 Wagner with theAAA Latin American Championship in 2011 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Juan Manuel González Barrón[5] (1965-08-12)August 12, 1965 (age 60)[4] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | El Invasor[1] Dr. Wagner Jr. Rey Wagner |
| Billed height | 177 cm (5 ft 10 in)[2] |
| Billed weight | 98 kg (216 lb)[2] |
| Billed from | Torreón, Coahuila[3] |
| Trained by | Dr. Wagner[4] Gran Markus[4] |
| Debut | April 6, 1986 |
Juan Manuel González Barrón (born August 12, 1965) is a Mexicanluchador (Spanish for "professional wrestler") who is best known under thering nameDr. Wagner Jr., having used that name since 1987. He is the son of Manuel González Rivera, better known asDr. Wagner and the brother of the late César Cuauhtémoc González Barrón, who worked primarily under the nameSilver King. His son made hislucha libre debut 2009 under the ring nameEl Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. González was once married to professional wrestler María Moreno León, better known asRossy Moreno.
While he has worked all over the world as Dr. Wagner Jr. he primarily works in Mexico and has worked with bothConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) andLucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), Mexico's two largestprofessional wrestling promotions, on multiple occasions as well as being a regular on the Mexicanindependent circuit. He was introduced toLucha Underground at the end ofseason two and has worked for various Japanese promotions, most notably forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).
During his career he has won such notable championships as theAAA Mega Championship on three occasions, been the inauguralAAA Latin American Champion, held theCMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship twice, theCMLL World Tag Team Championship on four occasions with four partners, theCMLL World Trios Championship four times, as part of four teams, theNWA World Light Heavyweight Championship and theIWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship withKendo Kashin.
González worked under amask from his debut in 1985 until August 2017, when he was forced to unmask after losing toPsycho Clown in aLucha de Apuestas atTriplemanía XXV. Following the unmasking, González renamed himselfRey Wagner ("King Wagner").[6]
Juan Manuel González Barrón was born on August 12, 1965, son of Magdalena Barrón and her husband Manuel González Rivera, better known as theluchador (professional wrestler)Dr. Wagner. Juan González was the second son born, with his brother Óscar being two years his elder. His parents later had another son,César Cuauhtémoc González Barrón and finally a daughter Mayra.[7] At one point in the late 1980s to 1990s Juan González was married to María del Rocío Moreno León, who is also a professional wrestler under the nameRossy Moreno, and together the couple had at least two sons,El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. and Galeno del Mal.[8][7] Juan González' sons' names are not a matter of public knowledge as they wrestle asenmascarados, which traditionally means that their personal informations are kept from the general public perlucha libre traditions.[9] Juan González later remarried, although it is unclear if his current wife is directly involved withlucha libre or not.[8] In the early 2000s César González introduced the wrestling world to a son, referred to only as "El Hijo de Silver King", who at the time was training to be a wrestler.[7]
González started out working as a masked wrestler known as El Invasor ("The Invader"). The anonymity of the El Invasor character allowed González to gain in-ring experience without the pressure of the Dr. Wagner name.[1] González only worked as El Invasor for about a year before it was decided to reveal his family relationship.[10]
González was slated to make his in-ring debut as Dr. Wagner Jr. in a match where he would team up with his father, to take on his father's former tag team partnerÁngel Blanco and Ángel Blanco Jr. on April 27, 1986. While driving to the show the car, carrying his father, José Vargas (Ángel Blanco),El Solar,Mano Negra and Jungla Negra crashed when one of the tires exploded. Vargas was killed by the crash and González' father suffered severe spinal damage. Manuel González would later use a wheelchair to accompany his son to the ring for some matches.[11]
