 Cavernario in January 2017 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1993-11-06)November 6, 1993 (age 32) |
Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Cavernario Bárbaro Cavernario Baby Cavernario El Bárbaro |
| Billed height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1] |
| Billed weight | 89 kg (196 lb)[1] |
| Trained by | Aquiles[1] Apolo Dantés[2] Furia del Ring[1] Máscara Mágica[2] |
| Debut | April 25, 2008[2] |
Leonardo Moreno Ayala (born November 6, 1993), better known by hisring nameBárbaro Cavernario, is a Mexicanluchador (orprofessional wrestler), working for Mexican wrestling promotionConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). He portrays arudo ("bad guy") wrestling character.
In professional wrestling, Moreno is a two-time Occidente Middleweight Champion, a one-timeWelterweight Champion, a one timeLight Heavyweight Champion, and a six-time tournament winner (En Busca de un Ídolo 2014,Gran Alternativa 2014,[a]CMLL Reyes del Aire 2016,Torneo de Parejas Increíbles 2017,Leyenda de Plata 2018 andTorneo de Parejas Increíbles 2019). He was formerly a member of the wrestling group known asLa Peste Negra ("The Black Plague").
Leonardo Moreno Ayala is the brother of professional wrestlers known under the ring namesDemonio Maya (Mayan Demon) andIndigo.[3] Since both brothers wrestle under a mask, or asenmascarados, their full names are not a matter of public knowledge perlucha libre traditions.[4] Moreno is studying Accounting at the University of Guadalajara to ensure he has a skill to fall back on in case he is injured and unable to wrestle.[5]
In 2019, Moreno married Michelle Diaz.[6] The couple have a son together, born in 2021.[7]
Leonardo Moreno Ayala trained for his professional wrestling career under wrestlers Furia del Ring and Aquiles alongside his brother Demonio Mayo and made his professional wrestling debut in 2008.[8] It has not been confirmed what ring name Moreno competed under at the beginning of his career; with the secrecy of masked wrestlers in Mexico, it is possible he used other ring names before he began working as the maskedEl Bárbaro.
He made his debut forConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), Mexico's biggest professional wrestling promotion, in 2012 using the masked El Bárbaro ("The Barbarian"), a generic wrestling character. In early 2012, only months into his CMLL sting El Bárbaro lost his mask when he lost aLucha de Apuestas, or "bet match" toEl Gallo and was forced to unmask.[9] For manyluchadors losing their mask tends to slow their careers down, but in Moreno's case he reworked his image and became known as Bárbaro Cavernario, acaveman character inspired by Mexican Lucha Libre legendCavernario Galindo, adopting the furry loin cloth and boots look of Galindo, as well as usingLa Cavernaria as a finishing move just like the original.[10] Growing his hair out, Moreno added a more dramatic execution to his matches, acting like a savage in the ring in between moves. The repackaged Moreno was pushed by CMLL, giving him severalLucha de Apuestas victories, which in Mexico, is an accolade held in higher regard than winning title victories. As Cavernario, he started a storyline withGuadalajara local wrestlers Javier Cruz Jr. and Leo.[9] On June 24, Cavernario defeated Cruz Jr. in a match which saw Cruz Jr. shaved bald after the match.[9] Only days later, he defeated Leo in a match that left Leo bald after his loss. As part of the storyline, Cruz Jr.'s well known father Javier Cruz out of retirement for the storyline. On July 15, 2012, Cavernario defeated Cruz Sr. in his thirdLucha de Apuesta victory within four weeks.[9] Weeks later, Cavernario was one of sixteen wrestlers included in a tournament for the local Occidente Middleweight Championship that was vacant at the time. Cavernario defeatedStuka Jr.,Fuego, Halcon de Plata, Leo,Virus,Raziel and Sadio to qualify for the finals of the tournament. In the finals, Cavernario lost to Smaker, who became the champion.[11] On December 16, 2012, Cavernario won the Occidente Middleweight Championship when he defeated Smaker in a rematch.[9] He would hold the title for just over seven months, before Black Metal won the championship.[12] Two weeks later, Cavernario regained the championship from Black Metal.[12] On October 27, 2013, Fuego defeated Cavernario to win the title from him.[13]
Following the loss of the championship, Cavernario began to work more matches inMexico City, CMLL's main venue. In early 2014, Cavernario was teamed up with veteran wrestlerMr. Niebla, for CMLL's annualGran Alternativa ("Great Alternative") tournament. The concept of the tournament saw sixteen teams, composed of a low ranked rookie teamed up with an established veteran wrestler to showcase new talent. In the first round the team defeated the father/son team ofBlue Panther andBlack Panther, then defeatedÚltimo Guerrero andHechicero in the second round, and finally brothersRush andDragon Lee, to qualify for the finals. The finals took place on February 21, 2014, as part of CMLL's annualHomenaje a Dos Leyendas special event, which saw Cavernario and Mr. Niebla defeatVolador Jr. andSoberano Jr. to win the tournament.