Early career and Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1989–1995) Mitchell wrestled in the Carolinas and in Virginia before joining
Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW). Mitchell, known as Daryl Van Horne, made his SMW debut by managing Prince Kharis, a 4,000-year-old mummy. Mitchell said he took the "Daryl Van Horne" name from Jack Nicholson's character name in the film
The Witches of Eastwick. The
gimmick was a flop in the promotion and dropped after only a few months. Mitchell was fired by
Jim Cornette after hearing that Smokey Mountain Wrestling was going out of business due to a family problem with Cornette; Mitchell said he dialed all the production crew when he was
drunk dialing and eventually was yelled at on the phone by Cornette.
World Championship Wrestling (1997–1999) Mitchell debuted in
World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as James Vandenberg, the manager of
Mortis, a masked wrestler billed as a
shoot fighter from
Taipei who was one of Vandenberg's "rare oddities". Mortis
feuded with
Glacier in an angle titled "Blood Runs Cold," because of the popularity of the
Mortal Kombat video games and faced him at
Uncensored on March 16, 1997, in his
pay-per-view debut, which he lost. Following the match,
Wrath debuted, siding with Mortis and Vandenberg and attacking Glacier. Glacier defeated Mortis in a rematch at
Slamboree on May 18, when Wrath interfered on Mortis's behalf, causing a disqualification; Glacier then suffered another post-match beating before
Ernest "The Cat" Miller ran to the ring to defend him. The four men fought one another over the following weeks, culminating in a match at
Bash at the Beach on July 13, which was won by Mortis and Wrath. After Blood Runs Cold unofficially ended, Vandenberg continued to manage the pair through the remainder of 1997 as Mortis and Wrath entered a feud with
The Faces of Fear that culminated in a pinfall victory at
Fall Brawl. In early 1998, the group was split up after Wrath was sidelined with an injury and Mortis was moved into a new angle involving
Raven and
the Flock. Mitchell then tried to get a commentary segment off the ground on
WCW Saturday Night, titled "Vandenberg's Odditorium." He appeared on camera standing alone in a dimly-lit space, discussing current feuds such as that between
Saturn and Glacier, always finishing the segment with "And I
could be wrong...but I doubt it." The segment was quietly axed after a few weeks. Mitchell was then sent home and was paid for two years until his contract ran out.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002–2004, 2005–2008) The New Church and The Gathering (2002–2004) Mitchell debuted in
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) on June 19, 2002. On October 30, going by the name Father James Mitchell, he returned to TNA along with
Slash and
Brian Lee, collectively known as the Disciples of The New Church. The New Church
feuded with
America's Most Wanted throughout 2002. In 2003, The New Church began feuding with
Raven. On November 5, 2003, Mitchell fought Raven in a last man standing match that was won by Raven. In late 2003, Mitchell aligned himself with The Gathering, Raven's former protégés.
Alliance with Abyss and departure (2005–2008, 2013) Mitchell returned to TNA on July 1, 2005, aligning with
Abyss. Mitchell led Abyss to victories over
Lance Hoyt at
Sacrifice and
Sabu at
Genesis. At
Turning Point on December 11, Abyss lost to Sabu in a
barbed wire match. At
Genesis in 2006, Abyss won his first
NWA World Heavyweight Championship by defeating
Sting. The weeks after Abyss's title reign, Sting seemed to control Abyss, and he ordered Abyss to come to the ring alone where he would speak to Abyss without Mitchell speaking in Abyss's ear. Mitchell nearly lost control of Abyss, however soon scared him straight by showing Abyss a
prison. Mitchell slammed Abyss into the fence and slapped him and reminded Abyss about his past. This act let Mitchell once again control Abyss with both men going into
Final Resolution as a unit, manager and wrestler, to help Abyss defend his title against Sting and
Christian Cage. On January 14, 2007, at Final Resolution Abyss lost his World Heavyweight Championship to Christian Cage during a Three Way Elimination match against Sting and Christian Cage. Abyss was eliminated by Sting after a Scorpion Death Drop, and then Sting by Christian Cage. The following week, Mitchell was later attacked and kidnapped by Sting, who threw him into the trunk of his car, and told Mitchell to leave Abyss alone. On January 25, he was able to give Sting by payback by launching a fireball right into Sting's face. The week after that, he told Abyss to find Sting while he later came into the ring and told Sting if he would accept his challenge at
