Early career (1988–1996) Carlos traveled to Tijuana on Wednesday, January 6, 1988, (his 24th birthday), where he was led to the dressing area and introduced to Manuel de los Santos, the promoter of the show, and who also wrestled in the main event as "Kiss". De los Santos took one look at the 215-pound bodybuilder and did the classic double-take—what the hell is this guy doing here, and, how quickly can I get this guy in the ring. Konnan introduced himself and explained how he was brought here by his manager/agent, John Roberts. Roberts had already bragged to de los Santos that Carlos had been a wrestler in Florida. Suddenly, a big roar (laughter) went up from another wrestler, Miguel Lopez, who wrestled as Rey Misterio. Lopez/Misterio explained to Carlos that Roberts was just a nutty fan, always in the front row, but that he did nothing involved with managing or agent-ing or anything else in the business. Still, the wrestlers asked Carlos, want to give it a try? Billed as El Centurión ("The Centurion"), Ashenoff debuted for the
Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) on January 6, 1988. In the early part of his career, he wrestled for many different promotions. After making his debut for UWA, Konnan wrestled for the UWA Heavyweight title against El Canek at UWA 14 on January 29, 1989, and wrestled six- and eight-man tag matches intermittently for the promotion until 1994, with the likes of
Dos Caras, Mascara Sagrada, and others. All of his matches for UWA after 1991 were cross-promotions with EMLL and AAA. Konnan wrestled in a six-man, two out of three falls, tag team match as
Konnan El Barbaro ("Konnan the Barbarian") with Lizmark and Yoshihiro Asai against As Charro, Indio Yori and Negro Casas on February 3, 1989, for World Wrestling Association. Konnan's first stint with
World Championship Wrestling lasted only a few weeks. His debut was at
Starrcade on December 16, 1990. Teaming with his trainer and mentor, Rey Misterio, Konnan entered the Pat O'Connor Memorial International Cup Tag Team Tournament held at the event. They defeated
Norman Smiley and
Chris Adams in the quarter-finals, but lost to eventual winners, the
Steiner Brothers (
Rick and
Scott) in the semi-finals. He then won a televised match on WCW Power Hour against
Chuck Coates on January 19, 1991. Konnan would not return to the promotion until 1996. Konnan was given an outfit (purchased by the WWF at the cost of
$15,000) bedecked with
circuitry and a
pyrotechnic gun that shot sparkles into the crowd. Konnan returned again on January 7, 1992, at a
WWF Superstars taping in Daytona Beach, FL. wrestling this time as The Latin Fury, he defeated The Heartbreaker. The next day he defeated
The Juicer in a dark match at a
Wrestling Challenge taping in Fort Myers, Florida. Konnan would wrestle twice more as The Latin Fury, the final time at a house show in Hyannis, Massachusetts on July 19, 1992, when he defeated Pete Doherty. A little over a month later he received the gimmick that he would become known for,
Max Moon (although he was originally called
The Comet Kid for a handful of appearances). The Moon
character, created by Konnan, was that of a
cyborg from "The Future" or "Outer Space". Back in EMLL, Konnan lost his mask to
Perro Aguayo in a
Lucha de Apuesta mask versus
hair match. on June 9, 1991, by disqualification. Konnan did not comply with the stipulations of the match and returned to defeat Roberts in a hair versus hair match at
Triplemanía II on May 27, 1994, in Tijuana. Konnan defeated Killer on February 2, 1996, in
Querétaro to become the first ever AAA Heavyweight Champion. He vacated the title after leaving AAA in October 1996 to form his own promotion,
Promo Azteca, and the title remained inactive until 2004. Konnan's Mexican wrestling career was hampered in the late-1990s by his American wrestling commitments, and
Promo Azteca closed in 1998. He made a return to the Mexican wrestling circuit in the 2000s after a six-year absence, selling out arenas in Mexico City and
Guadalajara.
World Wrestling Federation (1992–1993) Konnan made his WWF debut on September 1, 1992, in
Hershey, Pennsylvania, during a
Superstars taping under the name The Comet Kid when he pinned
Barry Horowitz. After three televised matches, Konnan abruptly left the WWF following a disagreement with WWF owner
Vince McMahon in 1992. Konnan was not showing up for WWF events due to his rising fame in Mexico, and his supposed "bad attitude" and heat from fellow WWF workers leading to a very strained relationship with McMahon, who had invested heavily in the Max Moon character, both financially and creatively, up until that point. However, he left a mark on the WWF by teaching the sharpshooter to Bret Hart. Konnan was still working in Mexico while under contract to WWF, and was also simultaneously appearing in a Mexican
telenovela aimed at children called . As he was becoming more popular in Mexico, he was not as focused on making it in America. Konnan recollected, "Wrestling was so hot in Mexico, because they had lifted this 30-year ban on wrestling on TV in Mexico City. I was able to capitalize on that wrestling boom. I was wrestling three times in one day on many weekends. The amount of work was incredible. It was like when Raw and Nitro were going head-to-head and there was work for everybody."
