| Harry Del Rios | |
|---|---|
| Ring name(s) | Phantasio Spellbinder Big Titan Del Rios Gangsta B.I.G. Magnificent Maurice Streak Shock Elijah |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Billed weight | 273 lb (124 kg) |
| Born | September 17, 1973 [1] New York, New York |
| Resides | Henderson, Tennessee |
| Debut | 1992 |
Harry Del Rios (born September 17, 1973) is an American professional wrestler. Rios is best known as the Spellbinder, however, he has competed under many other ring names during his career.
Del Rios' first prominent wrestling role was in the United States Wrestling Association. 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 reminder of his time in USWA. His last USWA match was in October of 1995.[2] He continued to wrestle in various Memphis promotions after leaving the USWA. He won the NWA North American Tag Team Title with Brian Christopher in 1999, and the Power Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Title in 2000.
He made one appearance in World Wrestling Federation (WWF), on the July 16, 1995 episode of Wrestling Challenge. He portrayed a babyface named "Phantasio" and came out to no entrance music. His gimmick was that of a magician wrestler. He wore a black and white mime mask (which he handed to a kid sitting at ringside) that revealed matching facepaint when removed. He defeated Tony DeVito 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. Though he never again appeared on TV, he did appear in a house show match against Rad Radford.
Harry Del Rios competed on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's first-ever broadcast on June 19, 2002.[3] He wrestled as Del Rios, but was not used by TNA after the initial broadcast.
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.
In the January 2007 issue of WWE Magazine, 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 Legion of Doom gimmicks. He also hinted at a possible return of the Phantasio persona.