Rey Bucanero

Professional wrestling career Ortiz made his in-ring debut on November 18, 1991, at the age of 17, as the wrestling masked character "Rey Bucanero Jr." ("Buccaneer King Jr."). Records are unclear if there was a wrestler known as "Rey Bucanero". He performed as "Rey Bucanero Jr." until 1994, working primarily smaller shows in Puebla and other smaller venues. In 1995, he briefly wrestled as "El Hijo de Pirata Morgan" and "Pirata Morgan Jr.", but that stint did not last long, leaving those names behind him in case his uncle Pedro Ortiz's sons wanted to follow in his footsteps when they got older and wanted to wrestle as Pirata Morgan Jr. and El Hijo de Pirata Morgan; he instead shortened his ring name to "Rey Bucanero". In the summer of 2000, he and Guerrero outlasted sixteen teams in a tournament to win the vacant CMLL World Tag Team Championship, lastly defeating Villano IV and Mr. Niebla. After losing the match, Guerrero, Bucanero and Tarzan Boy became known collectively as Los Guerreros del Infierno ("The Infernal Soldiers"). After Atlantis turned heel and joined the group, they became known as Los Guerreros de la Atlántida; it was teased that Bucanero would break up with Guerrero, but Bucanero stayed with the group and Los Guerreros feuded with Perro Aguayo Jr.'s Los Perros del Mal faction into 2006.

La Peste Negra (2010–2011)

In July and August 2010, Rey Bucanero filled in for Mr. Niebla while he was out with a knee injury and teamed up with La Peste Negra ("The Black Plague") members Negro Casas and El Felino. When he began teaming with La Peste Negra, Bucanero wore ring gear that looked more like Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie series and less like his fellow Guerreros de la Atlantida members. He was also given a mascot, a Mini-Estrella wearing a parrot outfit that accompanied him to the ring, which was later named Zacarias. On January 29, 2011, Bucanero lost to Mr. Águila at a show for American promotion Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), during the WrestleReunion 5 weekend.

TRT / TGR (2011–2018)

In April 2011, Bucanero left La Peste Negra to form a new group with El Texano Jr. and El Terrible, abandoning Zacarias in the process. The following month, the group was named La Fuerza TRT. On June 21, Bucanero defeated El Hijo del Fantasma to win the NWA World Historic Light Heavyweight Championship. At the CMLL 78th Anniversary Show on September 30, Bucanero took part in a ten-man hair vs. hair steel cage match, which came down to Bucanero and former Peste Negra partner El Felino. In the end, El Felino managed to pin Bucanero, forcing Bucanero to have all his hair shaved off. When El Texano Jr. left CMLL in late November, Bucanero and El Terrible chose Tiger as the new third member of La Fuerza TRT. On June 4, 2013, Bucanero's near two-year reign as the NWA World Historic Light Heavyweight Champion ended, losing the title to Diamante Azul. Bucanero and Terrible removed Tiger from the La Fuerza TRT group on August 11, replacing him with Vangelis. The stable was subsequently renamed TRT: La Máquina de la Destrucción ("TRT: The Machine of Destruction"). Soon after, Bucanero and Tama Tonga began teaming with El Terrible as "Bullet Club Latinoamerica". On October 18, Bucanero was sidelined with an injury, and both he and Tonga were stripped of the CMLL World Tag Team Championship, which they had won in Japan.

On March 8, 2015, Bucanero defeated La Sombra in a tournament final to win the NWA World Historic Light Heavyweight Championship for the second time. On April 3, Bucanero, El Terrible and Shocker formed a new trio named TGR (Terriblemente Guapo el Rey, "Terribly Handsome King"). By virtue of holding a CMLL title, Bucanero competed in the Universal Championship tournament on October 2, but lost to Último Guerrero in the first round. He was paired with El Cuatrero for the Torneo Gran Alternativa on March 22, 2016, but lost to Tritón and Místico in the first round. He then feuded with Super Crazy, culminating in a hair vs. hair match at the CMLL 83rd Anniversary Show on September 3, which Bucanero won to force Crazy to be shaved bald. On November 1, Bucanero lost his NWA World Historic Light Heavyweight Championship to Hechicero.

