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Professional wrestler Vinny Pacifico has made a name for himself on the independent scene, and success has led him down paths he never thought possible.
The Staten Island, New York native started 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 Pakinomist Digital in a recent interview that it was chats with John Cena and Bryan Danielson (formerly known as Daniel Bryan) that convinced him he was on the right track.
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Professional wrestler Vinny Pacifico enters the ring. (Vinny Pacifico)
“At one point I was playing football in high school and I said to my dad, look, I love football, I love this, I followed in his footsteps and all these things, but I said I want to try professional wrestling. I want to go after this. 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 it and I asked him for advice. He was very, very motivational, very, very inspiring. A while after that I went to a meet-and-greet with Daniel Bryan in town – another one of my favorite motivational advice, and he asked him the same way he was the most motivational on. inspiring, just a good conversation we had.
“When those two things happened, I knew that’s what I had to do. So yeah, I started at 13 and 12 years later, I’ve traveled to more than 15 countries, fought all over the world, and done things I never even imagined I’d do. Now, over the last year, I’ve gotten into a lot of movies and TV because it’s just been an amazing experience. At the end of the day, I’m just a kid who started this dream and made it something I never imagined.”
Pacifico said his father was nothing but supportive of his decision and still shows up to his fights to this day.
Pro wrestling has an overwhelming effect on everyone – you either really love it or you really hate it. For Pacifico, he knew from television that he really wanted to try and be as malleable as possible.
“I loved watching it on TV, it kind of grabs you, it kind of makes you believe for a moment and it makes you leave reality,” he told Pakinomist Digital. “It’s TV, movies, movies, they all do, but wrestling is a living art form. So that’s what did it for me.
Vinny Pacifico bows to the audience. (Vinny Pacifico)
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“When I started, it was very difficult to switch because when you’re fighting, 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 the thing, I said, ‘OK, as a fan, for me, I liked these things.’ Today I’m watching the first match of the show and I’m just trying to imagine, OK, the fans liked this, the fans liked that, and I’m trying to figure out what the crowd likes. 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 all different types of styles and ways of going about things in the ring. So I always try to establish, OK, tonight I’m going to do this. I can adapt to any style. I was trained by Ring of Honor, so they taught me to be able to do any style, and I’m phenomenally grateful for that.”
Pacifico has appeared across multiple promotions since then, including All Elite Wrestling (AEW), Ring of Honor, WWE, Coastal Championship Wrestling, Awesome Championship Wrestling and several others.
But one fight stands out for him above the rest – his fight against Paul London.
London, a prominent veteran wrestler in his own right, feuded with Pacifico at Pro Wrestling Magic in 2024 for the PWM Junior Heavyweight Championship. Pacifico won the match.
“I’d say it’s me vs. Paul London,” he said. “That one was one of the most electric fights I’ve had in my career, character work, technical wrestling — like a big finale to the fireworks. You see it, and everything came down in that fight.”
Now Pacifico is ready for a new challenge – the silver screen.
He told Pakinomist Digital that he just finished “Mr. Reset and the Society of Turnbuckle and Bone,” which comes out June 2. He was also in the movies “Family Ties” and “Crimson Harvest”.
“I get to play myself, my wrestling character,” he said of “Mr. Reset and the Society of Turnbuckle and Bone.” “So, it was very simple for me to do both. It was the first one I ever did. I absolutely loved being on set, filming and having my character tested in different ways. You know how Vinny Pacifico would 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 of who I am and really just play with it.”
Vinny Pacifico is 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 a career in acting.
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“I really enjoy getting to do both all the time and even go so far as to break the same week that I’m acting and filming,” he told Pakinomist Digital. “Both schedules have been very easy to work with. I haven’t had any conflict yet. So I’m very grateful for that as well.”
