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Giovanni Vinci

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Fabian Aichner (born 22 July 1990) is an Italian professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Giovanni Vinci.

Giovanni Vinci
Vinci in April 2018
Birth nameFabian Aichner
Born (1990-07-21) 21 July 1990 (age 34)
Pfalzen, Italy
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Adrian Severe
Fabian Aichner
Giovanni Vinci
Billed height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[1]
Billed weight220 lb (100 kg)[1]
Billed fromSouth Tyrol, Italy[1]
Trained byAlex Wright
Debut9 December 2011

Aichner signed with WWE in 2017 and joined the group Imperium, becoming a two-time NXT Tag Team Champion with Imperium teammate Ludwig Kaiser. He previously worked on the independent circuit, becoming a one-time Evolve Champion and one-time NEW World Heavyweight Champion.

Early life

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Fabian Aichner[2] was born in Pfalzen on 21 July 1990.[3]

Professional wrestling career

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Independent circuit (2011–2017)

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On 9 December 2011, Aichner made his debut under the ring name Adrian Severe at a New European Championship Wrestling (NEW) event.[3] He competed in the final of the NEW World Heavyweight Championship tournament in March 2012, but did not win. On 2 February 2013, he won the NEW World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Vicious Impact Power, but lost it back to Power on 2 November.[4] In 2014, he won the King of the North tournament.[5] At the end of the year, Cagematch ranked him at No. 5 for the Euro-Match des Jahres Cagematch Year End Awards.[6] After his return to the independent circuit following his participation in WWE's Cruiserweight Classic in 2016, he won the NEW World Tag Team Championship tournament with Mexx.[7] In 2017, he competed for the German Wrestling Federation (GWF) and Belgium's Flemish Wrestling Force (FWF).[8][9]

WWE (2017–present)

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Imperium (Vinci, Gunther, and Ludwig Kaiser) at Clash at the Castle in 2022
Main article: Imperium (professional wrestling)

In June 2016, WWE announced Aichner as one of the 32 participants in the Cruiserweight Classic tournament.[10] He was selected to represent Italy during the tournament,[11][12] and was eliminated by the United Kingdom's Jack Gallagher in the first round.[13] On 5 June 2017, it was announced that he had signed a contract with WWE.[14] He made his television debut on 27 September episode of NXT, losing to Kassius Ohno. While still under contract with WWE, he made an appearance at Evolve 115 (which has a partnership with WWE) and won the Evolve Championship from Shane Strickland. At Evolve 116, he successfully defended the title against Kassius Ohno, but he lost it to Austin Theory at Evolve 117.

Returning to WWE in September, Aichner formed a team with Marcel Barthel, going on to compete on both the NXT and NXT UK brands. They would later align themselves with Walter and Alexander Wolfe, forming the team Imperium. On 13 May 2020, Barthel and Aichner defeated Matt Riddle and Timothy Thatcher (the latter substituting for Pete Dunne) to win the NXT Tag Team Championship.[15] They successfully defended against teams such as Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch, Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango), and The Undisputed Era. They lost the championship to Breezango on the August 26 episode of NXT, ending their reign at 105 days.[16] They failed to regain the titles from Breezango in a rematch on the September 16 episode of NXT. On 26 October 2021, at Halloween Havoc, Barthel and Aichner captured the championship for a second time by defeating MSK, and would successfully defend their titles at WarGames against Kyle O'Reilly and Von Wagner. At NXT Stand & Deliver in April 2022, Aichner and Barthel lost the titles back to MSK in a triple threat tag team match also involving The Creed Brothers, ending their reign at 158 days. Aichner's final appearance as a member of Imperium was on the April 5 episode of NXT, when he and Barthel faced The Creed Brothers in a losing effort. Aichner then walked out on Barthel, and Imperium would later debut on the SmackDown brand without Aichner.

On the 24 May episode of NXT, vignettes aired promoting the debut of Aichner's new onscreen character, a wealthy Italian snob named Giovanni Vinci whose catchphrase was "Veni, Vidi, Vinci".[17] He re-debuted on the 14 June episode of NXT, defeating Guru Raaj.[18] On the 16 August episode of NXT: Heatwave, he unsuccessfully challenged Carmelo Hayes for the NXT North American Championship. On 3 September, at Clash at the Castle, he reunited with Walter (now called Gunther) and Barthel (now called Ludwig Kaiser) in Imperium. Imperium were drafted to the Raw brand in the 2023 WWE Draft.[19][20]