Against All Odds pay-per-view and on February 8, he accepted. He was then "
kidnapped" by Sting again only this time, he was locked up in a cage, until Abyss came to his rescue by attacking Sting while Mitchell grab his belt buckle and choked Sting with it. At Against All Odds on February 11, Abyss lost to Sting in a prison yard match after he was powerbombed by Sting into a barbed wired table. Subsequently, Mitchell was attacked by Sting after the match, causing him to bleed heavily. Mitchell returned to on-screen action on March 22 when he came up the ramp and distracted Abyss away from his tag team match by bringing Abyss' on-screen mother to ringside. It was then revealed at a meeting with Sting and Mitchell that Abyss' mother had actually shot his dad, and Abyss took the blame to protect his mother. Mitchell was once again Abyss' handler, as "Father Jim" had threatened to report Abyss' mother to the authorities if Abyss did not come back to him, after which Mitchell allied Abyss with
Team Cage. On the April 19 edition of
Impact!, after months of abuse by Mitchell, Abyss turned on Mitchell, Black Hole Slamming him, and turning
face. Later, Mitchell delivered a
eulogy for Abyss, saying that he had moved on to bigger and better things, and implying that he had a new monster. This monster was eventually revealed as his "son"
Judas Mesias, who first appeared as a hand cutting a hole in the ring and pulling Abyss through it. He made his official debut on the September 13
Impact!, assaulting Abyss. On the January 17 edition of
Impact!, Mitchell finally revealed the secret that he had been threatening to reveal for months: that Abyss was his on-screen son. After a six-month inactivity, TNA announced that Mitchell was released from his TNA contract on July 7, 2008. On July 5, 2013, Mitchell made a one night appearance at
TNA One Night Only Hardcore Justice, accompanying Judas Mesias, who faced his storyline half brother and full brother of Abyss, Joseph Park in a monsters ball match, which Park won.
World Wrestling Entertainment (2005, 2009) Mitchell appeared at the
World Wrestling Entertainment-produced ECW reunion pay-per-view
ECW One Night Stand on June 12, 2005. He and Whipwreck accompanied Tajiri to ringside for his match with
Super Crazy and
Little Guido. He was due to continue managing wrestlers and working with the WWE's version of Extreme Championship Wrestling after its re-launch, however, a contract between Mitchell and WWE was never signed, and he ceased making any further appearances on ECW. In June 2009, Mitchell was going to try out for WWE's developmental territory
Florida Championship Wrestling but was told that he needed to pay $1,000 to try out and that manager tryouts had already occurred in January 2009.
Return to Impact Wrestling (2017–2019) Mitchell made his return to TNA, now Impact Wrestling, at
Slammiversary XV where he was seen giving Joseph Park his Abyss mask. Upon donning the mask, Park transformed into Abyss, allowing him and
Jeremy Borash to defeat
Josh Mathews and
Scott Steiner. After this, Mitchell would make sporadic appearances, aiding his storyline son, including summoning Abyss in March 2018 for a Monster's Ball match against Kongo Kong. Mitchell would then make recurring appearances during
Rosemary's storyline feud with
Su Yung over the soul of
Allie, first appearing as the keeper of Rosemary's soul, which would then be followed by further appearances in February 2019, managing Su Yung, Allie and an undead bride against a team led by Rosemary. During the September 2019 tapings, Mitchell was briefly seen taking the onscreen wedding of Brian Cage & Melissa Santos, held in a radically shortened format which included only the vows and exchanging of rings.
All Elite Wrestling (2021) On February 3, 2021, Mitchell appeared on
All Elite Wrestling's
Beach Break to officiate the wedding of
Penelope Ford and
Kip Sabian.
National Wrestling Alliance (2021–present) On August 30, 2021, Mitchell appeared on
National Wrestling Alliance's
73rd Anniversary Show as the manager of
Judias. He has since appeared on
NWA Power along with Judias. A segment at
Samhain in October 2023 that saw Mitchell doing
cocaine drew controversy and reportedly caused tension between NWA and the
CW Network. In 2024, Mitchell has continued as a manager in NWA, managing Judias,
Max the Impaler, Gaagz the Gymp, and
Sal Vation as the Miserably Faithful. ==Professional wrestling persona==