[14] Following the tournament, Mr. Niebla invited Cavernaro to join a group known asLa Peste Negra ("The Black Plague"), a group of wrestlers that all employed a wild, comical wrestling style that complemented Cavernario's own style. Over the summer of 2014, Cavernario was one of eight wrestlers competing in CMLL'sEn Busca de un Ídolo ("In search of an idol") tournament. Cavernario competed against other young wrestlers such as Hechicero,Cachorro, Dragon Lee,Guerrero Negro Jr.,Super Halcón Jr., Soberano Jr. andStar Jr. The tournament consisted of around-robin portion, where the wrestlers were given points of a scale of 0 to 10, during one match Cavernario, despite losing the actual match, was given a perfect 40 points by the four judges due to his performance in the match. The finals saw Cavernario defeat Hechnicero to win the tournament, and earn a spot on theFantastica Mania tour next January.[10] Two days later, Cavernario was one of eight wrestlers that put their hair or mask on the line in asteel cage match as part of a special show celebrating the 55th anniversary of the Arena Coliseo Guadalajara. After El Gallo,Rey Cometa,Boby Zavala, Sádico, Esfinge and Demonio Maya all escaped the cage, Cavernario defeated Black Metal to earn his first mask victory in his career.[15] On September 19, 2014, in one of the feature matches of theCMLL 81st Anniversary Show, Cavernario defeated Rey Cometa in aLucha de Apuestas match, forcing his opponent to be shaved bald after the match.[16][17][18] On May 3, 2015, Cavernario defeatedTitán to win theMexican National Welterweight Championship.[19] He lost the title to Rey Cometa on June 10, 2016.[20] On July 1, Cavernario defeated Cometa in anotherLucha de Apuestas between the two.[21] On November 6, 2018, Cavernario won theMexican National Light Heavyweight Championship for the first time winning it from Atlantis. On November 23, 2018, Cavernario won theLeyenda de Plata tournament.[22]
On January 24, 2020, atLa Noche de Mr. Niebla, Cavernario andFelino faced each other on opposite sides in aRelevos increíbles six-man tag team match between members ofLa Peste Negra. They would repeatedly attack each other throughout the match, which ended in a disqualification when Cavernario cheated to win the final fall over Felino. Afterwards, Cavernario announced thatLa Peste Negra had disbanded,[23] but Felino hoped that the stable would continue.[24] In the weeks that followed, Cavernario and Felino were involved in multiple confrontations[25][26] (including at theTorneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles final where Felino distracted Cavernario enough that he was pinned for the third and final fall),[27][28] until they agreed on a hair vs. hair match atHomenaje a Dos Leyendas.[29] The event had to be cancelled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it would be rescheduled the following year. They continued the feud later that year during CMLL's empty arena shows. In 2021, they were paired together for theTorneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles, but were defeated in the first round byÁngel de Oro andMephisto.[30] Cavernario was later challenged by Felino for the Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship, which happened on June 29. Cavernario was defeated by Felino who hit him with a low blow, as the referee was dealing withNegro Casas; this ended his reign at 966 days.[31] AtHomenaje a Dos Leyendas, Cavernario defeated Felino in the hair vs. hair match.[32]
In January 2015, Cavernario made hisNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) debut, when he worked theFantastica Mania 2015 tour, co-produced by CMLL and NJPW.[2] Cavernario returned to NJPW to take part in the2015 Best of the Super Juniors.[33] He finished with a record of three wins and four losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament.[34] In January 2016, Cavernario returned to take part in theFantastica Mania 2016 tour.[35] On the fourth show, he successfully defended the Mexican National Welterweight Championship against Titán.[36] In January 2017, Cavernario took part in theFantastica Mania 2017 tour, unsuccessfully challenging Dragon Lee for theCMLL World Lightweight Championship during the January 20 event.[37]
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Gallo (mask) | El Bárbaro (mask) | Guadalajara, Jalisco | Live event | March 11, 2012 | [9] |
| Bárbaro Cavernario (hair) | Javier Cruz Jr. (hair) | Guadalajara, Jalisco | Live event | June 24, 2012 | [b][9] |
| Bárbaro Cavernario (hair) | Leo (hair) | Guadalajara, Jalisco | Live event | July 1, 2012 | [9] |
| Bárbaro Cavernario (hair) | Javier Cruz (hair) | Guadalajara, Jalisco | Live event | July 15, 2012 | [9] |
| Bárbaro Cavernario (hair) | Black Metal (mask) | Guadalajara, Jalisco | Live event | June 22, 2014 | [c][15] |
| Bárbaro Cavernario (hair) | Rey Cometa (hair) | Mexico City | CMLL 81st Anniversary Show | September 19, 2014 | [16][17][18] |
| Bárbaro Cavernario (hair) | Rey Cometa (hair) | Mexico City | International Gran Prix | July 1, 2016 | [21] |
| Bárbaro Cavernario andRush (hair) | Matt Taven andVolador Jr. (hair) | Mexico City | CMLL 85th Anniversary Show | September 14, 2018 | [45] |
| Bárbaro Cavernario (hair) | Felino (hair) | Mexico City | Homenaje a Dos Leyendas | September 17, 2021 | [32] |
