Fabian Aichner has opened up about the end of his WWE career, revealing that his final months with the company became an emotional roller coaster after WWE appeared ready to restart the Giovanni Vinci character, only for the direction to end almost immediately. Aichner admitted that he would not have chosen to leave WWE himself, but after receiving his release, he reached a point where he wanted to detach from professional wrestling completely.
Aichner, best known to WWE fans as Giovanni Vinci, discussed his departure during an interview on Busted Open . The former two-time NXT Tag Team Champion spent years in WWE and was part of Imperium alongside GUNTHER and Ludwig Kaiser before being separated from the group. He later returned to the main roster under the Giovanni Vinci character, but his renewed singles run never developed as he had hoped. Aichner was released by WWE in 2025 before eventually returning to wrestling with TNA.
Looking back at the moment WWE informed him of his release, Aichner recalled sitting beside his pool after finishing a workout. While he had never really pictured his WWE career ending that way, he said there were so many emotions surrounding the situation that he initially struggled to process it.
“You know, that was such a surreal moment. I remember sitting by my pool. I just got done working out. I ate my cereal after and I got that call and I was like, well, you know, you know what? Like I never really thought too much about it, never envisioned it getting. But then I was like, OK, well, it was a bit of a avalanche of emotions.”
Aichner said he partly expected that something could happen but still wasn't prepared for the actual call. Previous comments from Aichner also support that uncertainty: he has said that after his Giovanni Vinci comeback failed to develop and he spent more time away from television, thoughts about his WWE future began creeping in.
The disappointment was tied closely to what happened with the Giovanni Vinci character. WWE had aired vignettes promoting his return, making Aichner believe he was finally about to receive the singles opportunity he had been waiting for. Instead, the direction disappeared quickly.
“Because the last couple of months in WWE was such an emotional roller coaster ride. But like, things getting started, we saw the vignettes. I was like, oh, well, here we go. This is the moment I've been working for my whole life. And then, yeah, after two weeks, it kind of just ended very abruptly.”
Aichner previously explained that he thought WWE's original intention was to get his character moving immediately. He returned to SmackDown against Apollo Crews, but the match lasted only seconds. Aichner has said he only learned about the direction on the day of the show and felt WWE could have done much more with the character.
Despite everything that happened during his final months, Aichner made it clear that leaving WWE wasn't something he would have chosen himself. “I wouldn't have left myself because I was always WWE or all the way when I signed. But then the decision was made for me and I was just like, OK, like let's do something else. Let's just completely recharge the batteries when it comes to that. Completely get my mind off of things.”
Aichner debuted for TNA in May 2026 and has since said the company has helped bring back his enjoyment of being inside the ring.
Wrestling