Dr. Wagner Senior Obituary From The Wrestling Observer Newsletter
reprinted without permission

    The original Dr. Wagner, a Mexican wrestling legend for more than two decades and father of two of Mexico's current biggest stars, passed away on 9/12 after a heart attack two days earlier. He was 69.

    Wagner & Angel Blanco, who were the original La Ola Blanca (the White Wave), played the role of two evil doctors in white masks and white trunks from 1966 to 1986. Born Victor Manuel Gonzalez Rivera, he and Blanco (Jose Rancho Vargas) were heels who were known as great technical wrestlers, not all that different from his sons and wrestling protégés, Juan Manuel (Dr. Wagner Jr.) and Cisar (Black Tiger, formerly Silver King), who have been major stars in Mexico since the mid-80s. Many of the mannerism like the raspy voice and laugh and physical mannerisms of Dr. Wagner Jr. were taken from the character played by his father. Wagner Jr. also teamed with Blanco Jr. for years as the new La Ola Blanca.

    It was a sad irony that just weeks after Dr. Wagner Jr. debuted on April 7, 1986, his father's life and career came to a screeching halt. The debut of Wagner’s son came the day after the death of his best friend, legendary Mexican wrestler El Solitario (Roberto Gonzalez Cruz), who suffered a drug induced heart attack in the ring and died in the hospital that night at the age of 49. Then, on April 27, 1986, Wagner, Blanco, Mano Negra, Solar and Jungla Negra were in an auto accident on the way to a show in Nuevo Laredo. Blanco, who was Wagner's second best friend, died in the accident while Wagner's right leg was destroyed and he became an invalid, and suffered major health problems in recent years. The others all were able to continue their career.

    Without question, Wagner's most famous match, and of the biggest matches in Mexican wrestling history, was on December 1, 1985, when he lost his mask to Solitario and set what was at the time the all-time record wrestling crowd in Monterrey for an outdoor show at the bullring.

    While this wasn't the case internationally, most within Mexico considered Solitario, in his prime, as a bigger star than Mil Mascaras, and probably behind only Santo and Blue Demon as the biggest stars in Mexican wrestling history. Solitario, described as a Mexican Elvis, because he was considered the coolest wrestler of his era, a favorite of the women, and a stud in the ring, was the top babyface, traveled with, and often feuded with Wagner & Blanco. There were known, along with Alfonso Dantes, as the "ballbusters" of their era. They were legit tough guys as well as being top workers, and when rookies would break in, they would beat the hell out of them in the ring. While today they would be considered being unprofessional bullies (it was not that unusual in some U.S. territories as late as the 70s and even some places in the 80s for this to happen, but not to the same degree), and Dantes had a major bully rep among the wrestlers, it was an accepted right of passage and just considered an aspect of the business. It was considered their job to weed out the people who weren't tough enough to be in wrestling, and to teach those who were, that you earned you way into remaining in the business. He got very bitter after his accident, having lost his best friends, as well as his career.

    When wrestlers would meet him and talk about the modern wrestling stars, he would run down virtually all of them, particularly those who followed him and became superstars like Perro Aguayo, feeling unlike he and some of the top starts of his era, they weren't really wrestlers. He surprised doctors who thought he would be confined to a wheelchair for life, as he was eventually able to walk again, using a cane. On June 30, 1995, he was honored at a major Arena Mexico show. 

    Born in Zacatecas on April 14, 1946 (because he started his career at 25, he lied about his age, claiming a 1941 birthday, when he was an active wrestler.) He moved to Guadalajara in 1960 and trained under the most successful pro wrestling trainer in history, Diablo Velasco. Wagner started wrestling under the name Manny Rivera, with his first match on July 16, 1961, in Guadalajara. He had been a childhood fan, and got into weightlifting. Based on the pre-steroid Mexican standards in the 60s and 70s, he was a muscular powerhouse at 5-8 and 210 pounds in his prime. That was a big guy for that era in Mexico and he maintained his physique well into his mid-40s.

