NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
Professional wrestler Vinny Pacifico made a name for himself on the independent scene and his success took him down roads he never thought possible.
The Staten Island, New York, native began training in a professional wrestling ring when he was just 14 years old after telling his father he no longer wanted to play high school football. He told PK Press Club Digital in a recent interview that it was discussions with John Cena and Bryan Danielson (formerly known as Daniel Bryan) that convinced him he was on the right path.
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
Professional wrestler Vinny Pacifico enters the ring. (Vinny Pacifico)
“At one point I was playing football in high school and I told my dad, look, I love football, I love it, I was following in his footsteps and all these things, but I said I want to try pro wrestling. I want to go for it. I have to do it,” Pacifico said. “I just felt this need, this fire burning inside of me that I just needed to chase this dream. And after that, I went on a John Cena talk show and he spoke after that and I asked him for advice. He was very, very motivating, very, very inspiring. Shortly after that, I went to a meeting with Daniel Bryan in the city – another one of my favorite wrestlers. I asked him for his advice and he was the same way – motivating, inspiring, just great conversation we had.
“Once those two things happened, I knew that’s what I was meant to do. So yeah, I started at 13 and 12 years later, I’ve traveled to over 15 countries, wrestled all over the world, doing things I couldn’t even imagine doing. Now, over the last year, in many movies and TV shows, it’s just been an incredible experience. I’m grateful for everything because at the end of the day, I’m not just a kid who started this dream and turned it into something I could never have imagined.”
Pacifico said his father supported his decision and still shows up to his matches to this day.
Professional wrestling has an overwhelming effect on everyone – you either really love it or you really hate it. For Pacifico, he knew from watching on TV that he really wanted to try and be as malleable as possible.
“I loved watching it on TV, just how much it captivates you, just how much it makes you believe for a moment and takes you out of reality,” he told PK Press Club Digital. “It’s television, film, movies, they all do that, but wrestling is a live art form, so that’s what it did for me.
Vinny Pacifico flexes for the crowd. (Vinny Pacifico)
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
“When I first started, it was very difficult to make the transition because when you’re wrestling you have to think, ‘What do the fans want to see?’ How do we get these fans to emotionally invest in us? And that’s it, I said, ‘OK, as a fan, for me, I liked those things.’ Today I’m watching the first game of the series and I’m just trying to imagine: OK, the fans liked this, the fans liked this, and I’m trying to figure out what the crowds like. All over the world there are different types of fans. In Japan, they like what they like. In Europe, they like what they like. There are different types of styles and ways of doing things in the ring. So I try to always establish, OK, tonight I’m doing to do this. I can adapt to any style. I was trained by Ring of Honor, so they taught me how to pull off any style and I’m extremely grateful for that.”
Since then, Pacifico has performed in several promotions including All Elite Wrestling (AEW), Ring of Honor, WWE, Coastal Championship Wrestling, Awesome Championship Wrestling and several others.
But one match sets him apart from the others: his fight against Paul London.
London, a standout veteran wrestler, faced Pacifico at Pro Wrestling Magic in 2024 for the PWM Junior Heavyweight Championship. Pacifico won the match.
“I would say it’s me against Paul London,” he said. “It was one of the most electric matches I’ve had in my career, the character work, the technical wrestling – like a grand finale at a fireworks show. You watch it and everything happened in that match.”
Now, Pacifico is ready to take on a new challenge: the big screen.
He told PK Press Club Digital that he just finished “Mr. Reset and the Society of Turnbuckle and Bone,” which will be released June 2. He was also in the films “Family Ties” and “Crimson Harvest.”
“I got to play myself, my wrestling character,” he said of “Mr. Reset and the Society of Turnbuckle and Bone.” “So it was really easy for me to do both. It was my first time doing it. I really loved being on set and filming and seeing my character be tested in different ways. You know, how would Vinny Pacifico react to this thing or other emotional things that you wouldn’t always get in a wrestling event. So it was really cool to dive deep into the character that I am and really play with it.”
Vinny Pacifico is featured in “Mr. Reset and the Society of Turnbuckle and Bone”. (Vinny Pacifico)
Pacifico added that he enjoys being able to pursue a professional wrestling career and an acting career.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PK Press Club APP
“I really enjoy doing both all the time and even going as far as wrestling in the same week that I’m performing and filming,” he told PK Press Club Digital. “Both schedules have been very easy to work around. I haven’t had any conflicts yet. So, I’m very grateful for that as well.”
