Dr. Wagner

Manuel González Rivera (April 13, 1936 – September 12, 2004) was a Mexican professional wrestler, or Luchador best known under the ring name Dr. Wagner. González made his professional wrestling debut in 1961 and worked the majority of his career for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL). As Dr. Wagner, he worked most of his career as an enmascarado, or masked wrestler, losing his mask to El Solitario in 1985. Along with Ángel Blanco, González formed one of the premier tag teams of the 1960s and 1970s called La Ola Blanca (Spanish for "the White Wave"). Two of González' sons work as professional wrestlers under the names Dr. Wagner, Jr. and Silver King and one of his grandsons made his wrestling debut in 2009 under the name El Hijo de Dr. Wagner, Jr. or Dr. Wagner III

Biography

Manuel González was born on April 13, 1936 in Zacatecas, Zacatecas, Mexico, although later on he would be billed as being born in 1941. The González family moved to Torreón, Coahuila before Manuel turned one, growing up and identifying with the Lagunero area of Torreón. The colorful luchadors who wrestled on Friday nights captured the young González's attention early on. Coming from a poor background, González only went to school for a few years before dropping out to work instead. When he was old enough he began training at Roy Velasco's Gimnasio Hércules in Torreón, all while working on the side to earn enough money for both his tuition and food for his family.