Extreme Championship Wrestling (1995) After meeting
Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) booker
Paul Heyman while on a wrestling tour of
Singapore, Konnan joined ECW in 1995 and feuded with
The Sandman. He appeared at
ECW November to Remember on November 18, 1995,
squashing Jason Knight. Several months after losing the United States Championship, Konnan became a villain and joined
The Dungeon of Doom. However, the gimmick was already on its way out. According to
Kevin Sullivan (the originator of the stable), speaking in a retrospective interview in July 2016, Konnan "didn't fit in The Dungeon of Doom. He was forced into it." Sullivan also praised Konnan highly: [He's] a fabulous performer and has a great mind for the wrestling business. He should have been on his own. Putting him with us, he just lost all the steam he had. He brought the luchadors into WCW, so he had a real effect on professional wrestling."
New World Order and World Television Champion (1997–1999) Konnan joined the
New World Order (nWo) on July 14, 1997. Konnan developed an increasingly
hip-hop based gimmick and was nicknamed "K-Dogg." During his first stint in the nWo, Konnan feuded with the
Luchadores whom he had brought to WCW. During this storyline, he wrestled in a Mexican Death match at
Road Wild against Rey Mysterio, Jr. and a match against Juventud Guerrera at
Uncensored in March 1998. When the nWo divided into two rival factions on the May 4, 1998, episode of
Nitro, Konnan sided with the nWo Wolfpac, led by
Kevin Nash. When the two halves of the nWo reunited in January 1999, Konnan was thrown out of the nWo for standing up for Rey Mysterio, Jr and was attacked by
Lex Luger. As a result, he became a
face and teamed with Mysterio to fight the nWo. After feuding with nWo member Lex Luger, Konnan and Mysterio, Jr. were defeated by
The Outsiders at
SuperBrawl IX, with The Outsiders removing Mysterio's mask in the process. Konnan later criticized WCW for not respecting Mexican wrestling culture by writing storylines that saw several Mexican wrestlers unceremoniously unmasked (Juventud Guerrera, Psicosis, and Mysterio). He compared asking a
luchador to remove their mask to "going to Japan and telling the Japanese they have to eat with a fork instead of chopsticks." Konnan was inactive throughout early 2000, as he was suspended for three months by Bill Busch after requesting his release from WCW, unhappy with the way he was being used. Returning to World Wrestling All-Stars in November and December 2002, Konnan defeated Norman Smiley twice in singles matches on November 28 and 29, 2002, and won in three minutes against Nate Webb on December 6, 2002, at
WWA The Retribution in Glasgow. Subsequent to that, Konnan tag-teamed with Smiley against Disco Inferno and Malice for three matches between December 8–13, 2002, and won all three. After several abortive attempts to regain the tag title, the Kru began supporting Ron Killings's bid to become NWA World Heavyweight Champion. The Kru later feuded with Jarrett's
mercenaries, The Elite Guard (
Chad Collyer,
Hotstuff Hernandez, and
Onyx). While with TNA, Konnan also returned to Asistencia Asesoría y Administración, making his first appearance at
AAA Sin Limite - Guerra De Titanes 2004 on May 12, 2004. Konnan was teamed with
Rikishi and lost to Cibernetico and La Parka by disqualification. May 2006 was very busy for Konnan. In AAA, he made his first appearance with
La Legión Extranjera (with Chessman and Ron Killings) on May 1, 2006, losing to El Zorro, Octagon and Vampiro Canadiense at
AAA Sin Limite. He soon became the leader of the stable, which was active through 2009. That same month, Konnan became the
TNA Impact! Spanish
color commentator. Additionally, he and the LAX began a storyline that saw them refuse to wrestle (as well as himself and
Moody Jack refuse to commentate), claiming that
Latinos were discriminated against within TNA. On June 24, 2006, Konnan participated in the first
lucha libre event in San Diego. He stated that "Unfortunately there has never been
lucha libre in the South Bay, there has never been
lucha libre for
la raza. Finally they will be able to see the
lucha libre that they watch on television live here a few minutes from their home." In early 2007, Konnan underwent
hip replacement surgery, and his appearances in TNA from then on saw him frequently using a
wheelchair. In June, Konnan left TNA, as did Ron Killings. Konnan gave several interviews about the drug abuse problem in pro wrestling around that time, most notably to the
New York Daily News, which indicated that Konnan believed his "hip degenerated after years of steroid abuse and the physical toll of his sport, and...painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs ruined [his] kidney." He would reiterate the issue on his podcast some years later He successfully underwent kidney transplant surgery on July 23, 2007.
