Harry Del Rios (born September 17, 1972) is an American

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 ...

. Rios is best known as the Spellbinder and Phantasio from WWE, but he has competed under many other

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 ...

s during his career.

Professional wrestling career

United States Wrestling Association (1993-1995)

Del Rios' first prominent wrestling role was in the

United States Wrestling Association The United States Wrestling Association (USWA) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. The company was founded when the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association merged with the Dallas-based World Class Wrestling ...

. He debuted there on September 13, 1993. He wrestled as the Spellbinder for the first 4 matches of his career, then switched to wrestling under his real name, then switched back to the Spellbinder gimmick in March 1994. He would use the Spellbinder gimmick for the remainder of his time in USWA. He feuded with Brian Christopher in 1997. He appeared on USWA TV in January & February. He continued to wrestle in various Memphis promotions after leaving the USWA. He won the NWA North American Tag Team Title with

Brian Christopher Brian Christopher Lawler (January 10, 1972 – July 29, 2018) was an American professional wrestler. He is best remembered for his career in the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), where he performed as "Too Sexy" Brian Christopher and Grand M ...

in 1999, and the Power Pro Wrestling Heavyweight title in 2000.

World Wrestling Federation (1993, 1995, 1997)

Del Rios made his first appearance in

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) when he wrestled a dark match against Bobby Who on the May 10, 1993 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 ...

'' at the Manhattan Center. He received another tryout at the 2nd anniversary taping of ''Raw'' in Houston, TX on January 2, 1995 when he defeated

Reno Riggins Neal Hargrove, better known by his ring name, Reno Riggins, (born January 13, 1967) is an American professional wrestler. Riggins has competed in Southeastern independent promotions including the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) during th ...

. Rios made one televised appearance on the July 16, 1995 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 portrayed a

babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...

named "Phantasio", a magician wrestler. Phantasio wore a black and white mime mask (which he handed to a young fan sitting at ringside) that revealed matching facepaint when removed. He defeated

Tony DeVito Anthony DeVito (born January 20, 1972) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation, Extreme Championship Wrestling and Ring of Honor. Professional wrestling career Early caree ...

by sneaking up from behind, and magically pulling out his boxers allowing him to roll up DeVito for the victory. After the match, he magically removed the boxers (black and white colored) of referee

Earl Hebner Earl William Hebner (born May 17, 1949) is an American retired professional wrestling referee who last officiated for All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is best known for his time as senior referee for the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) from 198 ...

. Though he never again appeared on TV, he did wrestle a match against Rad Radford at a

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 ...

in a victorious effort. Rios returned in 1997, appearing in a dark match on the March 17, 1997 episode of ''Monday Night Raw'' held in Syracuse, NY. Wrestling as The Spellbinder, Rios was defeated by Aldo Montoya. He wrestled on a trio of house shows held in Tennessee against

Mark Henry Mark Jerrold Henry (born June 12, 1971) is an American former powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter, strongman, and professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator/analyst, coach, and talent scout. He is b ...

in December of that year.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002)

Harry Del Rios competed on NWA:TNA's first-ever broadcast on June 19, 2002. He wrestled as Del Rios (essentially a rip-off of

Scott Steiner Scott Rechsteiner (born July 29, 1962), better known by the ring name Scott Steiner, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Steiner is perhaps best known for his time in World Championshi ...

and his "Big Poppa Pump" character), but was not used by TNA after the initial broadcast.

Later career (2003-2012)

In 2003, Rios made a short lived comeback as Shock. He teamed up with wrestler Awe ("British Storm" Ian Harrison). The team would wrestle primarily in

Memphis Wrestling Memphis Wrestling was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. History Memphis Wrestling evolved from an earlier short-lived promotion called Memphis Championship Wrestling. In 2019, Dustin & Maria Starr with th ...

. In the December 2006 issue of ''

WWE Magazine ''WWE Magazine'' was the official professional wrestling magazine of WWE. This incarnation of the magazine contains lifestyle sections, a monthly calendar, entertainment, work out tips, and other information. It was announced in July 2014 that a ...

'', there is a short interview with Harry Del Rios concerning the Phantasio character. Del Rios claims that the idea originated as a combination of the Ultimate Warrior and

the Legion of Doom The Legion of Doom is a group of supervillains who originated in ''Challenge of the Super Friends'', an animated series from Hanna-Barbera based on DC Comics' Justice League. The Legion of Doom has since been incorporated into the main DC Univers ...

gimmicks. He also hinted at a possible return of the Phantasio persona. On June 2, 2012 Del Rios revived The Phantasio character at Pro Wrestling Syndicate in a winning effort against

Simon Dean Michael Bucci (born June 5, 1972) is an American retired professional wrestler. Bucci is best known for his appearances in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) as Nova, Super Nova, and "Hollywood" Nova and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as S ...

in Rahway, NJ.

Championships and accomplishments

Memphis Wrestling Southern Heavyweight Championship The AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship was a major professional wrestling title in the Continental Wrestling Association during the 1970s and 1980s. The title is part of a long lineage that was started when the NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight ...

( 1 time) * NWA Main Event **

NWA North American Tag Team Championship The NWA North American Tag Team Championship is an inactive professional wrestling tag team championship that was used and defended in various territories throughout the National Wrestling Alliance., prior to its being purchased in 2017 by Billy ...

( 1 time) - with

Power Pro Wrestling Memphis Power Pro Wrestling (Power Pro Wrestling) was a Memphis, Tennessee based professional wrestling promotion that was founded by Randy Hales. It was affiliated with Memphis Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation. It was the fi ...

** Power Pro Wrestling Heavyweight 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 ...

'' **Ranked No. 260 of the top 500 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 1997 *

USWA Heavyweight Championship The AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship was a major professional wrestling title in the Continental Wrestling Association during the 1970s and 1980s. The title is part of a long lineage that was started when the NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) *

Xcitement Wrestling Federation The X Wrestling Federation (XWF) (later referred to as the Xcitement Wrestling Federation) was an American professional wrestling promotion that operated from 2001 to 2002. The previous number two and three American promotions, World Champio ...

**XWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time) ** XWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Ian Harrison

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Del Rios, Harry 1972 births Living people American male professional wrestlers African-American male professional wrestlers African-American professional wrestlers The Nation of Domination members Professional wrestlers from New York (state) People from Henderson, Tennessee 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from New York City 21st-century professional wrestlers