 El Phantasmo in 2022 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Riley Vigier (1986-10-24)October 24, 1986 (age 39)[1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | El Phantasmo[1] Riley Vincent |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 186 lb (84 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Vancouver, British Columbia |
| Trained by | Aaron Idol Disco Fury Scotty Mac |
| Debut | October 30, 2005[1] |
Riley Vigier (born October 24, 1986) is a Canadianprofessional wrestler. He is signed toNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he performs under thering nameEl Phantasmo (often shortened toELP) and is the currentNJPW World Television Champion in his record-tying second reign.
In NJPW, Phantasmo was a former member ofBullet Club and became a three-timeIWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion (all withTaiji Ishimori) and a two-timeSuper J-Cup winner while in the stable. Starting in 2023, he transitioned into the heavyweight division and would also be kicked out of Bullet Club, leading to him joining theGuerrillas of Destiny. He would team withHikuleo, with whom he became a two-timeStrong Openweight Tag Team Champion andone-timeIWGP Tag Team Champion, and at one time held both sets of tag team championships simultaneously. He won his first NJPW singles title, the NJPW World Television Championship, atWrestle Kingdom 19 in January 2025. He has also worked forImpact Wrestling,[2] and variousindependentpromotions in Canada, the European Union and the United Kingdom.
El Phantasmo's wrestling training group in 2005 includedKyle O'Reilly andGurv Sihra. Hisring name is a reference to a song onWhite Zombie'sAstro-Creep: 2000. Phantasmo's debut in professional wrestling forNWA: Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling (ECCW) was in abattle royal at Halloween Hell in October 2005. Phantasmo formed a tag team with Halo known as the Masked Dudes of Doom. On March 3, 2007, they became the #1 contenders to theNWA/ECCW Tag Team Championship after beating Models, Inc. in aTables, Ladders, and Chairs match main eventing in Vancouver. After falling short on three occasions, the Masked Dudes of Doom finally won the titles in another TLC match against Chill Town on May 5 in Vancouver. After only one successful title defense, they went on to lose the titles to Greatness on Demand in a six-man tag match on July 27 in Surrey.[3]
A regular competitor in the ECCW Pacific Cup tournament, Phantasmo made it to the finals in two consecutive years. In 2008,Billy Suede won the tournament in the three-way final which also included Phantasmo and O'Reilly.[4] In 2009, Phantasmo finally won the Pacific Cup by beating Rick The Weapon X and Azeem The Dream in the finals. In 2010, however, Phantasmo lost to eventual tournament winner Artemis Spencer in the semi-finals. Though he did present Spencer with the trophy, Phantasmo received a kick to the groin for his show of sportsmanship towards his ex-teammate and rival.
Phantasmo won his firstECCW Championship on July 6, 2013. He lost the championship to "Ravenous" Randy Myers on January 18, 2014, at Ballroom Brawl 1 in a ladder match. He won the ECCW Championship for the second time on January 16, 2016, at Ballroom Brawl 5 by defeatingScotty Mac in a steel cage match. Phantasmo lost the title to O'Reilly on January 14, 2017, at Ballroom Brawl 7, in an open challenge to any TV wrestler. His last match in ECCW for 2017, was on May 27, 2017, for the Canadian Championship, where he was defeated by Andy Bird.
El Phantasmo debuted forRevolution Pro Wrestling at the Cockpit 17 on June 4, 2017, and was defeated byDavid Starr. In 2018, he participated in theBritish J-Cup, a tournament he won. On May 19, 2019, he defeated Starr in aladder match at RPW's Epic Encounter event to win theRPW British Cruiserweight Championship for the first time. On February 14, 2020, Phantasmo lost the title to Michael Oku, ending his reign at 280 days.
During the first night of the New Japan Cup 2019, a vignette was shown promoting El Phantasmo's debut. In doing so, he was announced as the newest member ofBullet Club.[5] In his debut, he pinnedWill Ospreay in a tag team match. His first singles win came againstBandido shortly after. Phantasmo then entered theBest of the Super Juniors and ended third in his block ending with 6 wins and 3 losses with a total of 12 points. On June 16, 2019, Phantasmo andTaiji Ishimori defeatedRoppongi 3K (Yoh andSho) to win theIWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. On night four of the Kizuna Road tour, Phantasmo,Yujiro Takahashi andChase Owens competed for the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship but were defeated byRyusuke Taguchi,Togi Makabe andToru Yano. At night one of Southern Showdown, he defended hisRPW British Cruiserweight Championship againstRocky Romero. On August 25, Phantasmo defeated Dragon Lee to win the 2019 Super J-Cup tournament.