After adopting his father's name Dr. Wagner Jr. he also began working for theUniversal Wrestling Association (UWA), the same promotion where his father worked for most of his career. Promoters played off the rivalry of their famous fathers and often paired Dr. Wagner Jr. against Ángel Blanco Jr. On August 3, 1986 the two rivals were teamed up for aRuleta de la Muerte ("Roulette of Death") tournament where the losing teams advance and the team that lost the finals would have to wrestle each other in aLucha de Apuestas, or "bet match", for their masks. The rivals defeatedMano Negra andAníbal to survive the tournament with their masks intact.[12] On July 22, 1990 Dr. Wagner Jr. defeated Astro de Oro to win theUWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship, his firstprofessional wrestling championship.[13] He held the title for 218 days, until February 25, 1991, when he lost it to Enrique Vega.[13]
In the early 1990s the UWA's popularity began to dwindle as less and less fans attended their shows. To try and combat the fan departure the UWA began working with long time rival promotionConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), co-promoting shows and allowing UWA workers to also compete on CMLL shows. On April 2, 1993 the collaboration between the two companies led to Dr. Wagner Jr. defeatingPierroth Jr. to win theCMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship.[14] Later that year the two promotions worked together to host a tournament for the newly createdCMLL World Tag Team Championship with teams from the UWA and CMLL competing against each other. Dr. Wagner Jr. was teamed up with UWA's top nameEl Canek for the tournament, defeating the team ofVampiro andPierroth Jr. in the finals to become the first CMLL World Tag Team Champions.[15] Dr. Wagner Jr.'s first reign as CMLL World Light Heavyweight Champion ended on March 2, 1994 as he was defeated byAtlantis.[14] By early 1994 Dr. Wagner Jr. began teaming withGran Markus Jr. andEl Hijo del Gladiador on a regular basis, forming a team known asLa Nueva Ola Blanca ("The New White Wave"), adopting the name of his father's tag team.La Nueva Ola Blanca won theCMLL World Trios Championship on April 22, 1994 when they defeatedLos Brazos (El Brazo,Brazo de Oro andBrazo de Plata).[16] In November of that year El Canek stopped working for CMLL, forcing Dr. Wagner Jr. to give up his half of the world tag team championship.[15] In early 1997 Dr. Wagner Jr. and Silver King won the CMLL World Tag Team Championship, but once again Dr. Wagner Jr. was forced to give up his half, this time because Silver King left CMLL to work for the US basedWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW).[15] He later won the championship for a third time, this time withEmilio Charles Jr. as his tag team partner.[15] He later won the CMLL World Trips Championship on three additional occasions, withBlack Warrior andBlue Panther,[16] then with Blue Panther andFuerza Guerrera,[17] and finally with Black Tiger (his brother under a new ring identity) andUniverso 2000.[18]
On June 18, 2004, on a CMLL show in Mexico City, Dr. Wagner Jr. defeated long time rival El Canek to win theUWA World Heavyweight Championship, a title still promoted 10 years after the UWA closed.[19] The championship change was part of a long running storyline between the two, a storyline set to culminate in a four-wayLucha de Apuestas match at theCMLL 71st Anniversary Show. In the week prior to the show Manuel González died, which led to a surge of sympathy for Dr. Wagner Jr. This led to the crowd being solidly behind the until-then hated Dr. Wagner Jr. as he put his mask on the line against El Canek,Universo 2000 andRayo de Jalisco Jr. In the end El Canek defeated Universo 2000 to take his mask.[20] As result of the newfound popularity of Dr. Wagner Jr. CMLL decided to turn El Canekrudo (villain), allowing for the rivalry to continue.[21] Later on when Dr. Wagner Jr. moved on to a feud with Atlantis, the story repeated itself as the crowd turned against Atlantis, forcing CMLL to turn him fromtécnico (hero or good guy) into one of the bad guys of the storyline. The rivalry continued for several months until Dr. Wagner Jr.'s focus shifted to newcomerL.A. Park, resulting in a series of very violent, out of control matches between the two.[21]
On April 27, 2008, Wagner led a protest march for anyone who believed they were being mistreated by their bosses to join. About 200 people joined the march, includingFuerza Guerrera and wrestlers fromIWRG. Wagner claimed he was not being used because he criticized CMLL in the press, and claimed he was in talks withWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).[22] The rivalry between Dr. Wagner Jr. and L.A Park reached its CMLL climax at theCMLL 75th Anniversary Show where Dr. Wagner Jr. and L.A. Park wrestled each other in a match that ended in a disqualification due to excessive brawling outside the ring.[23] A short time later Dr. Wagner Jr. was fired from CMLL, officially for breaking CMLL's strict rule about not bleeding during matches or using weapons.[24]
