Giovanni Vinci made his return on the latest episode of WWE SmackDown, but things didn't go as he might have planned. Vinci faced Apollo Crews in a singles match, but the contest ended in just three seconds when Crews rolled him up right after the bell rang.
For those unfamiliar with Vinci’s history, before embarking on his SmackDown singles run, he was a member of Imperium on Monday Night RAW, alongside Gunther and Ludwig Kaiser.
Even before his main roster debut, Vinci had an impressive run in both NXT UK and NXT as part of Imperium. He joined WWE full-time in 2017. During his time in WWE’s developmental system, Vinci, formerly known as Fabian Aichner, won the NXT Tag Team Title twice with Ludwig Kaiser, with both reigns lasting over 100 days.
When Vinci reunited with Gunther at Clash at the Castle 2022, he made his main roster debut under the name Giovanni Vinci. However, his separation from Imperium occurred when Gunther and Kaiser deemed him the weak link of the group. This led to Kaiser turning on him during an episode of Monday Night RAW, a move supported by the current World Heavyweight Champion.
Following this betrayal, Vinci was drafted to SmackDown as part of a supplemental draft, marking the beginning of his singles career. Unfortunately, his first match on the blue brand ended in a disappointing loss.
It will be interesting to see how this narrative unfolds and how WWE handles Giovanni Vinci’s singles run on Friday Night SmackDown moving forward.
Why Giovanni Vinci might have lost against Apollo Crews in just 3 seconds on the recent SmackDown?
The real reason WWE had Giovanni Vinci lose his match against Apollo Crews in just three seconds could be part of a strategy to generate attention around him. If Vinci had won the match, it might not have captured as much interest from the WWE Universe as his shocking loss did. Now, fans are likely to tune in for Vinci’s next match, curious to see if he can rebound and secure a victory.
Additionally, recent reports from the reliable source WrestleVotes suggest that this current direction for the former Imperium member is unpopular among many key figures within WWE.
This indicates that Vinci’s surprising loss is part of a larger storyline for his singles run on SmackDown. It will be interesting to see how this narrative develops in the coming weeks.