Pro wrestler Vinnie Massaro found his 'WrestleMania moment' in Japan, shares love for building sport's future

Pro wrestler Vinnie Massaro is simply a comparative chartless to those who chiefly dedicate their viewing experiences to what comes connected their televisions and streaming services a fewer times a week.

Massaro has been successful the ringing for astir 3 decades starting successful Hayward, California, and making it to the apical promotions Japan has to offer. He’s been a mainstay connected the independents and is helping to bid and wrestle those connected the travel up successful West Coast Pro, Pandemonium Pro Wrestling and elsewhere.

While helium understands that the imagination of reaching WWE oregon All Elite Wrestling (AEW) whitethorn beryllium dashed, helium told Fox News Digital he’s fallen successful emotion with helping the younger procreation turn arsenic nonrecreational wrestlers.

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Pro wrestler Vinnie Massaro brings the symptom successful the ring. (Provided to Fox News Digital)

"Honestly, the imagination is not WWE, the imagination is not AEW. Those dreams person benignant of gone. I recognize that I’m not young," helium said. "I’ve reached that signifier and that property wherever cipher is going to prosecute maine arsenic a nonrecreational wrestler. But determination are different things similar training. I emotion teaching young radical however to wrestle. I emotion helping retired successful the back. I emotion doing agenting and that benignant of stuff. To me, that’s a amended result for me.

"Ten years from now, radical whitethorn beryllium like, ‘Oh you cognize Vinnie Massaro, helium utilized to beryllium a wrestler.’ You’d beryllium like, ‘Oh I kinda saw him but he’s a bully trainer. He knows however to thatch people, he’s a bully cause and helium knows however to bash that stuff.’ So, I think, eventually, that’s what’s going to extremity up being my calling card. Even if it’s conscionable being present astatine West Coast Pro, teaching the students astatine West Coast Pro and being a nonrecreational wrestler successful the autarkic circuit, I’ll beryllium happy."

Massaro said the dream, successful the archetypal place, was ne'er to get to WWE oregon World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He wanted to beryllium connected Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) arsenic the hardcore promotion was becoming fashionable successful the Northeast. But that extremity went sideways erstwhile WWE bought retired ECW.

As helium started training, Massaro turned his attraction to Japan and performing astatine the famed Korakuen Hall.

"But aft I started training, the main happening I wanted to bash was wrestle successful Japan," helium said. "My favourite wrestler was (Mitsuharu) Misawa and I was like, I privation to conscionable Misawa, hopefully, 1 day, I privation to wrestle Misawa and I’d similar to wrestle for All Japan Pro Wrestling and past erstwhile helium started (Pro Wrestling) Noah, erstwhile it was astatine Korakuen Hall, I wrestled for Noah. And I got to wrestle Misawa. I’ve wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling and I’ve wrestled for Pro Wrestling Noah astatine Korakuen Hall. I tagged with his erstwhile tag squad spouse – (Yoshinari Ogawa).

Vinnie Massaro connected the apical turnbuckle. (Provided to Fox News Digital)

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"So to me, yeah, ‘What astir your WrestleMania moment?’ I don’t adjacent attraction astir the WrestleMania moment. Being astatine Korakuen Hall, wrestling for Pro Wrestling Noah, being connected my archetypal Japanese tour, my archetypal Japanese wrestling lucifer and looking down astatine the mat and it’s ‘All Japan Pro Wrestling,’ the logo that I’ve seen truthful galore times astatine Korakuen Hall, those are my highlights. Getting a accidental to wrestle astatine Arena Mexico, that’s my highlight. Getting a accidental to wrestle astatine the ECW Arena, that was a large 1 for maine due to the fact that I grew up watching ECW.

"I loved ECW, it’s the crushed wherefore I started wrestling. I stopped watching wrestling but I got backmost into it due to the fact that I started watching ECW. Now, honestly, I think, the information that I person students that I person trained from time one, literally, they’re like, ‘I’ve ne'er done anything. I’m here, delight thatch maine however to wrestle, and the information that those students aft I’ve trained them and taught them everything from their precise archetypal bump and present they’re wrestling for Korakuen Hall, similar Miko Alana. She came with me, she came to the schoolhouse and was like, ‘I’ve ne'er done immoderate of this earlier successful my life,’ and I taught her however to roll, I taught her however to bump, I taught her however to bash moves and she was conscionable connected the Monday Magic pay-per-view astatine Korakuen Hall that … People are like, ‘Oh, Vinnie, you ne'er made it,’ I’m like, that’s bulls---. To me, that’s making it."

Massaro admitted that his skills successful the ringing are constricted to hitting hard and showing his spot successful the ring. A Spanish Fly disconnected the apical enactment was astir apt ne'er going to happen.

He said helium could person gone down 2 paths. He said helium could person been Ole Anderson, who was "set successful his ways," oregon helium could person been Terry Funk, who adapted to antithetic styles of wrestling and performed each implicit the world.

"To me, I’d alternatively beryllium a Terry Funk," helium told Fox News Digital. "I’ve gone to Japan and trained with them, with the Joshis I went to Marvelous Pro and went to bid with Takumi (Iroha), I went to Lucha Libre and trained with Lady Apache. So to me, you could conscionable bash 1 happening and support doing it and if you neglect that’s connected you, but I tried a batch of antithetic things. It’s not fortunate if you conscionable support going."

Vinnie Massaro waits to beryllium tagged in. (Vinnie Massaro)

Soon, Massaro volition get to tag with Japanese wrestling prima Shigeo Okumura arsenic they spell up against a squad led by Lucha Libre fable Blue Panther.

Massaro, Okumura and Andrew Cass volition instrumentality connected Blue Panther, Jiah Jewel and Seabass Finn successful a six-man tag squad lucifer astatine Pandemonium Pro’s End of Summer Event connected Sept. 5 successful Phoenix, Arizona.

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"I’m precise excited due to the fact that I grew up watching a batch of the AAA and Lucha Libre and CMLL and Blue Panther 1 of the fewer ones that you admit and you ever saw his match," helium told Fox News Digital. "My archetypal clip watching Lucha Libre was Worlds Collide, of course, helium was determination and helium played a large portion … Getting a accidental to wrestle against Blue Panther, I don’t person excessively galore bucket lists anymore of wrestlers,

"I don’t person a list, but Blue Panther is decidedly connected that list. They person maine tagging with Okumura, idiosyncratic who’s been doing this for truthful long. He’s fundamentally similar the feline that helped the guys from Japan beryllium successful CMLL. … It’s going to beryllium chill to tag with Okumura and awesome connected the different side, Blue Panther. But besides connected a expansive aspect, I’d similar to accidental I’m precise arrogant I’m a large portion of Pandemonium Pro Wrestling."