AtRoyal Quest, Phantasmo and Ishimori lost toChaos (Will Ospreay andRobbie Eagles). At Road To Destruction Yamaguchi, the Bullet Club team of Phantasmo, Owens and Ishimori defeated Eagles, Ospreay andTomoaki Honma in a six man tag team match. AtKing of Pro-Wrestling, Phantasmo lost to Ospreay in an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match. AtWrestle Kingdom 14, Phantasmo and Ishimori lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship to Roppongi 3K. AtNew Year Dash!!, Phantasmo and Ishimori competed in fatal 4-way tag team match which was won bySuzuki-gun (Yoshinobu Kanemaru andEl Desperado). On December 12, Phantasmo defeatedACH in the finals of theSuper J-Cup. Immediately after the match, Phantasmo called outHiromu Takahashi and accepted his challenge to a match atWrestle Kingdom 15, where the winner would face IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Ishimori on the second night of Wrestle Kingdom for the title. On night one, Phantasmo lost to Takahashi, who earnt the title match on night two.[6]
On January 23 at the Road toThe New Beginning, Phantasmo and Ishimori defeated Desperado and Kanemaru to win the IWGP Junior Tag-Team titles once again.,[7] however, they lost them back to the duo a month later.[8] AtCastle Attack, Phantasmo failed to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, losing a three-way match toBushi and Desperado.[9] At Kizuna Road, Phantasmo and Ishimori, defeated Roppongi 3K to once again win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championships, after Phantasmo hit a superkick which was questioned to be loaded with a metal slug, which was a foreign, illegal weapon. They retained the titles against Mega Coaches (Rocky Romero andRyusuke Taguchi) atWrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome.[10] The duo entered theSuper Junior Tag League, but the tournament was won by Desperado and Kanemaru.[11] The title match was scheduled forWrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome, where Phantasmo and Ishimori lost the titles.[12]
In November, Phantasmo entered theBest of the Super Juniors tournament and finished with 12 points with a record of 6 wins and 5 losses, failing to advance to the finals.[13] AtWrestle Kingdom 16, Phantasmo and Ishimori, now going by the name of "Bullet Club's Cutest Tag Team", failed to regain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, after losing a three-way match between Mega Coaches and champions Flying Tiger (Robbie Eagles andTiger Mask), who retained.[14] During the match, Mega Coaches and Flying Tiger, removed Phantasmo's boot and revealed the metal slug, ending his use of the weapon in matches.
During the NJPW New Years Golden Series tour, Bullet Club's Cutest Tag Team failed to capture the Junior Heavyweight titles once again. Around this time, Phantasmo expressed interest in competing as a heavyweight wrestler.[15] After showing promise against heavyweight wrestlers, Phantasmo entered his first heavyweight tournament, theNew Japan Cup. He received a bye to the second round, but was defeated byWill Ospreay.[16] Phantasmo continued to be classed as a Junior Heavyweight, as he entered theBest of the Super Juniors, finishing the tournament with 12 points, with a record of 6 wins and 3 losses and the last match loss to El Desperado, preventing him making the finals.[17] AtForbidden Door, Phantasmo teamed with former Bullet Club membersThe Young Bucks to take on Dudes with Attitude (Sting,Darby Allin andShingo Takagi), where they were defeated.[18]
Impressive performances earnt Phantasmo a place in the heavyweightG1 Climax 32 tournament, where he competed in the D Block.[19] He finished the tournament with 6 points, failing to advance to the semi-finals.[20] After his tournament campaign ended, Phantasmo officially announced his transition into the Heavyweight division.[21] Following the culmination of the tournament, Phantasmo began a feud with Takagi, the reigningProvisional KOPW Champion, who he had beaten in his final G1 Climax match. This led to a match at Declaration of Power, where Phantasmo was defeated by Takagi in aWho's Your Daddy match, and was thus forced to call Takagi "Daddy".[22] A rematch between the two men, was scheduled for the Provisional KOPW Championship atRumble on 44th Street, where Phantasmo once again lost to Takagi.[23]
On January 4, 2023, atWrestle Kingdom 17, Phantasmo competed in theNew Japan Ranbo, but failed to last till the final 4.[24] On February 11, atThe New Beginning in Osaka, Phantasmo facedTama Tonga for theNEVER Openweight Championship, but was unsuccessful.[25] The following month, Phantasmo competed in theNew Japan Cup, but was eliminated in the first round byTetsuya Naito.[26] In the following months, Phantasmo began showing signs of growing animosity, with the new Bullet Club leaderDavid Finlay, who had joined the club following his attack on former leaderJay White atBattle in the Valley. The tension culminated in April atSakura Genesis, where after a tag victory over theGuerrillas of Destiny andMaster Wato, Phantasmo and Finlay began shoving one another withKenta andGedo attempting to separate the two stablemates. However, Gedo and Kenta instead attacked Phantasmo with Kenta hitting aGo 2 Sleep on Phantasmo. Soon after, Phantasmo's longtime tag-team partnerTaiji Ishimori entered the ring, joining the attack and hitting Phantasmo with a low blow. The four men posed in the ring, confirming Phantasmo's removal from Bullet Club.[27] AtWrestling Dontaku, Phantasmo made his return to the promotion and turned face by attacking Finlay.[28] AtDominion, Phantasmo unsuccessfully challenged Finlay for the NEVER Openweight Championship.[29]