Starting in 1988 Dr. Wagner Jr. began making regular trips to Japan primarily working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) through their relationship with the UWA. Later on he would also work for the JapaneseWrestling International New Generations (W*ING) andBig Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) promotions. During a BJW tour in 1996 Dr. Wagner Jr. lost the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship toAquarius and then regained it 8 days later. The title change was not sanctioned by CMLL and not officially recognized in Mexico.[14] In 1997 he participated inBest of the Super Juniors IV, where he defeatedDoc Dean andChavo Guerrero Jr. but lost the remaining four matches and failed to advance.[25] The following year Dr. Wagner Jr. was invited back for the 1998Best of the Super Juniors tournament. He won his block with a total of four victories, but lost in the finals toKoji Kanemoto.[26]
Later that same year he teamed up withKendo Kashin to compete for the newly createdIWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, losing in the tournament final toShinjiro Otani andTatsuhito Takaiwa. When Dr. Wagner Jr. returned to Japan in 1999 Wagner and Kashin won the junior heavyweight tag team championship on January 4 on NJPW'sWrestling World 1999 in theTokyo Dome.[27][28] The following month Dr. Wagner Jr. unsuccessfully foughtJyushin Thunder Liger for theIWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.[29] The reign with the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship ended after 96 days, with two successful defenses, before losing the belts toThe Great Sasuke and Jyushin Thunder Liger on April 10, 1999.[27]
For the third year in a row Dr. Wagner Jr. competed in the annualBest of the Super Juniors tournament, a tournament won by Dr. Wagner Jr.'s former partner Kendo Kashin.[30] In 2003 Dr. Wagner Jr and his brother Silver King toured withAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) instead of NJPW, working primarily as a tag team for the entirety of the tour.[31]
On March 15, 2009 Dr. Wagner Jr. made a surprise appearance atLucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA)'s annualRey de Reyes ("King of Kings") event. First he chased offLa Legión Extranjera before turning around to challenge theAAA Mega ChampionEl Mesias to a title match.[32] On June 13, 2009, atTriplemania XVII Wagner defeated Mesias to win the AAA Mega Championship.[33] After his title win Wagner went on to form the stableLos Wagnermaniacos with Silver King,Electroshock andÚltimo Gladiador. Dr. Wagner Jr. successfully defended the Mega championship against both El Mesias andCibernético in aSteel Cage Match at the 2009Verano de Escandalo ("Summer of Scandal") show.[34] At the subsequent AAA event,Heroes Inmortales III, Dr. Wagner Jr. successfully defended against El Mesias once more.[35] Following two successful defenses against El Mesias, Dr. Wagner Jr. stipulated that if El Mesias lost at the 2009Guerra de Titanes ("War of the Titans") he would not receive another title match. After holding the title for 181 days Dr. Wagner Jr. lost the title back to El Mesias atGuerra de Titanes.[36] In the aftermath of Wagner's stable partner Electroshock winning the AAA Mega Championship atRey de Reyes in March 2010, Electroshock, Ultimo Gladiator and even Dr. Wagner's own brother, Silver King, all turned on him and kicked him out of the stable, which they renamedLos Maniacos.[37] AtTriplemania XVIII Dr. Wagner Jr. pinned Electroshock to win his second AAA Mega Championship. Following the match El Mesias came to the ring, presented Dr. Wagner Jr. with the championship belt and then shook his hand.[38]
On July 12, 2010, Dr. Wagner Jr. made a surprise appearance for CMLL, coming to the aid of his son El Hijo de Dr. Wagner at an event inNuevo Laredo.[39] Wagner, whose contract with AAA had recently expired, claimed that he was still on good terms with the company and offered no explanation for his appearance.[40]
On August 15, 2010, atVerano de Escandalo Dr. Wagner Jr. successfully defended the AAA Mega Championship in a three-way match against Silver King andVampiro. After the match Silver King played an audio tape, claiming it was their late father saying that Silver King was the more talented brother.[41] This revelation led to a match on October 1 atHéroes Inmortales IV, where Wagner Jr. defeated Silver King in a singles match, retaining the AAA Mega Championship.[42] On October 31, 2010, Wagner Jr. formed a new alliance namedPotencia Mundial (World Power) withMonster Clown,Murder Clown andPsycho Clown.[43] On December 5 atGuerra de Titanes Wagner Jr. lost the AAA Mega Championship toEl Zorro.