knew there was a plan to come back eventually. We did those vignettes and everything, but that didn’t last long, unfortunately. So after that, I noticed when some thoughts started to creep in. I tried to focus on the positive, and I always had high hopes. Like, for example, when the new year started, I know SmackDown went from two hours to three hours, and I was told, you know, there’s a quote from one of the producers, we have all the real estate in the world, there’s just not enough land. Basically, you have all the great wrestlers, there’s just not enough time on the show. So when SmackDown went to three hours, I thought, well, maybe now it’s gonna happen, maybe here’s the chance, and whatever. Then, yeah, I wasn’t needed for TV for a couple of weeks. You don’t want to hear that call. But when it happened, I can’t say that I was really surprised at it. So it was kind of a weird mix of feelings.”

A lot of people, right after their 90 days are up, they hit the Indies, or they start doing conventions. You haven’t done any of that. How do you feel about wrestling right now?

“It’s funny, because this is what I wanted to do since I was 13 years old, and when that chapter ended, I knew I wanted to take some time away, but I feel like there’s way more things to do for me. I feel like I haven’t reached my full potential yet. I feel like some people know what I can do, but I know I can do a lot more. I just really wanted to take enough time to not come back and go in halfway. So I definitely work out, I want to wrestle again. I feel like there’s many things still to do, nothing set in stone yet, but when that opportunity comes, I know I’ll be ready for it.”

Do you have a timeline in your own mind of when you want to have another match?

“I mean, we’ll see. We’ll see what’s coming up. I did have some talks with a couple of people, some really good talks, and we’ll see. I always believe in the timing of the universe, that everything happens for a reason. Yeah, it’s just a feeling that I got. At some point, I just felt like working out more. At some point, I just felt like dialing in my diet again, just getting more serious with cardio and all those things. I don’t have to force myself to do that. So I know when that opportunity comes, it’ll be the perfect timing. I’ll be in the perfect spot, mentally, physically, and I’m gonna kill it.”

Right before you got released, you were kind of repackaged. So you had these vignettes that you’re talking about. It’s like Italian elegance. You’re driving a Ferrari in Las Vegas, and then you come out and you lose to Apollo Crews in less than 10 seconds. So what was the original plan with these vignettes and where your character would go?

“I thought the plan was to get me going right away, and I didn’t find out about that till basically the day of the show. So at the end of the day, you’re a professional. Whatever the plan is, you try to make the most of it. I do have to say, as far as entrance-wise, that was my favorite entrance I’ve ever done. Because in the group, I always felt a little bit like I tried to fit in. That’s why I didn’t stand out. Whereas with that character that I did in NXT, and it worked great there, doing that on the main roster, I just felt like, Okay, I have some sort of direction, who I am, what I’m supposed to do. Was my favorite entrance, personality-wise, charisma-wise and everything, and then the plan changed the day of. Looking back now, I feel like from a business standpoint, if you look at the positives, it definitely got attention, definitely got people talking. The unfortunate thing for me is just that not more came out of it, because I feel like we could have done a lot of cool stuff with that character on SmackDown. I know Apollo and I could have tore it up in a match. We did in NXT. We did on Main Event. We have great chemistry. It was just things just kept happening. We moved to a different channel two weeks after then the next thing happened. I wasn’t on TV for a little bit. And, yeah, that’s just one of those things that are a little unfortunate. Because I saw myself actually having really good matches with the guys in the United States title picture at the time, like Melo, LA Knight, Andrade at the time. I think we could have done some cool stuff there. But, yeah, it is what it is.”

I think the way that Samantha Irvin introduced you really helped to get you over, especially early on

“Oh, for sure, she did an amazing job. I was actually looking forward to the introduction every time myself, like, oh, here we go. ‘Giovanni!’ She did amazing.”

Did she tell you she was going to do that?

“No, no. Caught me off guard myself. Like, oh, that was cool.”

I’ve heard a lot of people saying that this new El Grande Americano looks a lot like Ludwig Kaiser. What do you think of the work that he’s doing?

“I think he’s killing it at whatever he’s doing. I think he has a good feel for what the people want to see and what people want to get out of it, and the reaction speak for themselves.”

You had a match where it was Imperium versus John Cena and Seth Rollins. I don’t know if a lot of people know that you were in the ring with John Cena. How did that match come about?

“Man, was such a surreal moment. It was announced that Cena was going to be on that show in India. It was kind of last-minute. It was kind of thrown together, or was announced that Seth and Cena against Ludwig and I at the time, and I tell you, that was the loudest reaction I’ve ever heard in my life. That building of the floor was vibrating. It was shaking when we were standing there. He did his entrance, and then it was one of those. It’s almost like you wear a real-life VR, you know, those virtual reality things. Because he was my brother’s favorite wrestler. Growing up in 2004 2005, obviously watched him my whole life myself, and then he gets a tag, and I get a tag, okay, wrestling John Cena now, crazy moment. Obviously you want to still be professional like 99%, but that 1% in the back of your mind is like, Oh, this is cool. This is very cool.”