Last seen on WWE television in April, being beaten out of Imperium by his former comrade Ludwig Kaiser, Giovanni Vinci has had his return to "WWE SmackDown" heavily hyped. Now once again fully embracing his Italian heritage, Vinci confidently made his way down the ramp in a tracksuit emblazoning the colors of Italy, slapping hands with fans on both sides of the aisle, his joy was extremely short-lived, as his opponent, Apollo Crews, rolled him up while he was removing his ring gear, securing the win in a matter of seconds. Vinci rose up in shock, protesting the pinfall, aghast at the result as he barely had time to take off his jacket.

Vinci's return has been promoted now for weeks and almost certainly, there are big plans in place therefore, so it stands to wonder where the quick defeat may lead the former Fabian Aichner. While a feud with both Kaiser and WWE World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER at some point would make perfect sense, Vinci's arrival on "SmackDown," so long as the brand split holds even slightly firm, stands in the way of as much. A return engagement with Crews, against whom Vinci was 2-0 until tonight on "Main Event" and "NXT," seems logical.

The match also marked Crews' first victory on WWE television since a December win over Broosk Jensen on "Main Event," and his first win on "SmackDown" since June of 2021 in an Intercontinental Championship defense against Kevin Owens.