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Add FightsATW on GoogleDespite hailing from New York City’s forgotten borough, Staten Islander Vinny Pacifico is doing everything in his power to make sure he’s remembered.
Literally. That means wrestling, acting, sponsor gigs, interviews, podcasts, and precious little time for anything else.
But there’s nowhere else the 25-year-old would rather be. Needless to say, he’s come a long way from competing in the ring on the basketball court at Funstation USA for the Warriors of Wrestling promotion as a 16-year-old.
“I’m very grateful to have to be where I am now, but I never forget where I came from,” said Pacifico, who is on the verge of big things these days, with appearances for AEW (All Elite Wrestling), Ring of Honor and NJPW (New Japan Wrestling) already under his belt. Add in a recent appearance in Pro Wrestling Illustrated, and it would be easy for him to get a big head. Instead, he has the same approach to business as he did when he first started, with the key to that being to keep his mouth shut and his ears open.
“Early on in my career, I always listened,” he said. “I was always told, go out, travel, go to these shows, go to every show you can that’s running when you aren’t booked and try and get booked. Show face, be everywhere. At the age of 16, I was doing that. So I don’t want to say easy, but it was tangible for me to get booked elsewhere because my face was everywhere.”
That’s a New Yorker speaking, and while some in the world might find us aggressive, in the world of pro wrestling, aggressive is good. Saying yes is good, and putting in the long hours no one else wants to is good. Sure, you’re not always wrestling on television or in front of thousands, but it’s where someone learns their craft.
“If one company had a spot open when someone pulled off, I filled the spot,” he said. “And then, over time, it kept happening more and more. And then more people are like, ‘Oh wow, I really like you. I want to book you.’ It got to the point where now I have my own schedule. At first, yes, it does get tiring. But I wanted more.”
He’s getting his wish. When we spoke on St. Patrick’s Day, Pacifico was in California, about to hit Disneyland with his wife Carly. Before that, it was an AEW gig in Fresno where he lost a tooth in a tag match courtesy of Katsuyori Shibata, a trip to Las Vegas for a token launch, some podcast interviews, and then some meetings regarding his budding film career. Yet on his day “off,” he was texting a half-hour early to confirm our interview, and at 12 pm Eastern on the dot, he was calling. It’s enough to give everyone in any line of work a bad name, but then you figure out that Pacifico’s success comes from a Spartan work ethic and a level of professionalism few possess.
“I want to make it,” he said. “I want to be that guy. And no matter what, you have to do everything possible. You have to be punctual, and my saying is, ‘If you ain’t going to do it, who will?’ No one’s going to do it for you. No one’s going to say, ‘Oh, hey Vinny, make sure you do it on time.’ No, you have to do it yourself. When you’re a kid, your parents help you get to things on time. When you’re older, no one’s holding your hand telling you, ‘You have to do this, you have to do that. So, I try my hardest to do everything as best I can and allot time for what’s needed. But, also, my father and grandfather are very punctual, and they work very hard, as well. So I believe that rubbed off on me, but I will always say that no one’s going to do the work for you because, at the end of the day, you want this. No one’s asking you to be here.”
Pacifico has wanted to be there since he was a kid, and luckily, his family was on board when he told them what he wanted to do with his life. Did they expect it to get to this level? Probably not, but they stuck by him, even when others around him didn’t.
“I got bullied a lot in school for being a wrestling fan,” he said. “I got laughed at, I wore a John Cena wristband to school, and I was one of those kids. I had my friends. But yeah, I got bullied a lot, and I did not let that stop me.”
Of course, a good revenge story is better than a good come-up story. So now that he’s a pro wrestler who looks like he can walk through walls while competing around the globe, does he ever think of looking up those bullies? “I’ll tell you what, a few of them have become friends, actually,” he laughs. I groan, hoping to hear stories of him going door to door, Jay and Silent Bob style.
“What’s funny is when I talk on podcasts and mention getting bullied growing up, I always believe to forgive and forget. I forgave all the people who bullied me, and I wish them well. I don’t believe in having any hate or disrespect in my heart. And a lot of them have reached out to me and apologized or said they’re proud of me or said that they knew I could do it. And a few of them became pretty good friends.”
Another reason why Pacifico is starting to see the fruit of his labors? It’s impossible to dislike him. That’s almost as rare as the calling on time thing. He laughs, but what’s his answer? The guy has 170,000 followers on Instagram – why do people care, and why have they embraced the Vinny Pacifico story?
“I think my story resonates with people because people want to do good things,” he said. “I think everyone has something they want to do, but some don’t know how to chase it or don’t believe in themselves enough or believe they could do it. But I am trying to inspire people and show them that you can do it. If Vinny Pacifico could wrestle and then get into a film alongside absolute legends in this world and get to shine a light on pro wrestling in that movie, so could you. I’m not any better than anybody. I just don’t stop.
“I wake up at 5 am every morning, and I go to the gym. After that, I do my social media. During that, I do my emails and queries, answering emails, whatever it may be. Then I do podcasts, then I do some more booking stuff. Then I call my manager, and we do some other stuff that we have going on, and then I take care of my wife, make dinner or whatever, or I train in the ring. So, every single day, I’m not wasting any time. I have to get better every day. And that’s something that is exhausting and it’s a huge sacrifice, but I believe everybody could achieve great things. It’s just believing in yourself and loving yourself enough to take that step forward to finding what you have to do to get there.”
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