    He donned the mask while wrestling in Torreon, where he later made his home, in 1963. He and Blanco became one of the top tag team in Mexico, starting in 1966, and later added the original Gran Markus (Juan Chavarria), who was actually the biggest American star of the three as Texas heavyweight champion in the 70s, to become a trio. His December 1, 1985, mask vs mask match in Monterrey, where he lost to El Solitario, was one of the biggest matches of it time.

    His death came just days before one of the biggest matches of his son's career, a four-way loser gets unmasked match with Rayo de Jalisco Jr., Canek, and Universo 2000 as the main event of the 9/17 anniversary show at Arena Mexico. Canek and Wagner were added to the match, which many presumed because neither Rayo nor Universo, originally scheduled in singles, would agree to drop their masks. The betting line is Canek was going to lose, but if it was Wagner Jr., they may have to change it since they announced the show would be dedicated to his father.

    Wagner spent almost his entire career wrestling in Mexico. He and Blanco were talked with about coming to Los Angeles when Mil Mascaras, and Rey Mendoza changed the entire face of the wrestling audience by bringing in the Latino fan base. They were such a famous tag team in Mexico, far bigger in their native land than Black Gordman & goliath, that the promotion, in its programs, would talk of them coming in for years. They made a few appearances there, but only had a relatively short run in 1974, mainly feuding with John Tolos & Mr. California (Salvator Lothario, Jose's younger brother, under a mask). They actually held the Americas tag team title for one day, winning as heel from Porkchop Cash & Manual Soto on August 30, 1974, at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. There may have been an interesting story there, because the next night, at the live TV show at KCOP-TV studios in Hollywood, they lost the belts in a squash to heels Man Mountain Mike (billed at 600 pounds, a Haystacks Calhoun knockoff) & Butcher Brannigan (Joe Nova). He only worked one tour of Japan, in February, of 1980, largely brought in to do an authentic Lucha Libre style singles match against Dos Caras, which many in Japan still remember fondly today.

    The peak of his career was probably his 17-month reign as NWA world light heavyweight champion, which, at the time, was considered the most valuable championship in the country. When perennial champion Ray Mendoza quit EMLL, Wagner won the tournament on September 22, 1974, in Mexico City, to capture the title. He dropped in to transvestite star Adorable Rubi Rubalacaba on February 27, 1976, in Mexico City. He also held the Mexican national tag team title with Blanco, and had three runs as the Mexican national light heavyweight champion. He first won the title on March 16, 1973, in Mexico City, beating Enrique Vera. He vacated the title when he won the world title 18 months later. Shortly after losing the world title, he was back with the Mexican title, beating Alfonso Dantes on April 11, 1976, in Guadalajara. He dropped that title to Canek on January 15, 1978, in Mexico City. His final title run was only 19 days, beating Astro Rey on November 11, 1979, before losing it to Vera.
He also teamed with El Halcon to beat Los Gemelos Diablos (who later became the Twin Devils of Los Angeles fame for doing the switches) to unmask the identical twins.

    His death was the lead story in the Torreon sports section, as was his funeral the next day, which was described as very emotional. Among those appearing were Gran Markus Sr., Cavernario Galindo Jr., Stuka, dozens of local wrestlers, as well as secret appearances by unmasked El Hijo del Santo and Mil Mascaras, although virtually nobody from the public was aware they were there.

    "My father was an authentic soldier of life, a wonderful person, and a gladiator who gave himself fully to Lucha Libre." said Dr. Wagner Jr. at the funeral. "He was a complete man. He always gave the best advice to us, and we always came out ahead. The last day of his life, I even was with him and at any moment the last day he would be offering advice to me. He was always like that. He passed away quietly, but still, in his final moments, he gave a little time to each one of the members of his family. For that reason, I feel calm.

    "My father was always my idol," said Cisar, who was identified as Silver King, but not Black Tiger (since Black Tiger is supposed to be a Japanese wrestler). "I admired him, and thanks to his advice, I prevailed in my business. He enjoyed the satisfaction of his career and the esteem in which he was held in the business."

    "We had a pretty good relationship, and although at first we did not have good chemistry, little by little we made a great friendship, that lasted until the day of his death, long after we retired," said Markus, the only member of the his wrestling entourage still alive. "I often saw him on the street, and we would stand and talk for hours. I find it so odd that he was called on to go away first, but that's how things go.”