On June 25, Phantasmo competed on the buy-in ofForbidden Door, which was held inToronto, defeatingAll Elite Wrestling'sStu Grayson.[30] The following month, Phantasmo competed in the annualG1 Climax tournament.[31] Phantasmo competed in the B Block, finishing with 6 points, narrowly missing out on a place in the quarterfinals, following a loss to Will Ospreay in his final block match.[32] Following this, Phantasmo aligned himself with theGuerillas of Destiny stable, who were all also formerBullet Club members. Phantasmo officially joined the stable on the final day of the G1 tournament.[33]
On October 9 atDestruction in Ryogoku, Phantasmo andHikuleo defeated Bullet Club War Dogs (Alex Coughlin andGabe Kidd) to become the newStrong Openweight Tag Team Champions.[34] From November 25 until December 6, Hikuleo and Phantasmo took part in the 2023 World Tag League, where they won their block with a record of five wins and two losses, advancing to the semifinals of the tournament. On December 8, Phantasmo and Hikuleo defeatedMikey Nicholls andShane Haste in the semifinals and then were defeated byIWGP Tag Team ChampionsBishamon (Hirooki Goto andYoshi-Hashi) on December 10 in the finals of the World Tag League. As winners and champions, Bishamon challenged Hikuleo and Phantasmo to a rematch for both IWGP and the Strong Openweight Tag Team Championships in a Winner Takes All match.[35] On January 4, 2024 atWrestle Kingdom 18, Phantasmo and Hikuleo defeated Bishamon in the match, becoming double tag team champions.[36] They lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship toChase Owens and KENTA on February 11 atThe New Beginning in Osaka.[37] On April 12 atWindy City Riot, Phantasmo and Hikuleo lost the Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship toTMDK (Mikey Nicholls andShane Haste) in a four corners match, but would regain them on May 11 atResurgence.[38][39] On June 6 atDominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall, Phantasmo and Hikuleo lost the Strong Openweight Tag Team Championships back to TMDK in aWinner Takes All match involving the IWGP Tag Team Championships.[40] Following this match, it was reported that Hikuleo would be departing NJPW, leaving Phantasmo as a singles wrestler once again.[41]
At Korakuen Hall on December 22, Phantasmo made a stunning return announcing that he was cancer-free and, with a decisive shot toRen Narita, declared that he would be competing for the NJPW World TV Championship. On January 4, 2025, atWrestle Kingdom 19, Phantasmo won the title in a Four-way match. He lost the title toGreat-O-Khan atSakura Genesis.[42] He later won the title back from Great-O-Khan atNJPW Wrestling Hizen no Kuni on April 29, 2025.[43] On May 3, 2025, Phantasmo defended the NJPW World Television Championship againstNEVER Openweight ChampionKonosuke Takeshita in a time limit draw.[44] It was then announced that Takeshita would defend the NEVER Openweight Championship against Phantasmo atResurgence.[45] At the event, Phantasmo failed to win the NEVER Openweight Championship from Takeshita.[46]On June 29 at Tanahashi Jam, Phantasmo successfully defended the title againstTaiji Ishimori.
On the April 29, 2021 episode ofImpact!, it was announced viavignette that El Phantasmo would make hisImpact Wrestling debut sometime in the following weeks.[47] During the next episode, Phantasmo made his in-ring debut, soundly defeatingenhancement talent, VSK.[48] The week afterwards, Phantasmo won a six-way, number-one contender's match for the right to challengeJosh Alexander for theImpact X Division Championship atUnder Siege.[49] At the event, he failed to defeat Alexander for the title.[50] Phantasmo made his return to the company on the September 23 episode ofImpact!, assisting fellow Bullet Club membersHikuleo andChris Bey during their feud againstFinJuice (David Finlay andJuice Robinson).[51] In October, Phantasmo entered a tournament to determine the new X Division Champion, where he defeatedWillie Mack andRohit Raju in the first round,[52] but lost toTrey Miguel in the final atBound for Glory.[53][54]
On May 7, 2022, atUnder Siege, Phantasmo made his return to the company by teaming with Bullet Club for a 10-man tag team match againstHonor No More in a losing effort.[55]
On August 20, 2023, atMultiverse United 2, The World (Phantasmo,The DKC,Josh Alexander,PCO andGuerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga andTanga Loa)) lost toBullet Club (Kenta,ABC (Ace Austin andChris Bey) andBullet Club War Dogs (Alex Coughlin,Clark Connors andDavid Finlay) in a 12 man tag team match.
Before moving to England in 2017 to pursue wrestling full-time, Vigier worked as a graphic designer and editor forElectronic Arts andBardel Entertainment.[56][57] He has also designed posters forNJPW Strong events and his own merchandise.
In October 2024, Vigier was diagnosed with cancer. On December 22, 2024, he announced that he had beaten cancer.[58][59]
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Phantasmo (mask) | Halo (mask) | Surrey, British Columbia | Live event | July 25, 2008 | [67] |
| El Phantasmo (mask) and Rick The Weapon X | The Divine Prophet (beard) and Artemis Spencer | Surrey, British Columbia | Live event | January 29, 2010 | [68] |
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