Dr Wagner Jr

Personal life

Juan Manuel González Barrón was born on August 12, 1965, son of Magdalena Barrón and her husband Manuel González Rivera, better known as the luchador (professional wrestler) Dr. Wagner. Juan González was the second son born, with his older brother Oscar being two years his elder. His parents later had another son, César Cuauhtémoc González Barrón and finally a daughter Mayra. 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 name Rossy Moreno, and together the couple had at least one son. known as El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. Juan González' son's name is not a matter of public knowledge as he wrestles as an enmascarado, which traditionally means that his personal information is kept from the general public per lucha libre traditions. Juan González later remarried, although it is unclear if his current wife is directly involved with lucha libre or not. 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.

Professional wrestling career

González started out working as a masked wrestler known as "El Invasor" ("The Invader"). The anonymity of the "El Invasor" character allowed Gonzálezto gain in ring experience without the pressure of the Dr. Wagner name. González only worked as El Invasor for about a year before it was decided to reveal his family relationshp.

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 fathers former tag team partner Ángel 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. A wheelchair bound Manuel González would later accompany his son to the ring for some matches.

Universal Wrestling Association (1987–1993)

After adopting his father's name Dr. Wagner Jr. he also began working for the Universal 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 a Ruleta 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 a Lucha de Apuestas, or "bet match", for their masks. The rivals defeated Mano Negra and Aníbal to survive the tournament with their masks intact. On July 22, 1990 Dr. Wagner Jr. defeated Astro de Oro to win the UWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship, his first professional wrestling championship. He held the title for 218 days, until February 25, 1991, where he lost it to Enrique Vega.

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (1993–2009)

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 promotion Consejo 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. defeating Pierroth Jr. to win the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship. Later that year the two promotions worked together to host a tournament for the newly created CMLL World Tag Team Championship with teams representing the UWA completed against CMLL in teams. Dr. Wagner Jr. was teamed up with UWA's top name El Canek for the tournament, defeating the team of Vampiro and Pierroth Jr. in the finals to become the first CMLL World Tag Team Champions. Dr. Wagner Jr.'s first reign as CMLL World Light Heavyweight Champion ended on March 2, 1994 as he was defeated by Atlantis. By early 1994 Dr. Wagner Jr. began teaming with Gran Markus Jr. and El Hijo del Gladiador on a regular basis, forming a team known as La Nueva Ola Blanca ("The New White Wave"), adopting the name of his father's tag team. La Nueva Ola Blanca won the CMLL World Trios Championship on April 22, 1994 when they defeated Los Brazos (El Brazo, Brazo de Oro and Brazo de Plata. 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. 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 based World Championship Wrestling. He later won the championship for a third time, this time with Emilio Charles Jr. as his tag team partner. He later won the CMLL World Trips Championship on three additional occasions, with Black Warrior and Blue Panther, then with Blue Panther and Fuerza Guerrera, and finally with Black Tiger (his brother under a new ring identity) and Universo 2000.

On June 18, 2004, on a CMLL show in Mexico City, Dr. Wagner Jr. defeated long time rival El Canek to win the UWA World Heavyweight Championship, a title still promoted 10 years after the UWA closed. The championship change was part of a long running storyline between the two, a storyline set to culminate in a four-way Lucha de Apuestas match at the CMLL 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 and Rayo de Jalisco Jr. In the end El Canek defeated Universo 2000 to take his mask. As result of the newfound popularity of Dr. Wagner Jr. CMLL decided to turn El Canek rudo, allowing for the rivalry to continue. 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 the career-tecnico into one of the bad guys of the storyline. The rivalry continued for several months until Dr. Wagner Jr.'s focus shifted to newcomer L.A. Park, resulting in a series of very violent, out of control matches between the two.

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, including Fuerza Guerrera and wrestlers from IWRG. Wagner claimed he was not being used because he criticized CMLL in the press, and claimed he was in talks with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). The rivalry between Dr. Wagner Jr. and L.A Park reached its CMLL climax at the CMLL 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. 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.