Return to AAA (2004–2006) While with TNA, Konnan also returned to AAA (Asistencia, Asesoría y Administración de Espectáculos), making his first appearance at
AAA Sin Limite - Guerra De Titanes 2004 on December 5, 2004. Konnan was teamed with
Rikishi and lost to Cibernetico and La Parka by disqualification. On October 24, 2008, Konnan took part in an "Eight Man Domo De La Muerte Steel Cage Winner Gets Control Over AAA" match where
La Legión Extranjera (consisting of Konnan, Electroshock, Kenzo Suzuki, and Rellik) defeated La Parka, Latin Lover, Octagon and Super Fly. On March 15, 2009, Konnan lost a Hair vs. Hair match against Vampiro Canadiense. He continued to wrestle with
La Legión until February 2010. However, he returned to the promotion on April 15, announcing that he was once again becoming an in-ring performer. However, he instead moved on to other duties. He told Stephen Dean Johnson of
SLAM! Wrestling that he is "kind of a jack-of-all-trades with Triple AAA. I write, produce, act as agent, and international liaison for talent. I am also on TV as one of the main managers for heels." In that same interview, he teased the then-upcoming deal that would lead to
Lucha Underground. Konnan wrestled what appears to be his final match to date on September 15, 2013, in a six-man tag match. He, El Mariachi and Kafu defeated Derek Sanders, Oliver John and Vaquero Fantasma at an event taking place at the Santa Cruz County Fair in Watsonville, California. He was also very critical of WWE on Twitter regarding
Alberto Del Rio's release from WWE for "unprofessional conduct regarding an alleged racist joke made by a WWE employee and a concurrent contract dispute involving Rey Mysterio where WWE extended Mysterio's contract without permission. In September 2014, Konnan was announced as one of the AAA wrestlers to star in the
El Rey network's new television series
Lucha Underground. In the first season, he appeared as the manager of
Prince Puma and claimed responsibility for bringing
Fénix,
Pentagón Jr. and
Drago into the promotion. On March 20, 2015, Konnan was ringside at a show organized by the independent promotion
The Crash, in Tijuana, Mexico, when
El Hijo del Perro Aguayo died in a freak accident during a match. He was named Crash' Head of creative until December 2017, when he was released. In February 2016, Konnan stated that he had lost his creative position in AAA and was now merely a consultant for the promotion. He then levelled several accusations at AAA regarding non-payment of talent. Konnan was named Head of Creative of Aro Lucha.
Return to Impact Wrestling (2017–2019) In March 2017, Konnan returned to
Impact Wrestling as the manager of
The Latin American Xchange (
Homicide,
Ortiz,
Santana and
Diamante). On January 23, 2019, it was revealed that Konnan would now be working as a member of the creative team for Impact Wrestling.
Third return to AAA (2018–present) On June 4 in
Verano de Escándalo, Konnan returned to the AAA helping
Jeff Jarrett win the
AAA Mega Championship against
Rey Wagner and
Rey Mysterio Jr. before being faced by
Fénix. On July 14 in Querétaro, Konnan and his group
MAD make their debut, but were interrupted by
La Parka, starting a rivalry. During 2024, Konnan began to clash with
Latin Lover, who had been appointed as an authority figure on-screen. At
Triplemanía XXXII: Mexico City, after
Alberto el Patrón turned villainous, Konnan aligned himself with Alberto and attacked Latin Lover. Following the WWE’s acquisition of AAA, Konnan was a commentary during the first joint event,
Worlds Collide on June 7, 2025.
Major League Wrestling (2018–2022) Starting in 2018 Konnan began appearing in
Major League Wrestling as a manager for
Pentagon Jr. and
Fenix, among other AAA wrestlers. He and his clients engaged in a feud with
MLW World Heavyweight Champion Low Ki. On December 14, 2018, Konnan challenged Low Ki in a no-disqualification match for his championship, in a losing effort. The match was stopped by the referee when Low Ki, Ricky Martinez, and
Hijo de L.A. Park would not stop attacking Konnan. Low Ki then "shanked" Konnan with some object, but
Tom Lawlor ran out to make the save.
All Elite Wrestling (2020–2021) On November 17, 2020, Konnan returned to TNT for the first time
since 2001, when he appeared on an episode of
AEW Dynamite. Konnan later appeared at AEW's marquee event
Double or Nothing on May 30, 2021. During the main event match, which was a
Stadium Stampede match that involved The Inner Circle, Konnan had a cameo appearance as a
DJ inside a club in the
TIAA Bank Field stadium, briefly assisting Santana and Ortiz. Konnan appeared on the June 26 edition of
Dynamite, being supportive of Santana and Ortiz until attacked by their rivals
FTR at the behest of
Tully Blanchard. ==Other media==