Bucanero and Ángel de Oro lost to Carístico and Mephisto in the first round of the Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles on February 10, 2017. He competed in a torneo cibernetico for the vacant CMLL World Heavyweight Championship on June 6, where he eliminated Gran Guerrero before being eliminated by Rush. On August 1, he unsuccessfully challenged Ángel de Oro for the CMLL World Middleweight Championship. On February 2, 2018, Bucanero was paired with then-rival Valiente for that year's Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles, losing to Azul and Pierroth in the first round. He and El Terrible subsequently entered a tournament for the CMLL World Tag Team Championship, defeating the teams of Okumura and Sam Adonis in the first round, Marco Corleone and Niebla Roja in the quarter-finals and Azul and Stuka Jr. in the semi-finals. At Homenaje a Dos Leyendas on March 16, they lost to Valiente and Volador Jr. in the finals. By this time, TRT disbanded as each member had pursued a singles career.

Final storylines (2018–2026) On June 19, Bucanero unsuccessfully challenged Atlantis for the Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship. He was then involved in a feud with Niebla Roja, often cheating to gain supremacy in their rivalry. However, he lost to Roja in a hair vs. hair match on November 18, being shaved bald as a result. At the CMLL 86th Anniversary Show on September 27, Bucanero, Hechicero and El Hijo del Villano III were defeated by Dulce Gardenia, Azul and Titán via disqualification. On November 5, he faced Stuka Jr. for the NWA World Historic Light Heavyweight Championship in a losing effort. On February 24, 2020, he and Drone took part in the Torneo de Parejas Familiares ("Family Team Tournament"), losing to El Cuatrero and Sansón in the quarter-finals. Bucanero and Shocker participated in a tournament for the Mexican National Tag Team Championship on March 6, defeating Audaz and Fugaz in the first round, but lost to El Felino and Tiger in the quarter-finals.

On November 1, 2022, Bucanero participated in a torneo cibernetico to determine the number one contender for the Rey del Inframundo ("King of the Underworld") championship, but was the second wrestler eliminated by El Sagrado. Later that month, on November 25, he was the first wrestler eliminated by Volcano in the Leyenda de Azul ("The Blue Legend") tournament. Bucanero unsuccessfully challenged El Sagrado for the Mexican National Heavyweight Championship on March 6, 2023. During this time, Bucanero continued his long-running feud with El Felino, as the two constantly issued challenges for retirement matches. Their feud culminated in what was their third hair vs. hair match at the CMLL 92nd Anniversary Show on September 19, 2025, where both men fought to a double disqualification, thus forcing both Bucanero and El Felino to be shaved bald as a result. At Homenaje a Dos Leyendas on March 20, 2026, Bucanero was the first wrestler eliminated in a torneo cibernetico for the Copa Infernal. Bucanero wrestled his last match for CMLL in May and announced his departure from the promotion on July 6, ending his 34-year tenure.

