Former Imperium member Giovanni Vinci made his SmackDown debut last night. However, he shockingly suffered a loss within seconds and feels the referee is at fault.
Vinci returned to in-ring action against Apollo Crews. After getting in the ring, the Italian wrestler began taunting the crowd. As soon as the referee rang the bell, Crews rolled him up for the three count as Vinci looked shocked. In a SmackDown Exclusive, Giovanni Vinci shared his thoughts on his defeat. He blamed the ref for not checking whether he was ready. He said if Apollo Crews wants to come from behind then 'we can play that way.'
Don’t even ask the question. I got a question for you. When is the last time you’ve seen a match get without the referee checking both competitors if they’re ready. I haven’t seen it either. So Apollo wants to come up behind me, clearly, I still have half my entrance gear on, and roll me up, if he wants to play that way, alright. We can play that way. We can play that way."
- Giovanni Vinci on his SmackDown debut loss
Ahead of last night's edition of SmackDown, Vinci had wrestled his last match on April 22 episode of Raw. He had teamed up with former Imperium teammate Ludwig Kaiser to face Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods in a losing effort. Kaiser then brutally attacked and ousted Vinci from Imperium.
After being away from the programming for months, Vinci started teasing his return through various vignettes. The former Imperium member made his comeback last night but things didn't go in favor of the Italian wrestler as he might have planned.
