Luca Crusifino

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Luca Crusifino
Crusifino in 2024
Personal information
BornRoman Macek
(2000-11-16) November 16, 2000[1]
McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, U.S.
EducationDuquesne University[2]
Professional wrestling career
Ring nameLuca Crusifino
Billed height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Billed weight246 lb (112 kg)
Billed fromPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Trained byChris LeRusso[3]
WWE Performance Center[4]
DebutFebruary 21, 2023
RetiredApril 27, 2026

Roman Macek (born November 16, 2000) is an American retired professional wrestler and former American football player. He is best known for his tenure in WWE under the ring name Luca Crusifino.

Early life and football career

Macek was born in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. He is of Italian and Moroccan descent, by his own account. He attended Montour High School in McKees Rocks, where he played football. He was a first team all-Northwest Nine Conference pick on both the offensive and defensive lines for two-straight years. He also participated as four-year letterman and three-year captain for the wrestling team.[2]

After graduating from high school, Macek went on to study at Duquesne University, majoring in sociology. While attending Duquesne, Macek played football for the Duquesne Dukes. As a freshman in 2017, he played special teams and defense; in 2018, he appeared in all 13 games for the Dukes; in 2019 he moved to offense as a left guard; In 2020–2021 season, he started all five games at left guard for the Dukes in first season on the offensive line and played major role in success of Dukes’ offense. In 2021, he started all 10 games at left guard for the Dukes and was a part of an offensive front which paced the NEC and ranked 17th in the FCS in fewest sacks allowed per game (1.2).[2] After graduating with a B.A. from Duquesne University, Macek continued his education at Duquesne, enrolling in the law school. However, he took a leave of absence to pursue professional wrestling. Macek is still enrolled in law school at Duquesne.[5]

Professional wrestling career

On April 6, 2022, it was reported that Macek had signed with WWE after undergoing a tryout at the WWE Performance Center.[6] He was later assigned the name Luca Crusifino and the gimmick of a lawyer.[7] In early 2023 before his debut, Crusifino made his own website called crusifinolaw.com for his gimmick of a lawyer.[8] In January 2024, Crusifino participated in the NXT men's breakout tournament,[9] but was defeated by Tavion Heights in the first round. On February 27, Crusifino faced Dijak in a losing effort.

Crusifino later joined The D'Angelo Family stable, where he took the gimmick of consigliere of the stabe.[10][11][12] Crusifino worked both on NXT and the Evolve brand.[13][14] During the feud between Tony D'Angelo and Lorenzo,[15] Crusifino allied with Lorenzo, helping him at NXT Battleground to defeat D'Angelo.[16] However, he was kicked off the stable after Crusifino costed D'Angelo the NXT Heritage Cup match against Lorenzo.

In March 2026, Crusifino introduced a new gimmick in Evolve,[17] but he was released by WWE on April 24[18] and announced his retirement days later.[19]

References

  1. "Luca Crusifino - Pro Wrestlers Database - The SmackDown Hotel". TheSmackDownHotel.com. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  2. "Roman Macek - Football - Duquesne University Athletics". Duquesne University Athletics. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  3. Rossetti, Antonio (July 24, 2024). "Luca Crusifino has no regrets about leaving Duquesne law school for the WWE". Pittsburgh City Paper. Retrieved April 27, 2026.
  4. "Luca Crusifino « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". Cagematch.com. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  5. Benz, Tim (April 6, 2022). "Duquesne football player Roman Macek gets offer to pursue pro wrestling dream at WWE performance center". TribLIVE.com. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  6. "Duquesne football player Roman Macek accepts WWE contract offer". f4w.com. April 6, 2022. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  7. "WWE NXT Level Up Results: March 3, 2023". WWE.com.
  8. Rumsey, Connel (April 20, 2023). "WWE Creates Hilarious Website For Upcoming New Gimmick". WrestleTalk. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  9. "Brackets Revealed For WWE NXT Men's Breakout Tournament". wrestlinginc.com. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  10. Defelice, Robert (March 5, 2024). "Luca Crusifino Named The Consigliere Of Tony D'Angelo's Family At NXT Roadblock 2024 | Fightful News". Fightful. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  11. Powell, Jason (March 5, 2024). "NXT TV results (3/5): Moore's review of NXT Roadblock with Carmelo Hayes vs. Tony D'Angelo for a shot at the NXT Title, Kabuki Warriors vs. Lyra Valkyria and Tatum Paxley for the WWE Women's Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  12. Moore, John (April 16, 2024). "NXT TV results (4/16): Moore's review of Carmelo Hayes vs. Trick Williams in a steel cage match, Ridge Holland vs. Joaquin Wilde, Sol Ruca vs. Lola Vice, Noam Dar vs. Dijak". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  13. Vetter, Chris (March 5, 2025). "WWE Evolve results (3/5): Vetter's review of Jackson Drake and "Swipe Right" Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes vs. Sean Legacy, Jack Cartwheel, and Cappuccino Jones". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  14. Vetter, Chris (March 19, 2025). "WWE Evolve results (3/19): Vetter's review of Luca Crusifino vs. Javier Bernal, Tyson Dupont and Tyriek Igwe vs. Drako Knox and Tate Wilder, Brinley Reece vs. Masyn Holiday". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  15. Moore, John (April 19, 2025). "NXT Stand & Deliver results: Moore's live review of Oba Femi vs. Trick Williams vs. Je'Von Evans for the NXT Title, Stephanie Vaquer vs. Giulia vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Jaida Parker for the NXT Women's Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  16. Moore, John (May 25, 2025). "NXT Battleground results: Moore's live review of Stephanie Vaquer vs. Jordynne Grace for the NXT Women's Championship, Joe Hendry vs. Trick Williams for the TNA World Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  17. Miller, David (March 14, 2026). "WWE EVOLVE RESULTS (3/11): Kendal Grey vs. Tyra Mae Steele for Evolve Women's Title, Harley Riggins vs. Trill London, Harlem Lewis bvs. Sam Holloway, plus G.M. Robert Stone replaced". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
  18. Mendoza, Jordan (April 24, 2026). "WWE releases begin, notable names in post‑WrestleMania shake‑up". USA Today. Retrieved April 26, 2026.
  19. Johnson, Mike (April 27, 2026). "Luca Crusifino Announces Pro Wrestling Retirement After WWE NXT Release". PWInsider. Retrieved April 27, 2026.