Japan (1988–2004)

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 Japanese Wrestling International New Generations (W*ING) and Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) promotions. During a BJW tour in 1996 Dr. Wagner Jr. lost the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship to Aquarius and then regained it 8 days later. The title change was not sanctioned by CMLL and not officially recognized in Mexico. In 1997 he participated in Best of the Super Juniors IV, where he defeated Doc Dean and Chavo Guerrero Jr. but lost the remaining four matches and failed to advance. The following year Dr. Wagner Jr. was invited back for the 1998 Best of the Super Juniors tournament. He won his block with a total of four victories, but lost in the finals to Koji Kanemoto.

Later that same year he teamed up with Kendo Kashin to compete for the newly created IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, losing in the tournament final to Shinjiro Otani and Tatsuhito 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's Wrestling World 1999 in the Tokyo Dome. The following month Dr. Wagner Jr. unsuccessfully fought Jushin Thunder Liger for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. The reign with the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship ended after 96 days, with two successful defenses, before losing the belts to The Great Sasuke and Jushin Thunder Liger on April 10, 1999.

For the third year in a row Dr. Wagner Jr. competed in the annual Best of the Super Juniors tournament, a tournament won by Dr. Wagner Jr.'s former partner Kendo Kashin. In 2003 Dr. Wagner Jr and his brother Silver King toured with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) instead of NJPW, working primarily as a tag team for the entirety of the tour.

Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (2009–2013)

On March 15, 2009 Dr. Wagner Jr. made a surprise appearance at Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA)'s annual Rey de Reyes ("King of Kings") event. First he chased off La Legión Extranjera before turning around to challenge the AAA Mega Champion El Mesias to a title match. On June 13, 2009, at Triplemania XVII Wagner defeated Mesias to win the AAA Mega Championship. After his title win Wagner went on to form the stable Los Wagnermaniacos with Silver King, Electroshock and Último Gladiador. Dr. Wagner Jr. successfully defended the Mega championship against both El Mesias and Cibernético in a Steel Cage Match at the 2009 Verano de Escandalo ("Summer of Scandal") show. At the subsequent AAA event, Heroes Inmortales III, Dr. Wagner Jr. successfully defended against El Mesias once more. Following two successful defenses against El Mesias Dr. Wagner Jr. stipulated that if El Mesias lost at the 2009 Guerra 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 at Guerra de Titanes. In the aftermath of Wagner's stable partner Electroshock winning the AAA Mega Championship at Rey 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 renamed Los Maniacos. At Triplemania 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.

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 in Nuevo Laredo. 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.

On August 15, 2010, at Verano de Escandalo Dr. Wagner Jr. successfully defended the AAA Mega Championship in a three-way match against Silver King and Vampiro. After the match Silver King played an audio tape, claiming it was their late father sayint that Silver King was the more talented brother. This revelation led to a match on October 1 at Héroes Inmortales IV, where Wagner Jr. defeated Silver King in a singles match, retaining the AAA Mega Championship. On October 31, 2010, Wagner Jr. formed a new alliance named Potencia Mundial (World Power) with Monster Clown, Murder Clown and Psycho Clown. On December 5 at Guerra de Titanes Wagner Jr. lost the AAA Mega Championship to El Zorro. On June 18, 2011, at Triplemanía XIX, Wagner Jr. defeated Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) performer Rob Van Dam to become the first ever AAA Latin American Champion. Immediately afterwards, Wagner began making challenges towards new AAA Mega Champion Jeff Jarrett. Wagner received his shot at the title on July 31 at Verano de Escándalo in a three-way match, which also included L.A. Park, but was eliminated following a distraction from Karen Jarrett and a low blow from Jeff. On October 9 at Héroes Inmortales, Dr. Wagner Jr. made his first successful defense of the AAA Latin American Championship by defeating El Hijo del Perro Aguayo in a Bullterrier match. After the match, two of AAA's top technicos, and Wagner's allies, La Parka and Octagón, both turned on him and joined Aguayo's Los Perros del Mal. On December 16 at Guerra de Titanes, Wagner Jr. lost the AAA Latin American Championship to L.A. Park.

