Credit: @pattyimages/Hard Body Photography
Vinny Marseglia was kind enough to take some time to talk to me today about his wrestling career, ROH, The Kingdom, and some upcoming ROH events.
This weekend, Ring of Honor will have two “State of The Art” shows this weekend, with a show on Friday, June 15, in San Antonio, Texas and another event on Saturday, June 16, in Dallas. In San Antonio, Vinny Marseglia and Matt Taven, two members of the ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions “The Kingdom”, will take on The Boys.
The Kingdom will take on Team CMLL in Dallas with the Six-Man Tag Team Championship on the line, in what should be an incredibly exciting match.
These two shows will be streamed live and for free for HonorClub members.
Marseglia was kind enough to sit down with us and discuss his match this weekend, his journey in Ring of Honor, his favorite wrestlers growing up, and The Kingdom’s feuds with the Bullet Club and SoCal Uncensored.
This interview provides insight into one of ROH’s more interesting characters. I hope you enjoy the interview as much as we did.
The Interview: Vinny’s Wrestling Fandom and Early Career
Josiah MacDonald: I’m here with Ring of Honor’s own Horror King, Vinny Marseglia. Thanks for taking time out of your day to do this interview.
Vinny Marseglia: No problem!
JMD: Before the Kingdom, and before ROH, were you a big wrestling fan growing up?
VM: Yes, I was! I was since pretty much as young as I can remember. We would go to the Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island, right outside of Warwick where I live. They used to host all the WWF events, and myself, my father, and cousins would all go there any time there’s an event there and take up an entire row.
Growing up, I was big Ultimate Warrior fan. I loved the Rockers, and I also loved the Undertaker. From a very young age, I always loved wrestling growing up. In my teenage years, from junior High, until high school, I loved The Hardy Boys. They’re still great. I was always a huge wrestling fan.
JMD: That’s awesome! It sounds like we come from a similar era of being fans.
VM: Yeah! Even growing up, I would wrestle in the backyard and put on little wrestling shows. Most people have done that, I think. You hit highschool, and as a freshman, I remember having people over to my house right after school. My parents would still be at work, and I tried to get the wrestling in before they got home. My dad would come home and freak out because he didn’t want anyone to get hurt.
It came to the point of where I wanted to get involved, but I didn’t know how. In high school, I met a girl, and she knew I was into wrestling, and she said, “Hey, are you interested in becoming a wrestler?” I said, “Yeah!” and she said, “My boyfriend is a wrestler, and there’s a wrestling school nearby.” I didn’t know this existed at the time, but I thought it was awesome. I went to the school, and there was the wrestling ring in front of me. I got in it for the first time and it was a bit different than I expected, but I still wanted to do it. Then I started training a bit, setting up rings, tearing down rings, the whole nine yards.
Credit: RING OF HONOR/Zeke Dane
Then I worked some local promotions in Massachusetts. I could do all the moves, but I didn’t know what I was doing. Spike Dudley and Ryan Waters, who runs the Lockup Wrestling Academy, saw me and said I have a lot more potential than what you’re doing. This is the same place that Matt Taven and TK O’Ryan came from. They said to me, “We’d love to help you get better and help you go where you want to go and give you the proper tools”. I went to training with Spike, and broke me down and built me back up from scratch.
When you hear of Spike Dudley, you often think of a stunt guy who’s tossed around, but Spike is such a knowledgeable pro at the psychology of pro wrestling, and I was blown away by everything he taught us. Spike was my original trainer, and he had an assistant trainer named Ryan Waters, who runs the Lockup Academy in Fall River, Massachusetts now.
Credit: RING OF HONOR/Steven Wright
The Kingdom Reborn – October 1st, 2016
Josiah MacDonald: That’s a good tie in to my next question: October 1st, 2016 was a big day for you in Ring of Honor. It came full circle with you, Matt Taven, and TK O’Ryan, formed the New Kingdom.
Vinny Marseglia: I wouldn’t say new. I feel that nothing works out when we call it new. When the Lost Boys movie came out, they said, “we have the New Lost Boys” and nobody bothered. The Kingdom is very real. We’re all friends outside of the ring. When Taven, Mike Kanellis, & Maria, were together, I was travelling with them all the time. I wasn’t a member of the Kingdom, but I was with them at all times because I was trying to get into Ring of Honor. The Kingdom is very real, and we all travel together and train together. You can call it the Kingdom in Matt Taven’s image.
