Pro wrestler Vinny Pacifico has made a name for himself on the independent scene and the success has led him down roads he never thought possible.
The Staten Island, New York, native started training in a pro wrestling ring when he was just 14 after telling his father he no longer wanted to play high school football. He told Fox News Digital in a recent interview it was chats with John Cena and Bryan Danielson (formerly known as Daniel Bryan) that convinced him he was on the right path.
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"At one point, I was playing football in high school and I told my father, listen, I love football, I love this, I was following in his footsteps and all these things, but I said I want to try professional wrestling. I want to go for 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 to a John Cena talk show and he talked after that and I asked him for advice. He was very, very motivating, very, very inspiring. A little while after that, I went to a meet-and-greet with Daniel Bryan in the city - another one of my favorite wrestlers. Asked him his advice and he was the same way - motivating, inspiring, just a great conversation we had.
"Once those two things happened, I knew this was what I was meant to be doing. So, yeah, I got my start at 13 and 12 years later, I've traveled to 15-plus countries, wrestled all over the world, doing things I couldn't even imagine I'd be doing. Now, over the last year, spanning into a lot of films and TV, it's been just an amazing experience. I'm thankful for everything because, at the end of the day, I'm just a kid who started this dream and turned it into something I never could have imagined."
Pacifico said his father was nothing but supportive of his decision and still shows up for his matches to this day.
Pro wrestling has an overwhelming effect on everyone - either you really love it or you really hate it. For Pacifico, he knew from watching on television that he really wanted to give it a try and be as malleable as possible.
"I loved watching it on TV, just the way it captivates you, just the way it makes you believe for a moment and it makes you leave reality," he told Fox News Digital. "That's TV, film, movies, they all do that, but wrestling is a live art form. So, that's what it did for me.
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"When I started, it was very hard to transition because, you have to think when you're wrestling, '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.' Nowadays, I watch the first match of the show and I just try to imagine, OK, the fans liked this, the fans liked this, and I try to figure out what crowds like. All over the world, there's different types of fans. In Japan, they like what they like. In Europe, they like what they like. There's all different types of styles and ways to go about things in the ring. So, I try to always establish, OK, tonight, I'm doing to be doing 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 performed 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 match stands out for him above the rest - his bout against Paul London.
London, a standout veteran wrestler in his own right, squared off with Pacifico at Pro Wrestling Magic in 2024 for the PWM Junior Heavyweight Championship. Pacifico won the match.
"I would say it's me vs. Paul London," he said. "That one was one of the most electric matches I've had in my career, character work, technical wrestling - like a grand finale at the fireworks. You watch it and everything went down in that match."
Now, Pacifico is up for a new challenge - the silver screen.
He told Fox News Digital he just wrapped up "Mr. Reset and the Society of Turnbuckle and Bone," which comes out on 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 very simple for me to do both. That was the first one I ever did. I absolutely loved being on set, filming and having 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 of who I am and really just play with it."
Pacifico added that he enjoys being able to pursue a pro wrestling career and a career in acting.
"I'm really enjoying getting to do both all the time and even go as far as wrestling the same week as I'm acting and filming," he told Fox News Digital. "Both schedules have been very easy to work around. I've had no conflict whatsoever yet. So, I'm very grateful for that as well."
