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Phillip Theis (born June 25, 1958) is an American former
professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
. He is best known for his appearances in the
World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
(WWF) between 1992 and 1993 under the
ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...
Damien Demento. As Damien Demento, Theis wrestled in the main event of the first episode of '' WWF Monday Night Raw'' on January 11, 1993, losing to
The Undertaker Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by the ring name The Undertaker, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway spent the vast majority ...
.


Professional wrestling career


Early career (1987–1992)

After training under
Johnny Rodz John Rodriguez (born May 16, 1941) is an American former professional wrestler. He has previously worked as a professional wrestler under the ring name Johnny Rodz. Professional wrestling career World Wide Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling ...
, Theis made his debut on the
independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...
in 1987 under the ring name "Jonn Reinhart". He later renamed himself "Mondo Kleen". In 1990 he worked for
Tri-State Wrestling Alliance HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...
. In September 1992, he wrestled a tryout match with
World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...
as "Mando Phil".


World Wrestling Federation (1992–1993)

After
The Bushwhackers The Bushwhackers are a professional wrestling tag team who competed first as the New Zealand Kiwis and then as The Sheepherders during their 36-year career as a tag team. They wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation, Jim Crockett Promotions, ...
helped forward a tape of Theis performing an
interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...
, the
World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
signed him to a contract. Theis, performing under his Mondo Kleen ring name, debuted in WWF at a
live event A house show or live event is a professional wrestling event produced by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive du ...
on October 2, 1992, wrestling
Jeff Jarrett Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born July 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and promoter. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he also serves as Director of Business Development. Beginning his career in his father J ...
in a losing effort. Ten days later, on the October 12 episode of '' Superstars of Wrestling'', Theis made his televised debut under the repackaged ring name and gimmick of "Damien Demento", a villainous
character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...
who hailed from "The Outer Reaches of Your Mind" and showed mentally disturbed behavior such as talking to himself. He then proceeded to defeat Steve May in his televised debut match. On the October 28 episode of ''
Wrestling Challenge ''WWF Wrestling Challenge'' is a professional wrestling television show that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE). It was syndicated weekly and aired from 1986 to 1995. The show became simply known as ''WWF Cha ...
'', he defeated
Jim Brunzell James Brunzell (born August 13, 1949) is an American retired professional wrestler. Best known for his successful tag teams, Brunzell performed for various wrestling promotions during his 21-year career. Early life The son of a navy pilot, Br ...
. He mostly remained a mid-card performer. Demento was notable for his appearance in the
main event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...
of the debut episode of ''
Monday Night Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show fe ...
'' on January 11, 1993, where he was defeated by
The Undertaker Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by the ring name The Undertaker, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway spent the vast majority ...
. He made his only pay-per-view appearance at
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle roya ...
as a participant in the 1993 Royal Rumble match. Demento lasted over twelve minutes before being eliminated by
Carlos Colón Carlos Edwin Colón González Sr. (born July 18, 1948) is a Puerto Rican wrestling promoter and former professional wrestler, better known as Carlitos Colón or simply Carlos Colón. He is, along with Victor Jovica, an owner of the Puerto Rican ...
. He also appeared at UK Rampage '93, where he lost to
Bob Backlund Robert Louis Backlund (born August 14, 1949) is an American retired amateur and professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Federation from 1976 to 1984 and in the 1990s, wher ...
. After this, Demento competed almost solely on
house show A house show or live event is a professional wrestling event produced by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive du ...
s before leaving the WWF in October 1993.


Independent circuit (1993–1994; 2008, 2011, 2014)

After a stint on the
East Coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...
independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...
, Theis retired from wrestling in 1994. Under his Damien Demento ring name, he made a short return to wrestling on November 8, 2008, where he defeated The Musketeer in a match for the
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
-based World of Unpredictable Wrestling. A month later they had a rematch in which Demento was on the losing end. He made another return to the squared circle in September 24, 2011. This time wrestling as "Mondo Kleen", he defeated Steven Person in a
steel cage Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
match at a show that WUW promoted for the
Dumbo ''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The fourth Disney animated feature film, it is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, a ...
Arts Festival. On October 29, 2011, Damien Demento defeated long time WUW Trophy Champion "Izzy" Israel Joffe at the WUW October show at
Gleason's gym Gleason's is a boxing gym located on the Brooklyn waterfront. The gym was founded by Peter Gagliardi, a former bantamweight, who changed his name to Bobby Gleason. It moved to Manhattan and then to Brooklyn. Gleason's is now owned by Bruce Silve ...
to win the WUW Trophy Championship. On December 10, 2011, Israel Joffe defeated Damien Demento at the WUW December show at Gleason's gym. In 2014, Demento made a few appearances for World Wrestling Organization.


Filmography

*''
Die Hard with a Vengeance ''Die Hard with a Vengeance'' is a 1995 American action thriller film directed by John McTiernan (who directed the first installment). It was written by Jonathan Hensleigh, based on the screenplay ''Simon Says'' by Hensleigh and on the chara ...
'' (1995) - Erik


Personal life

Theis originally wanted to become a
football player A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
, he majored in art at
Wagner College Wagner College is a private liberal arts college in Staten Island, New York City. Founded in 1883 and with an enrollment of approximately 2,200 students, Wagner is known for its academic program, The Wagner Plan for the Practical Liberal Arts. It ...
while on a football scholarship and later on had a tryout with the Jets but did not make the team. Theis instead began training for a career in professional wrestling. He cites
King Curtis Iaukea Curtis Piehau Iaukea III (September 15, 1937 – December 4, 2010) was an American professional wrestler better known as King Curtis Iaukea. Iaukea won championships in several of the major regional U.S. promotions, both as a single and in vario ...
as his inspiration for becoming a wrestler. After retiring from professional wrestling, he began working as an artist and a
sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
.


Championships and accomplishments

*International Wrestling Federation **IWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *
International World Class Championship Wrestling International World Class Championship Wrestling (IWCCW, originally known as International Championship Wrestling) was an independent professional wrestling promotion based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was promoted by Angelo Savoldi and his son ...
**IWCCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *World of Unpredictable Wrestling **WUW Trophy Championship (1 time) *
Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...
**PWI ranked him #216 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the
PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishi ...
in 1992


References


Further reading

*Mazer, Sharon. ''Professional Wrestling: Sport and Spectacle''. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1998.


External links


Phil Theis Presents : Art on GFQ
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Demento, Damien 1958 births American male professional wrestlers Living people People from Long Island Professional wrestlers from New York (state) 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from New York City