World Wrestling Federation (1998–1999) In late 1998, Ortiz was one of many Mexican wrestlers who began working for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE) as part of WWF Super Astros, WWF's attempt at a show to expand into the Latin American markets. There, Ortiz was known under the ring name Rey "Pirata" Ortiz and wrestled without his mask on. He later stated that he wished the WWF had more respect for the mask, but that a paycheck was a paycheck so he did not complain about it.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2003, 2013) Rey Bucanero made his debut for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as part of the "Strong Energy" tour in April 2003, teaming with Último Guerrero and facing the likes of Jado & Gedo, AKIRA, Heat and Super Crazy. In August 2013, it was announced that Bucanero would return to NJPW as part of the "Road to Destruction" tour, where he and Bullet Club's Tama Tonga would challenge for the CMLL World Tag Team Championship. He wrestled his first match back in Japan on September 5, teaming with Tonga and his Bullet Club stablemate Karl Anderson in a loss to Jushin Thunder Liger, Manabu Nakanishi and Tiger Mask. On September 4, Bucanero and Tonga defeated Liger and Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the titles.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2008) In 2008, Bucanero participated in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)'s World X Cup tournament as part of Team Mexico. On the June 26 episode of Impact!, he and Guerrero defeated Team Japan's Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi in the first round. The following week, Bucanero defeated Team International's Alex Koslov in the second round. Team Mexico was eliminated in a 12-man elimination match at Victory Road on July 13, however, Volador Jr. won an Ultimate X match later that night, earning enough points for Team Mexico to win the entire tournament, becoming the 2008 World X Cup holders. Bucanero returned to Chikara in late 2018 to participate in that year's King of Trios tournament, where he was paired with Jean-Pierre LaFitte and Katarina Leigh as "The Ohnaka Gang", a pirate-based team. They defeated Cajun Crawdad, Hermit Crab and Merlok in the first round, but lost to Adam Hoffman, Jack Bonza and Mick Moretti in the quarter-finals.

Ring of Honor (2017–2019) In August 2017, Bucanero participated in the War of the Worlds UK tour, promoted by CMLL, NJPW, Ring of Honor (ROH) and Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro). On the first night, he and Guerrero lost to The Addiction (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian). They then defeated Místico and Titán on the second night and The Briscoes (Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe) on the third. Bucanero returned for the Global Wars Espectacular tour on September 6, 2019, where he, Bárbaro Cavernario, Hechicero and Okumura lost to Villain Enterprises (Brody King, Flip Gordon, Marty Scurll and PCO). The next night, he and Hechicero unsuccessfully challenged The Briscoes for the ROH World Tag Team Championship in a three-way match also involving The Bouncers (Brian Milonas and Beer City Bruiser).

Other media In October 2011, Bucanero was one of four CMLL wrestlers featured in an A&E Latinoamericano documentary series titled El Luchador.

Championships and accomplishments Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time) CMLL World Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Último Guerrero (3) and Tama Tonga (1) CMLL World Trios Championship (1 time) – with El Satánico and Emilio Charles, Jr. NWA World Historic Light Heavyweight Championship (2 times) Copa de Arena Mexico (1999) – with El Satánico and Último Guerrero Torneo Gran Alternativa (1996 (II)) – with Emilio Charles, Jr. Leyenda de Azul: 2006 Copa Herdez (2010) - with Último Guerrero Federación Universitaria de Lucha Libre FULL World Championship (1 time) International Wrestling Revolution Group Copa Higher Power (1999) – with Astro Rey Jr., Máscara Mágica, El Satánico and Último Guerrero Pro Wrestling Illustrated PWI ranked him #39 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 2005 Total Nonstop Action Wrestling TNA World X Cup (2008) – with Volador Jr., Último Guerrero and Averno Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards Best Tag Team of the Decade (2000–2009) – with Último Guerrero

Luchas de Apuestas record

Winner (wager)Loser (wager)LocationEventDateNotesRey Bucanero (mask) Pegasso I (mask) N/A Live event 1995 Shocker (mask) Rey Bucanero (mask) Mexico City Ruleta de la Muerte Los Guerreros del Infierno (hair)(Rey Bucanero and Tarzan Boy) Los Perros del Mal (hair)(Damián 666 and Mr. Águila) 50. Aniversario de Arena México Rey Bucanero (hair) Shigeo Okumura (hair) CMLL show Rey Bucanero (hair) Mr. Águila (hair) Sin Piedad Rey Bucanero (hair) Super Crazy (hair) CMLL 83rd Anniversary Show Niebla Roja (hair) Rey Bucanero (hair) Domingo Arena Mexico Rey Bucanero (hair) and Felino (hair) CMLL 92nd Anniversary Show

Footnotes