Meet Phantasio, WWE’s Failed Attempt At A Magician Wrestler
The first half of the 1990s saw the WWE filled with a cast of questionable characters ranging from Hockey Goons and Hog Farmers, to manly Lumber Jacks and Mounties. The era of the “Occupational” Gimmick is filled with as many memorable weirdos as it is forgotten phenomenon barely seen by the eyes of modern fans, one of which is bound to be true about Phantasio, WWE's mid 90s attempt at a magician who wrestles.
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Phantasio The Magician’s WWE Debut
Also known by the name Del Rios, Spellbinder, and Bert Prentice presents The NEW Spellbinder, the man known as Phantasio made his WWE debut on the July 16th, 1995 episode of WWF Wrestling Challenge. This only appearance by Phantasio in WWE only lasted for a little over three minutes. The Magician's tricks were on display seconds into his entrance with Gorilla Monsoon, and Jim Ross having to sell the astonishment of Phantasio’s candle turning into a walking stick. The mime like face paint of Phantasio, and explosion from his top hat once in the ring, were enough to gain the attention of weary WWF Challenge crowd.
Phantasio then mimed ripping his face off before actually taking a mask off his face, revealing the same face paint underneath, and a long silver strand coming from his mouth which he then pulled at endlessly, revealing more and more silver string. Jim Ross questioned where the silver string was coming from. Monsoon insisted it must be something he ate. Phantasio then handed the mime mask and attached pile of silver string pulled from his intestines to a child in the audience, like a nightmarish version of Bret Hart from Hell. Now was the time for the wrestling to begin.
Phantasio Only Had One Televised Match In WWE
Once the bell rang, Phantasio’s opponent, Tony Devito, of early 2000s Ring Of Honor Carnage Crew fame, had no chance against the impossible to predict magical man. There was some slight miming, and some other flashy hand magic streamers to distract Devito, but it wasn’t until the finish of the two minute magical showcase that fans saw Phantasio's greatest trick. The man eventually known as Spellbinder reached down the back of Devito’s tights and grabbed his boxer shorts clean without ripping them. The distraction of losing his white boxers with little red hearts was enough to distract Devito for the roll-up. Phantasio would then steal the referees Earl Hebner's underpants as well, which were revealed to be striped like a ref shirt. The magic man then walked up the isle never to be seen on WWE television again.
Related: 10 Things Fans Should Know About Legendary Referee Earl Hebner
As strange as all that seems, and for what it's worth, that was pretty weird, even for pro wrestling. It truly gets stranger the more the Phantasio mystery is dug into. For those familiar with the earliest version of WWE Developmental being under Jerry “The King” Lawler in Memphis, Phantasio claims to be the very first developmental deal from WWE signed this way. He claims they subsidized his pay and sent him to USWA. In USWA he wrestled under the name Spellbinder, and was active from 1993 until he retired in 2004. Among the other things alleged by Del Rios, the man behind the paint would claim on a rare interview with P3 Radio in 2017 that there are fifty or sixty more matches in the can for Phantasio in WWE that they just chose not to air for some reason. Phantasio said he has many confirmed untapped house show losses.
The earliest developmental talent WWE being a mime/magician gimmick that allegedly filmed tens of matches that will never be seen, made one appearance on WWE TV, and got paid for at least three years, seems very on brand for the earlier poorly managed years of their developmental system. While some things will forever remain in question, like Bruce Prichard’s claim that Phantasio almost burned down the Gorilla Position, or Phantasio’s claim that he was given the axe because his gimmick was too similar to the Undertaker, the fact that he stole Earl Hebner’s underwear just for the thrill of it before handing it right back to the confused ref is why Phantasio's gimmick will remain legendary
