Giovanni Vinci opens about his WWE departure.
In February 2025, a wave of cuts hit WWE’s roster, impacting the likes of Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Cedric Alexander, and Giovanni Vinci. In the case of Vinci, it meant that his run under the WWE banner came to an end after nearly eight years.
While looking back on his release, Vinci admitted that he had initially had a mix of emotions about it. After some time away from the wrestling space, though, he’s now feeling reenergized.
“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,” Vinci told Insight With Chris Van Vliet when asked if was surprised by the call informing him of his WWE release. “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, 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.”
Vinci’s last broadcasted match took place on the October 16, 2024 episode of WWE Speed. Prior to that, he lost to Apollo Crews in quick fashion on SmackDown in September of that year. Vince continued to wrestle, albeit in a series of dark matches, through the end of 2024.
Vinci Took A Break After His Release
Addressing his Instagram post from March 2026 captioned “new chapter,” Vinci noted that his post-WWE life began with a physical and mental break. This then led to him exploring non-wrestling activities, such as racing and vacationing.
“When I got that call about a year ago, the first thing I did was, immediately after that, I thought, okay, I’m taking a month off the gym because I’ve been going really hard,” Vinci said. “In NXT, I made the decision, okay, it’s time now to get in the best shape of my life. So I did step up my workout regimen pretty intensely. Did cardio twice a day. Worked out five days a week, wrestling three matches. I did make good progress, but you can only maintain that for so long. I just kept going, kept going, and then got called up to the main roster, so I definitely didn’t want to slow down.
“It’s just one of those things where I got the call. I knew this was the first time for sure that I wasn’t going to step in the ring for three months. So I definitely gave my body the break, because I didn’t get the results that I was used to getting. My body started getting really stubborn, if I dieted, things just didn’t move as fast. So I gave my body a break, gave my mind a break.”
As of this writing, it is unclear if Vinci will return to a professional wrestling ring.
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