The Wizarding World of Wrestling

Since today is the opening of the new Harry Potter film, I decided to let my inner geek out completely and dedicate a post to some of the wizardly and magical superstars of years past.  Here are the only three I could come up with.  I'm sure there are more.

All photos are courtesy of wwe.com unless otherwise noted.

Oz.  Now I don't remember a whole lot about Oz.  I do recall him being based on the character from the Wizard of Oz.  But what I don't know is if he used any kind of "magic" when in the ring, other than the ability to make an audience disappear.

Oz of course was played by Kevin Nash, and when he first appeared in WCW in 1991 he got a lot of hype.  But I think it was more of a case of "all show and no go."  The only match I remember with him was one where Ron Simmons handed him his ass.  This was just about the time Simmons was rising up the ranks.

So while Oz was far from great, it did create a silly gimmick for us to look back at and mock nearly 20 years later.  Who would have thought back in '91 this guy would go on to win the WWF and WCW world titles?  Same guy, different character I suppose.

Phantasio.  Remember him?  If not, don't worry.  His act didn't last very long.  I actually saw him wrestle at a Superstars/Raw/Coliseum Home Video taping back in the summer of 1995.  It was in St. Louis, and his opponent was Rad Radford.

Phantasio had wrestled in USWA prior to the WWF as Spellbinder.  I think his gimmick was similar.  As he can see, he was the precursor for the "Crow" Sting.

Phantasio wore the mime mask to the ring, and once he arrived, removed it and revealed the white and black face paint.  He would do tricks for the kids.   This was all at a time when the WWF was coming off the steroid trial and the allegations of sexual harassment.  Vince was covering his bases and adding as many "kid friendly" characters as he could.

This was also the era of Who?, the Goon, and TL Plopper.  Phantasio must not have cast a good enough spell on the powers that be though, as he was only with the company a few months.   He apparently also wrestled on the first TNA pay per view show back in 2002, but only that one night.  Not sure what he's up to today.  Maybe if Vince holds another gimmick battle royal, we'll get the magical man.

Papa Shango.  He wasn't really a magician or a wizard.  More of a voodoo guy with mystical powers.  After all, he made the Ultimate Warrior throw up on TV.  Remember that? Or what about the stuff he'd do to the jobbers he was facing.

His big break came at Wrestlemania 8 when he "interfered" in the match between Hulk Hogan and Sid.  This promoted the return of the Ultimate Warrior.  The two feuded for the months that followed, with Shango doing the job.

Eventually, he would take his smoking skull, bone necklace, and other voodoo tools and leave the WWF.  While the character was gone, the man behind the skull face and blazin' tattoos would soon return.  This time, Charles Wright was Kama: The Ultimate Fighting Machine.  Then he became Kama Mustafa and joined the Nation of Domination.  That character turned into the Godfather before becoming the Goodfather.  Lots of gimmicks for the Wright, but the
Godfather was arguably the most popular with fans.

But Papa Shango may go into the book of awesomely bad gimmicks.  It was an odd time in wrestling.  Although I guess each era has its share of hokieness.

So, Muggles I hope you enjoyed this one.  Until next time.