The man behind the character actually used to be a pizza chef and delivery driver.
The world is finally getting to know Luigi Primo.
While he has been wrestling for seven years, his overnight sensation moment happened this past weekend.
A clip of Luigi wrestling went viral, and for all the right reasons. In a 56-second snippet, he dazzles the crowd by spinning pizza dough while performing his versatile assembly of moves.
“Luigi Primo is the best pizza maker in the business,” says Chris Monica, who stepped out of character for this interview. “And he also believes he’s the best wrestler in the world.”
Remarkably, he now possesses data to buttress that bold claim. The Twitter clip has already registered more than 5.5 million views since the Wrestling With Unicorns account posted it last Thursday night, and it has blown up on a number of other social media platforms.
“The clip did well on Thursday, then things got out of hand on Friday,” Monica says. “By Saturday, Mark Zuckerberg was commenting on it. I still can’t believe what’s happening.”
Nearly seven years ago, Monica first performed the Luigi Primo character as a one-off during a backyard wrestling show in Texas. He instigated the crowd by boasting that Italy was better than Texas, further agitating them by mocking Lone Star Beer for lacking the qualities of a great alcoholic beverage. Playing the role of the heel, he attempted to steal a victory by throwing mozzarella in his opponent’s eyes.
“The mozzarella didn’t work,” says Monica, who worked for nearly a decade in the pizza business as a pizza chef and delivery man. “I saw it as something creative for one match. I didn’t see it as anything more than that.”
In the rematch, he topped his opponent like a pizza, and he was genuinely shocked when the crowd exploded with joy. Thus began the face turn of Luigi Primo, which has included reuniting with his son, Pastaman, who is made out of pasta.
It has been a long seven-year stretch for Monica in pro wrestling, but he is finally gaining traction as Luigi Primo. The timing is peculiar, as that clip is from a match that took place in April during WrestleMania weekend in Texas, but fate has given him a chance to take his career to unexpected heights.
“I’m grateful to Wrestling With Unicorns, the people who took the video,” Monica says. “They were at the event and spent a lot of time gathering footage. They’ve been really good about sharing the clips, and last Thursday was time for my clip to hit. It’s been amazing.”
Monica was trained by J. Serious, a wrestler who came up in the same circle as Ricky Starks and ACH, and there is a lot to like about his performance as Primo. In addition to tossing pizza dough, he also performs an array of pizza-inspired moves.
“I start with rolling out the crust, and that’s a body slam or hip toss to get my opponent down,” says Monica, whose over-the-top accent as Primo could not be contained as his enthusiasm grew. “Once my opponent is down, that means the dough is prepared, and then you top the pizza. That’s when you do an elbow drop or senton. Going off the top rope is putting the pizza in the oven, then I finish him with the pizza cutter, which is an RKO.”
A window to a whole new world has opened with his viral clip. Monica is excited—and prepared—to expand upon his newfound notoriety. He is proud of his home territory, Party World Rasslin’ in Austin, and he is ready to do some extra delivery, well aware that the world hungers for more quality pizza.
“My initial goal was to be the best pizza wrestler in all of wrestling,” Monica says. “Now it’s to make a living doing pizza wrestling.
“I love wrestling, and I love traveling. I’m open for business.”
Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.