October 1st, 2016 was a big night. It was everything I was working towards, and finally I was making my official debut in Ring of Honor. I’ve had a few matches previously, against Jay Lethal for the ROH World Title, for example, but this was what I was aiming for. I was a part of Ring of Honor Wrestling now. It was a really special night, and I got to do it with my friends. I’ve known Taven for over 10 years, and I’ve known TK for a few years. It was a really good moment. To go there, and be right in the main event against The Bullet Club for the tag titles was just a really cool moment.
JMD: I remember seeing the re-debut of the Matt Taven led Kingdom, and I remember thinking, “This is going to be really cool.”
VM: I wasn’t even fully myself yet, at that time. I haven’t really found my groove, and I hadn’t learned how to project myself as me, but I was trying to figure out how to develop in that stage. I went in confident, and it was awesome.
Credit: RING OF HONOR/Steven Wright
JMD: So, you have the moniker of “The Horror King.” I really enjoy your character, and even the addition of the red balloons that you release when you appear. I remember seeing a show on HonorClub recently, and after you released the balloons, I heard a woman scream in terror, and I thought it was awesome.
VM: The red balloons are awesome, and a big part of me. It’s a special thing that I think people enjoy. They see the symbolism of the red balloon and you know The Horror King is around. So, what you are seeing now, is what Vinny Marseglia is in real life. Growing up, I was a huge horror fan. My mother was a big horror fan. If she was a wrestler, she’d probably have the same style as me. I’d always watch horror movies at a young age, and mom made sure to tell me “It’s just a movie.”
I was a little afraid at first, but I always wanted to watch them. I watched everything. Creep Show, Halloween, Friday the 13th, Fright Night, Funhouse, Night of the Living Dead (the 1990 remake is my favourite Night of the Living Dead movie), and the Lost Boys is my overall favourite movie. Even back to the old black and white Frankenstien and Dracula movies.
My wife is a big horror fan too. My home looks like a horror museum. We have a ton of horror memorabilia around the house. What you are seeing now is me as a person. It’s something I love outside of wrestling, and the fact that I am able to bring what I love outside of the ring into the ring is just awesome to me. This is Vinny Marseglia. It’s very natural for me, and I’m having the time of my life doing it. Nothing is cooler than swinging and ax around a wrestling ring.
Credit: RING OF HONOR
Feuding with SoCal Uncensored and The Bullet Club
Josiah MacDonald: The Kingdom has been feuding with SoCal Uncensored and The Bullet Club of late, unseating the SoCal Uncensored for the ROH Six-Man Tag Team Championships. How is it working with both those groups?
Vinny Marseglia: It’s great. They’re the best competition we could ask for. If I could pick two teams to compete against, it would be them. They’re all so talented, and it always ends up being a pretty awesome match. When we won the six-man tag team championships back in Lowell in our home town was just awesome.
We had another one on the Honor United tour where it was The Kingdom vs. SoCal Uncensored vs. The Bullet Club and it was wild. If you haven’t seen it, you need to check it out on HonorClub.
JMD: You got nine talented guys in the ring, so that would be an excellent match.
VM: The crowd and the energy was awesome.
JMD: On June 16th, in Dallas, Texas, you are defending your ROH Six-Man Tag Team Championships with The Kingdom against Team CMLL (Atlantis, Stuka Jr., and Guerrero Maya Jr). Do you have any words for your opponents?
VM: You can come and try and take them. Everyone is trying to take them off us. There’s one thing that will never change – we are the first ever two-time ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions. The door is always open for any competition. We love competition. We welcome it. Anybody feel free to step up. On the 16th, in Dallas, I am looking forward to retaining our titles.
There are two big shows coming up. ROH State of the Art on the 15th in San Antonio, where Matt Taven and myself take on the Boys. TK O’Ryan has a big challenge in wrestling Jay Lethal. You can also check out both shows from the 15th and 16th live on HonorClub.
Closing Thoughts
JMD: Finally, do you have any plugs for Social Media, merchandise, and other upcoming dates?
VM: At the two events, you can purchase The Horror King red balloons, and they’re available at the ROH Pro Shop at live events now. At social media, you can find me on Twitter, Instagram, and on Facebook!
Next: WWE SmackDown Grades And Analysis
JMD: Thank you for your time, and I’m looking forward to seeing The Kingdom reign supreme on the 16th!
VM: Thank you so much for having me!
As Vinny Marseglia indicated, both shows this weekend for ROH are streaming live and free on HonorClub for all Honor Club members. Be sure to check them out, and see The Kingdom extend their reign into Texas! You can also purchase Vinny Marseglias’s T-Shrits on Pro Wrestling Tees.