Having made his first appearance on the May 14 episode of Thursday Night Impact!, TNA Wrestling has confirmed that Fabian Aichner is signed.
Released from his WWE contract on February 8, 2025, Giovanni Vinci would return to his real-name of Fabian Aichner and recently filed a trademark application for the term ‘Il Gladiatore‘ after his TNA iMPACT debut on May 14.
TNA Wrestling has confirmed that Aichner has now been signed to a contract, sharing the following announcement:
TNA Wrestling confirmed today that it has signed international superstar Fabian Aichner, as first reported by Sports Illustrated. Fabian made a shocking appearance on Thursday Night Impact on May 14. moments after Cedric Alexander dethroned Leon Slater for the TNA X Division Championship.
Born in Italy, Aichner made his pro wrestling debut in 2011 and spent about eight years working for WWE.
From The Fabian Files …
1. Speaks three languages: Italian, German and English;
2. Was a pro skier before becoming a pro wrestler;
3. Can ride a unicycle;
4. His favorite wrestlers are Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar;
5. Loves automobile racing, particularly Formula 1;
6. Lifelong Ferrari fan in F1;
7. Grew up in a village with 2,000 people in northern Italy;
8. “Arnold Schwarzenegger is my hero since I was 5 years-old after seeing the movie Commando.”
9. “Michael Jordan is my favorite sports athlete.”
10. Recently started jiu jitsu
Speaking to Sports Illustrated, Aichner would address his decision to sign with TNA Wrestling, saying:
“I think it’s pretty well known that I took a little bit of time off over the last course of the year. It was quite the roller coaster towards the end (of his WWE run), and the whole point was to recharge the batteries a little bit. I think that definitely got accomplished.
“And as it so happens, sometimes things were just pointing to TNA. A friend of mine in Germany pointed out that TNA has been improving their product greatly. I agree with that. So I checked it out.”
Aicher signed with WWE in 2017 and would team with Marcel Barthel (better known as Ludwig Kaiser/El Grande Americano) before the duo would join Walter (now GUNTHER) and Alexander Wolfe to form Imperium.
Alongside Barthel, the star held the NXT Tag Team Championship on two occasions.
The Rise And Fall Of Imperium
From its first appearance in NXT UK in 2019, Imperium was a force to be reckoned with, posing a threat to the dominance of British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate & Trent Seven). A move to NXT would see that presence continue, even though the star later renamed GUNTHER wasn’t able to capture the brand’s top championship.
The main roster saw more changes for Imperium in 2022, with Barthel renamed Ludwig Kaiser and being called up without Alexander Wolfe, who parted ways with WWE in May 2021, a month before his contract was set to expire.
Of the remaining members, GUNTHER would be the most successful, going on to be the Intercontinental Champion for a record setting 666 days, and a two-time World Heavyweight Champion, with Clash in Italy on May 31 seeing him face Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship. Regardless of the outcome of that match, GUNTHER’s status as a top star in WWE is all but secured.
As for the former Ludwig Kaiser, the star found new levels of popularity when he replaced Chad Gable as El Grande Americano, with both iterations of the character continuing to perform in WWE and AAA to this day. Kaiser is now accompanied by former rivals, Dunne and Bate, as Rayo & Bravo Americano, respectively.
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