[44] On June 18, 2011, atTriplemanía XIX, Wagner Jr. defeatedTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) performerRob Van Dam to become the first everAAA Latin American Champion.[45] Immediately afterwards, Wagner began making challenges towards new AAA Mega ChampionJeff Jarrett.[46] Wagner received his shot at the title on July 31 atVerano de Escándalo in a three-way match, which also included L.A. Park, but was eliminated following a distraction fromKaren Jarrett and a low blow from Jarrett.[47] On October 9 atHéroes Inmortales, Dr. Wagner Jr. made his first successful defense of the AAA Latin American Championship by defeatingEl Hijo del Perro Aguayo in aBullterrier match. After the match, two of AAA's toptécnicos, and Wagner's allies,La Parka andOctagón, both turned on him and joined Aguayo'sLos Perros del Mal.[48] On December 16 atGuerra de Titanes, Wagner Jr. lost the AAA Latin American Championship to L.A. Park.[49]
In early 2012, Dr. Wagner Jr. started a rivalry with the invadingEl Consejo stable. On March 18 atRey de Reyes, Wagner teamed with Electroshock andHeavy Metal losing toEl Consejo membersMáscara Año 2000 Jr.,El Texano Jr. andToscano, with Máscara Año 2000 Jr. pinning Wagner following outside interference.[50] The following month, Wagner made peace with Silver King as the two came together to battleEl Consejo.[51] On August 5 in the main event ofTriplemanía XX, Wagner Jr. defeated Máscara Año 2000 Jr. in aMask vs. Mask match, forcing his rival to unmask himself.[52] In early 2013, Wagner Jr., claiming dissatisfaction with his position in AAA, left the promotion for a several-month-long stint withEl Hijo del Santo's Todo X el Todos promotion, only to return in May in time forTriplemanía XXI.[53][54][55] At the event, Dr. Wagner Jr. teamed with Electroshock, La Parka and Octagón to defeatCanek,Máscara Año 2000,Universo 2000 andVillano IV in an eight-mantag team match.[56] Afterwards, the relationship between Wagner and AAA once again broke down with Wagner taking public potshots at the promotion.[57]
On November 17, 2013, Wagner Jr. returned to CMLL at a small event inNaucalpan, confronting and challengingMr. Niebla. For the past weeks, Wagner had teased "invading" CMLL and settling his score with the likes ofAtlantis andÚltimo Guerrero.[58] In July 2014, Wagner worked a tour of Japan, during which he wrestled forTokyo Gurentai and women's wrestling promotionWorld Wonder Ring Stardom.[59][60]
In August 2015, Wagner made his return to CMLL after an almost 7-year absence.[61] His tenure with CMLL was only brief as CMLL fired Wagner on September 11, after he reportedly told them that taking part in the82nd Anniversary Show "didn't suit his interests".[62] It was later reported that Wagner decided to not work the anniversary show out of loyalty to L.A. Park, who had been released by the promotion days earlier.[63]
A year after leaving AAA, Wagner returned to take part inTriplemanía XXII, putting any past issues behind them.[64] At the event Wagner took part in a four-way elimination main event for the Copa Triplemanía XXII. He was the first man eliminated from the match by Cibernético.[65] Dr. Wagner Jr. did not appear for AAA for the rest of the year, not returning until the 2016Lucha Libre World Cup tournament in June 2016. Dr. Wagner Jr. teamed up withRey Mysterio Jr. andDragon Azteca Jr. as "Team Mexico International" for the tournament, but was eliminated in the second round.[66]
Dr. Wagner Jr. returned to AAA in the fall, shortly after leaving CMLL, as he turned on former tag team partner Rey Mysterio Jr.[67] On August 28, 2016, atTriplemanía XXIV, Wagner fought against El Texano Jr. andBrian Cage for the AAA Mega Championship, but did not win the championship. During the main event of the show, he disrupted aLuchas de Apuestas match between Psycho Clown andPagano, attacking Psycho Clown. After the match, which Psycho Clown won, Dr. Wagner Jr. challenged Psycho Clown to put his mask on the line in aLucha de Apuestas atTriplemanía XXV in 2017, a challenge that Psycho Clown accepted.[68][69] AtHéroes Inmortales X Dr. Wagner Jr. defeated Psycho Clown in a match that also included Pagano after Psycho Clown's long time tag team partners, Monster Clown and Murder Clown, turned on him and helped Dr. Wagner Jr. win the match.[70]
On August 26, 2017, Wagner was defeated by Psycho Clown in aLucha de Apuestas atTriplemanía XXV and was forced to unmask as a result.[5][71] Afterwards, Wagner continued working for AAA unmasked under the new name "Rey Wagner" ("King Wagner").[72] On October 4, atHéroes Inmortales XI, Wagner was defeated in a title fight by theAAA Mega Championship againstJohnny Mundo. On January 26, inGuerra de Titanes, Wagner defeated Mundo to win his third AAA Mega Championship.