In early 2012, Dr. Wagner Jr. started a rivalry with the invading El Consejo stable. On March 18 at Rey de Reyes, Wagner teamed with Electroshock and Heavy Metal losing to El Consejo members Máscara Año 2000 Jr., El Texano Jr. and Toscano, with Máscara Año 2000 Jr. pinning Wagner following outside interference. The following month, Wagner made peace with Silver King as the two came together to battle El Consejo. On August 5 in the main event of Triplemanía XX, Wagner Jr. defeated Máscara Año 2000 Jr. in a Mask vs. Mask match, forcing his rival to unmask himself. In early 2013, Wagner Jr., claiming dissatisfaction with his position in AAA, left the promotion for a several-month-long stint with El Hijo del Santo's Todo X el Todos promotion, only to return in May in time for Triplemanía XXI. At the event, Dr. Wagner Jr. teamed with Electroshock, La Parka and Octagón to defeat Canek, Máscara Año 2000, Universo 2000 and Villano IV in an eight-man tag team match. Afterwards, the relationship between Wagner and AAA once again broke down with Wagner taking public potshots at the promotion.

Independent circuit (2013–present)

On November 17, 2013, Wagner Jr. returned to CMLL at a small event in Naucalpan, confronting and challenging Mr. Niebla. For the past weeks, Wagner had teased "invading" CMLL and settling his score with the likes of Atlantis and Último Guerrero. In July 2014, Wagner worked a tour of Japan, during which he wrestled for Tokyo Gurentai and women's wrestling promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom.

Return to CMLL (2015)

In August 2015, Wagner made his return to CMLL after an almost 7-year absence. His tenure with CMLL was only brief as CMLL fired Wagner on September 11, after he reportedly told them that taking part in the 82nd Anniversary Show "didn't suit his interests". 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.

Return to AAA (2014–present)

A year after leaving AAA, Wagner returned to take part in Triplemanía XXII, putting any past issues behind them. 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. Dr. Wagner Jr. did not appear for AAA for the rest of the year, not returning until the 2016 Lucha Libre World Cup tournament in June 2016. Dr. Wagner Jr. teamed up with Rey Mysterio Jr. and Dragon Azteca Jr. as "Team Mexico International" for the tournament, but was eliminated in the second round.

Dr. Wagner Jr. returned to AAA in the fall, shortly after leaving CMLL, as he turned on former tag team partner Rey Mysterio Jr. On August 28, 2016, at Triplemanía XXIV, Wagner fought against El Texano Jr. and Brian Cage for the AAA Mega Championship, but did not win the championship. During the main event of the show, he disrupted a Luchas de Apuestas match between Psycho Clown and Pagano, attacking Psycho Clown. After the match, which Psycho Cown won, Dr. Wagner Jr. challenged Psycho Clown to put his mask on the line in a Lucha de Apuestas at Triplemanía XXV in 2017, a challenge that Psycho Clown accepted. At Héroes 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.

On August 26, 2017, Wagner was defeated by Psycho Clown in a Lucha de Apuestas at Triplemanía XXV and was forced to unmask as a result. Afterwards, Wagner continued working for AAA unmasked under the new name "Rey Wagner" ("King Wagner").

Lucha Underground (2016–present)

On July 6, 2016, Wagner made his surprise debut for Lucha Underground, making an appearance at Ultima Lucha Dos as a surprise opponent for Son of Havoc. Dr. Wagner Jr. defeated Son of Havoc, with the storyline being that he won a cash prize of $250,000. During season 3 Dr. Wagner Jr. was managed by Famous B and worked a storyline feud with Son of Havoc and Mascarita Sagrada, who had previously been managed by Famous B. He also participated in the "Battle of the Bulls" tournament, but was eliminated by Cage.

In other media

In June 2010, Dr. Wagner Jr. won a four-way match to become the wrestler to be featured on the cover of the video game Lucha 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.

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments