The Green Phantom

Joseph Fitzmorris (born July 30, 1976), is a Canadian professional wrestler better known by his ring name The Green Phantom.[2]

The Green Phantom
Birth nameJoseph Fitzmorris[1]
Born (1976-07-30) July 30, 1976
Deux-Montagnes, Quebec, Canada
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)The Green Phantom
Billed height6 ft 5 in (198 cm)
Billed weight245 lb (111 kg)
Billed fromAncient green hills of Two Mountains
Trained byTNT
Debut1999

He is best known for his contributions to the North American independent and hardcore wrestling scene, appearing in several independent promotions including International Wrestling Syndicate, Game Changer Wrestling, Combat Zone Wrestling, IWA Mid-South, Northern Championship Wrestling, Insane Championship Wrestling, Ring of Honor, and XPW.

Fitzmorris is recognized for his hardcore powerhouse brawling style, having faced notable opponents including Necro Butcher, Kevin Steen, El Generico, Sabu, PCP Crazy F’n Manny, PCO, Sheamus, Brodie Lee, SeXXXy Eddy, Nick Gage, Matt Tremont and Mike Bailey.

He has competed in notable hardcore tournaments in the early to mid 2010s, such as Tournament of Death, King of the Deathmatch and Tournament of Survival. He participated in the first Exploding Ring and Fans Bring The Weapons matches in Canada. He is the longest-reigning IWS World Heavyweight Champion.

Early life

Fitzmorris grew up in the Montreal suburb of Deux-Montagnes, Quebec. Fitzmorris grew up playing sports, excelling at hockey, football, Irish football and rugby, which he is still active in being a proud member of the Montreal Irish Rugby Football Club.

His father is of Irish descent, citing his Irish ancestry as part of what makes the Green Phantom "green".

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1999-2002)

Fitzmorris’ wrestling career began in Fall of 1999 for the International Wrestling Syndicate, and was trained by Montreal-based wrestler TNT.

Fitzmorris describes his character as being influenced by Hulk Hogan, Mike Awesome, and Sabu. Fitzmorris claims that the name and character Green Phantom chose him, he didn’t choose it. Fitzmorris incorporated a green luchador mask he was gifted as a teenager in his first wrestling gear, and has been dawning green masks since. "Get with the Green" is the Green Phantom’s catchphrase, stating "Green is the colour of growth, green is the colour of the future and when you come to a stop-light what colour do you want to see? You want to see green, baby!"[3]

Other nicknames include The Hardcore Hero, The Canadian Table Breaker, and The Hardcore Luchador.

International Wrestling Syndicate (1999–present)

On October 30, 1999, Green Phantom made his IWS debut at WWS Payback's A Bitch, at Wally's Pub in Montreal. On July 2001 at Un F'N Sanctioned, Hardcore Ninjaz faced PCP Crazy F'N Manny and Green Phantom in the first IWS Fans Bring The Weapons Match, at Le Skratch in Laval. On May 18, 2002 at Freedom To Fight, Green Phantom won his first IWS World Heavyweight Championship in a 4-Way Elimination Match defeating PCP Crazy F'N Manny, The Arsenal and SeXXXy Eddy.

On March 26, 2005 at Un F'N Sanctioned, Green Phantom defeated Chris Hero at the Medley.[4] On June 3, 2006 at Un F’N Sanctioned, Sabu worked his (then) last independent match teaming with PCO defeating Green Phantom and Dru Onyx, 48 hours prior to debuting on WWE Raw.[5] On January 10, 2009 at Season's Beatings, Green Phantom defeated "Big Rig" Brodie Lee in his annual IWS Christmas Tree Deathmatch. On March 6, 2010 at Praise The Violence, Green Phantom defeated Beef Wellington, winning his second IWS World Heavyweight Championship. IWS held its (then) final show on October 9, 2010 at Club Soda, featuring IWS originals SeXXXy Eddy, PCP Crazy F'N Manny, The Arsenal and IWS World Heavyweight Champion Green Phantom in a Fans Bring The Weapons Match.

On September 20, 2014 at Scarred For Life, Green Phantom lost the IWS World Heavyweight Championship to Mike Bailey, making him the current longest-reigning title holder in IWS history at 1960 days. On April 6, 2019 at Unstoppable, Green Phantom defeated Nick Gage and Matt Tremont in a Hardcore Match at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City.[6] On November 13, 2021 at Un F’N Sanctioned, Green Phantom won his current IWS Canadian Championship in an IWS Canadian Title Three Way Match vs former champion Kevin Blanchard and Matt Falco at MTELUS. On March 11, 2023 at IWS vs GCW: Un F'N Sanctioned, Nick Gage, Rina Yamashita, and Mance Warner defeated SeXXXy Eddy, Green Phantom, and PCP Crazy F'N Manny in a Fans Bring The Weapons Match at L'Olympia.[7][8]

Personal life

Fitzmorris is a science and physical education teacher, as well as a football coach at the high-school level. He’s been the subject of many local media stories for his unique juxtaposing careers as a high-school teacher and hardcore wrestler.[1]

Outside of professional wrestling, Fitzmorris (as Green Phantom) makes appearances in the Montreal comedy scene doing stand up comedy, including a series of shows at the Just for Laughs Festival. He has opened up speaking shows for the likes of Jake “the Snake” Roberts, Ken Shamrock, and Mick Foley.

He is also a quizmaster on the local trivia scene, holding residency at Brutopia Pub in Montreal.

He also performed in and produced his current entrance music, entitled Get with the Green, featuring Slik Jack and Wes Nile, including video directed by the Sanchez Brothers.[9]

On March 4, 2022, IWS and Brutopia launched Green Phantom's Get with the Green citrus ale beer.[10]

Philosophical and/or political views

Fitzmorris is outspoken about his stance on environmental issues, noting that Get with the Green is not just a catchphrase, but a philosophy that can be applied to all aspects of life.

Championships and accomplishments

References
  1. Curtis, Chrstopher (July 21, 2018). "The many, many lives of The Green Phantom, Montreal's teacher wrestler". Montreal Gazette.
  2. Marinelli, Domenic. "Crazy Manny & Green Phantom at heart of Montreal's IWS". Slam Wrestling.
  3. Long, Christine (20 August 2021). "Meet the Montreal high school teacher who moonlights as 'The Green Phantom' wrestler". CTV Montreal.
  4. "IWS Un F'N Sanctioned 2005", CAGEMATCH, Retrieved on January 21, 2019.
  5. Keller, Wade. (2006-06-05) "Keller's WWE RAW Report 6/5", Pro Wrestling Torch, Retrieved on May 30, 2023.
  6. Daly, Wayne. (2019-04-07) "IWS Results: Unstoppable – Jersey City, NJ (4/6)", Wrestling-News.net, Retrieved on April 07, 2019.
  7. Peltier, Griffin. (3/12/2023) "GCW vs. IWS: UnFnSanctioned Results & Review", Voices of Wrestling, Retrieved on March 13, 2023.
  8. Laprade, Pat. (3/12/2023) "IWS c. GCW: Nick Gage à Montréal", Lutte Quebec, Retrieved on March 13, 2023.
  9. IWS "'GET WITH THE GREEN' Official Video - Green Phantom, Wes Nile, Slik Jack", YouTube, Retrieved on May 29, 2023.
  10. IWS (2022/02/11) "IWS and the Green Phantom are proud to debut our very own beer ", Twitter, Retrieved on May 30, 2023.
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