On June 4 atVerano de Escándalo, Wagner was defeated along withRey Mysterio Jr., thus losing his title toJeff Jarrett who made his return to the company with the help ofKonnan. That same night after the event, Wagner declared himself independent.
On August 3, 2019, atTriplemanía XXVII, Wagner lost a mask vs hair match toBlue Demon Jr. After the match, following his head being shaved, Wagner announced his retirement.[73] However, the next day, Wagner clarified his situation that he is not permanently retired and would have to meet the dates in both AAA and independents.[74] On August 10 in Saltillo, Coahuila, Wagner announced that he finally canceled his retirement to continue his career.[75]
On February 2, 2020, Wagner officially announced his departure from the AAA after appearing at an event in the Naucalpan Arena after six years.[76]
On August 16, 2025, Wagner was shown at ringside during his sons match againstEl Mesías atTriplemanía XXXIII. During the match he attacked Dorian Roldán to prevent interference and later celebrated with his son following his victory.[77]
On July 6, 2016, Wagner made his surprise debut forLucha Underground, making an appearance atUltima Lucha Dos as a surprise opponent forSon of Havoc. Dr. Wagner Jr. defeated Son of Havoc, with the storyline being that he won a cash prize of $250,000.[78] Duringseason 3 Dr. Wagner Jr. was managed by Famous B and worked a storyline feud with Son of Havoc andMascarita Sagrada, who had previously been managed by Famous B. He also participated in the "Battle of the Bulls" tournament, but was eliminated byCage. AtUltima Lucha Tres, Wagner returned and teamed with Famous B to defeatTexano forcing him to become Famous B's new client. However, Wagner would not appear in the fourth season and the series was discontinued after season finale,Ultima Lucha Cuatro.[79]
In June 2010, Dr. Wagner Jr. won a four-way match to become the wrestler to be featured on the cover of thevideo gameLucha Libre AAA: Héroes del Ring, which was released on August 9, 2010, in North America. Dr. Wagner Jr. is one of the playable characters in the game.[80]
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dr. Wagner Jr. (mask) | Jungla del Norte (mask) | N/A | Live event | N/A | [97] |
| Dr. Wagner Jr. (mask) | Brazo de Oro (hair) | N/A | Live event | N/A | [97] |
| Dr. Wagner Jr. (mask) | Drago[b] (mask) | Nezahualcoyotl, State of Mexico | Live event | 1988 | [97][1] |
| Dr. Wagner Jr. (mask) | Rey Misterio (hair) | Tijuana, Baja California | Live event | November 14, 2003 | [18] |
| Dr. Wagner Jr. (mask) | Pierroth (hair) | Acapulco, Guerrero | Live event | April 19, 2006 | [98] |
| Dr. Wagner Jr. (mask) | Green Demon I (mask) | Saltillo, Coahuila | Live event | August 30, 2008 | [c] |
| Dr. Wagner Jr. (mask) | Mascara Año 2000 (hair) | Puebla, Puebla | Live event | March 7, 2009 | [d] |
| Dr. Wagner Jr. (mask) | Máscara Año 2000 Jr. (mask) | Mexico City | Triplemanía XX | August 5, 2012 | [52] |
| Dr. Wagner Jr. andPsycho Clown (masks) | Nuevo Poder del Norte (masks) (Carta Brava Jr. andSoul Rocker) | Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua | Verano de Escándalo | June 4, 2017 | [e] |
| Psycho Clown (mask) | Dr. Wagner Jr. (mask) | Mexico City | Triplemanía XXV | August 26, 2017 | [5] |
| Rey Wagner (hair) | Jeff Jarrett (hair) | Puebla, Puebla | Héroes Inmortales XII | October 28, 2018 | |
| Blue Demon Jr. (mask) | Rey Wagner (hair) | Mexico City | Triplemanía XXVII | August 3, 2019 | |
| Rey Wagner (hair) | Capo Mayor (hair) | Naucalpan, State of Mexico | IWRGhouse show | December 6, 2020 |
