Growing up, Octagón was mainly interested in Martial Arts and earned a black belt in Shotokan Karate. He viewed Lucha Libre (professional wrestling) only as a hobby. This changed when he met Raúl Reyes, a former professional wrestler from the Veracruz area. Reyes convinced Octagón that his martial art skills could help him earn a living as a professional wrestler. After learning the basics, he made his debut in December 1981 as "Dragón Dorado" (Spanish for "Golden Dragon"). Not long after, he changed gimmicks (in-ring persona) and became known as "La Amenaza Elegante" (Spanish for "the Elegant Threat") in 1982. He was not very successful as La Amenaza Elegante, although he did manage to obtain a contract with Mexico's largest, and the world's oldest, wrestling promotion, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL).
In late 1988 to early 1989, Octagón, along with CMLL booker Antonio Peña (the man in charge of writing the storylines that CMLL used), decided to create a new character that played off Octagón's martial arts background. The name was inspired by the movie The Octagon starring Chuck Norris. Together they created the concept of "Octagón", a Mexican Ninja complete with black clothes and a black and white mask that incorporated a red headband. The Octagón gimmick also played off previous Karate gimmicks in Lucha Libre such as Kung Fu and Kato Kung Lee. The Octagón persona was a hit with the fans, especially the younger fans earning Octagón the nickname "El ídolo de Los niños" (Spanish for the idol of the kids). Octagón became very involved in charities that benefited children, something else that helped make him popular with the younger fans. In early 1991, Dave Meltzer said Octagon was the hottest star in Mexico at that time, thanks in large part to his time on Galavision. His popularity was reflected in CMLL's decision to give him a run with the Mexican National Middleweight Championship, defeating Emilio Charles, Jr. for the title on November 20, 1991.
Octagón began teaming with Atlantis, forming a duo so popular that they would go on to star in the movie La Fuerza bruta in 1991 and Octagón Y Atlantis; La Revancha (Octagón and Atlantis: The Revenge) in 1992. He also starred in another movie with Máscara Sagrada called Octagón y Mascara Sagrada, lucha a muerte ("Octagon and Mascara Sagrada in Fight to the Death" in the US). The team of Octagón, Atlantis and Mascara Sagrada was dubbed "Los Movie Stars" and were booked to win the Mexican National Trios Championship from a team called "Los Thundercats" (patterned after the ThunderCats animated series) in 1991. The team was allowed to remain champions only until August 11, 1991, where Los Capos (the team of Cien Caras, Mascara Año 2000 and Universo 2000) took over from them. Octagón's success both in the ring and on the movie screen was met with criticism from several established wrestlers such as Mil Mascaras and El Canek who referred to Octagón as "Muchachito" (the Spanish equivalence of "Little boy") in a derogatory tone.

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