On the 22 April 2024 episode of Raw, after Kaiser and Vinci lost to The New Day, Kaiser attacked Vinci and kicked him out of Imperium.[21] A week later at Night 2 of the 2024 WWE Draft, Vinci was drafted to the SmackDown brand in the supplemental draft. On the 9 August edition of SmackDown, a vignette aired for Vinci’s return to the brand, reverting to his singles character from NXT 2.0 back in 2022.[22] On 6 September, Vinci wrestled his return match for the brand on the last SmackDown on FOX, losing to Apollo Crews in three seconds.[23] Two weeks later, Vinci again lost to Crews and attacked Crews after the match.[24]

Other media

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Aichner is a playable character in WWE 2K22, WWE 2K23,[25] and WWE 2K24.[26]

Championships and accomplishments

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Giovanni Vinci". WWE.
  2. ^ "Fabian Aichner: Profile & Match Listing – Internet Wrestling Database (IWD)". www.profightdb.com.
  3. ^ a b "Fabian Aichner". cagematch.net.
  4. ^ "WorldOfWrestling.it – Intervista a Fabian Aichner(aka Adrian Severe)". www.worldofwrestling.it. Archived from the original on 2017-03-16. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  5. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "King Of The North Tournament « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  6. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Awards « Adrian Severe « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2017-04-06.
  7. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "NEW World Tag Team Title Tournament « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  8. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Career « Adrian Severe « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  9. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Matches « Adrian Severe « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  10. ^ "Wie wird ein Pfalzner Bursche zum Wrestling-Star, Fabian Aichner?". www.sportnews.bz. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  11. ^ "Fabian Aichner: Profile & Match Listing – Internet Wrestling Database (IWD)". www.profightdb.com. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  12. ^ "WWE Cruiserweight Classic 2016, intervista esclusiva a Fabian Aichner: un italiano sul ring dei wrestler – UrbanPost". UrbanPost (in Italian). 2016-07-11. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  13. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Fabian Aichner vs. Jack Gallagher « Matchguide « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2017-03-10.
  14. ^ "Thea Trinidad, Gunner, More Reportedly Sign With WWE". www.411Mania.com. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  15. ^ "Wwe Nxt Report: Tag Title Match, Takeover Is Coming In June, The Garganos Invite You To Join Them At Dinner, The Tournament Continues, And More". PWInsider.com. 2020-05-13. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
  16. ^ Moore, John (August 26, 2020). "8/26 NXT TV results: Moore's review of new NXT Champion Karrion Kross and Scarlett, Tommaso Ciampa returns, Santos Escobar vs. Isaiah "Swerve" Scott for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship, Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel vs. Tyler Breeze and Fandango for the NXT Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  17. ^ "Identity of New NXT Character Revealed". 5 June 2022.
  18. ^ "The Former Fabian Aichner Debuts as Giovanni Vinci on WWE NXT, Vinci on What He's Bringing to NXT, More". 15 June 2022.
  19. ^ Barnett, Jake (28 April 2023). "4/28 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Barnett's review of the WWE Draft night one, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn vs. Jimmy and Jey Uso for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Titles, Zelina Vega vs. Sonya Deville". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  20. ^ Bath, Dave (April 28, 2023). "WWE SmackDown live results: The WWE Draft begins". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  21. ^ Russell, Skylar (April 22, 2024). "Ludwig Kaiser Turns On Giovanni Vinci Following Loss To New Day On 4/22 WWE Raw". Fightful.
  22. ^ Powell, Jason (April 30, 2024). "WWE Draft Tracker: The full list of wrestlers to Raw and Smackdown". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 30, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  23. ^ Defelice, Robert (6 September 2024). "Giovanni Vinci Loses To Apollo Crews Almost Instantaneously In WWE SmackDown Re-Debut On 9/6 | Fightful News". Fightful. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  24. ^ Defelice, Robert (20 September 2024). "Giovanni Vinci Suffers Another Quick Loss To Apollo Crews On WWE SmackDown, Attacks Crews Afterwards | Fightful News". Fightful. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  25. ^ Wilson, Ben (February 20, 2023). "WWE 2K23 roster reveal with every confirmed wrestler". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  26. ^ "WWE 2K24 roster guide with every confirmed wrestler". GamesRadar+. January 25, 2024. Archived from the original on February 27, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  27. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "cOw Interstate Championship « Titles Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2017-03-10.
  28. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Tournaments « Dansk Pro Wrestling (DPW) « Promotions Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
  29. ^ "EVOLVE 114 Results (10/28/18): NXT Reigns Supreme, JD Drake Wins WWN Championship, Dan Matha Appears". FIGHTFUL. 2018-10-28. Retrieved 2018-10-29.
  30. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "NEW Hardcore Championship « Titles Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2017-03-10.
  31. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "NEW World Heavyweight Championship « Titles Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2017-03-10.
  32. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "NEW World Tag Team Championship « Titles Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2017-03-10.
  33. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "POW Tag Team Championship « Titles Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2017-03-10.
  34. ^ "NXT Tag Team Championship". WWE. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
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