Vinnie Stigma Talks Upcoming Pro Wrestling Appearance, His WWE And AEW Hardcore Music Friends, CM Punk, And More! - Exclusive
If you are a fan of New York's hardcore music scene, the name Vinnie Stigma is not new to you. The tattooed and mohawk-ed rocker has been the lead guitarist and backup vocalist for legendary New York hardcore band Agnostic Front since 1980. In that time, he has helped make New York music venues like CBGB the iconic destinations they have become.
It should come as no surprise that the wild and colorful Stigma "believes" in pro wrestling. So much so that he is going to put himself in harm's way tonight at The Queens Brewery in Queens, NY for Outlaw Wrestling, as he will accompany Homicide to the ring for a brutal dog collar match.
In this exclusive interview with Wrestling Inc. Senior News Editor Nick Hausman, Stigma discusses his decision to get involved with pro wrestling, the multiple hardcore music friends he has in WWE and AEW, and more!
Full info for tonight's Outlaw Wrestling show at The Queens Brewery can be found below:
Outlaw Wrestling
Queens Brewery
1539 Covert Street
Queens, NY
7pm doors, 8pm bell time
Tickets in Advance or At The Door! http://www.eventbrite.com/e/outlaw-wrestling-queens-brewery-tickets-482062039537
Hardcore Pro Wrestling
Nick: Well, first of all, it is awesome to get to meet you and talk with you. As [Kevin Gill] has really put over in the press release, you are truly a New York hardcore scene legend. First of all, we'll start there. What does it mean to you to be considered a legend now, Vinnie?
Vinnie Stigma: Well, it's an honor in a way, and it's a time lapse thing. You don't become legendary overnight or how many clicks you get, you got to earn it. It's like guys being in the ring. You got to earn that title.
Well, obviously you have to be some kind of a pro wrestling fan, because you're going to be seconding Homicide. When did your affinity for pro wrestling begin, Vinnie?
Well, I was always a Bruno Sammartino fan. I always liked wrestling because I believe in it. I even wrestled Johnny Valiant on YouTube.
Really?
Yeah, Johnny Valiant was a friend of mine, and we wrestled in my backyard, in my tattoo shop. Yeah, it was really great. You can watch it on YouTube. There's two versions. The one that's on there now, I don't like. But he breaks a 2x4 over my head. Forget it. We collapsed furniture. It was a lot of fun.
You said the music scene and the pro wrestling, you see a little bit of similarity. Where do you see the similarities between your background in the hardcore scene and pro wrestling? How do the two worlds relate? Or how are they different?
It all started back in, I believe, in the back with the Lou Albano, Cyndi Lauper kind of thing. You know what I mean? Like, where they brought somewhat rock to wrestling?
Sure.
But as the years go on, that became hardcore. And the guys that wrestle, they listen to hardcore. I mean, you can't lift weights to Celine Dion, you know? You got to lift weights to Agnostic Front, heavy music. You got to run and train to that. So I think now that the wrestlers, because I know a lot of them, like Vampiro, and MVP, Corey Graves. I mean, these are my guys. I called them for Christmas to say hello. Or they come to my show. And these are hardcore guys. These are guys that like hardcore music. It is a great honor for me to represent these guys. They enter the ring with my music sometimes. That's like coming in the ring with your wrestler and hearing your music playing, you just feel powerful, walking up, you know? Walking into the ring, you feel confident.
Mr. Goomba Manages Homicide
Having these wrestlers as your friends and stuff, and having them come out to your shows, are you still keeping up? Do you watch current products, the WWE and AEW products right now?
I'd be honest with you, I don't have a TV right now.
Okay. Fair enough.
But I'm still up on the things. I'm still up on wrestling. A lot of that MMA stuff came and interfered a lot. But yeah. Yeah, but I'm still up on it. I still believe in wrestling.
Well, hey, let's talk a little bit about what's going to go down at The Queen's Brewery. You're going to be managing Homicide in a dog collar match. How did this come about, Vinnie?
Well, I got to thank Kevin Gill for getting me involved in this situation over here. Well, like I said, the guys are hardcore guys. I mean, it's all about the music they listen to, the guys that they represent, the people that they represent, and you got to believe in your wrestler. When I look at a wrestler, I say, "Do I believe in this guy? Does he believe in himself?" And I believe in a lot of these guys. That's how I roll, anyway.
Do you have any kind of relationship with Homicide? Have you worked with him before? Are you guys friends?
No, I never met him... not at the moment, but I will, that's for sure. I'm dying to meet this fellow.
Yeah. Well, he's a tough guy, man.
Yeah, I could tell. I know he's a hardcore guy.
So you're going to be there. You're a hardcore guy, and you're going to be ringside for this thing. You're going to have all this wildness going on. I mean, do you plan on getting involved in the action, Vinnie?
If I got to get involved, I get involved. Mr. Goomba always gets involved.
Do you have a favorite move? Do you have something you want to hit? Is there something you like to do if you do get involved?
I got a few things up my ... like a foreign object or something.
Hardcore Influence On CM Punk
Do you have the bug now, Vinnie? Now that Kevin's got you through the door here, you're going to be ringside for this thing. If it goes well, would you like to do more in professional wrestling?
I'd love to, because like I said, I'm a fan. I believe I could bring a different flavor to it, a different crowd, a different aspect. I think that it's time to break. Because I think as far as the music goes, it's music that you can touch. It's music that you believe in. It's music for people that like wrestling. So it really goes hand in hand, a lot of it.
Yeah, for sure. You bring up some of the people that are fans of yours, one name that really stood out to me that's real buzzy right now is CM Punk. I know he's come to some of your shows in the past.
Oh, yeah, right. Yes, CM Punk, another guy. Yeah.
What's he like, Vinnie? Obviously, I'm sure since he's a fan of yours, he's probably very respectful when he's around you.
Oh, no, all the guys are great, man. I got to say one thing. As far as all the wrestlers, they're respectful gentlemen. I got to say that. But there's no getting around that. There's a camaraderie, a respect, an honorable family approach to this. So it's really good for families and children to come to this event. They would see honor and pride, and they would see good versus evil. And they will find themselves, I believe, in an honorable way.
Kevin Gill: Hey Vinnie, what did you think about CM Punk singing Freddie Madball's part on H2O's "Guilty By Association" and contributing backing vocals to the Madball?
That guy is the real deal. We need to get him on a Stigma record. I wrote a song for him to do vocals on.
Kevin Gill: You wrote a song for Punk that you want him to lay down vocals for?
Yeah.
Wow, that's cool. Well, Vinnie, it's going to be very exciting, again. What do you want to tell everybody out there? Why should they come out and see Vinnie Stigma in the corner of Homicide, here in this dog collar match at The Queens Brewery?
You come out tonight. You watch Vinnie Stigma, who they're calling Mr. Goomba. He's going to represent Homicide, and there's going to be homicide in the ring tonight!