| Martin Casaus | |
| Weight: | 245lb |
| Birth Date: | 5 March 1985 |
| Birth Place: | West Jordan, Utah |
| Billed: | La Jolla, California Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Names: | Magnificent Martin Martin Casaus Marty Casaus Marty Martinez Tristan Gallo |
| Trainer: | Derrick Hubbard Steve Nielsen Tom Howard |
| Debut: | 2003 |
Martin Casaus (born March 5, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. Casaus is known for his work in El Rey Network series Lucha Underground under the ring name of Marty "The Moth" Martinez, where he is a former Lucha Underground Champion.
Martin was born March 5, 1985, to Francis and Cheryl Casaus in West Jordan, Utah. Casaus was a four sport student athlete in high school and turned down college scholarships in lacrosse and football to pursue his academic studies. His parents put in overtime at their jobs so they could enroll Casaus in private schools until college. Casaus was the first in his family to graduate college. He received a bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a 3.98 GPA. Casaus has one brother who is currently in the United States Navy. Casaus holds a series 7 and 63 financial professional licenses.[1] Martin married Leslie Dean on June 9, 2021.
Martin credits his success in life to his mentors, Pete Gallegos and Andrew Lucero. Without their continued guidance and direction, Martin admits his successes would not be so measurable.
Casaus first started training to become a wrestler in 2003 at the Utah-based Ultra Championship Wrestling-Zero (UCW). He was primarily trained by Derrick Jannetty. Adopting the ring name "Tristan Gallo", he was placed in Stevie Slick's faction, "The Dynasty", as an arrogant heel and crony to Slick. During his time in the promotion, he won the UCW-Zero Heavyweight Championship 6 times, the UCW-Zero Tag Team Championship 5 times and the UCW-Zero Ultra-X Championship 1 time.
In the early 2000s Casaus began working in the independent wrestling scene. He wrestled as Tristan Gallo in many promotions across the country, especially in the mid west. He later changed his name to reflect his real name after WWE Tough Enough used it during the show
Casaus had his first WWE tryout at the FCW training center in 2007. Casaus was announced as a competitor on the revival of WWE Tough Enough season five which began airing on April 4, 2011. The competition consisted of in and out of ring training, along with challenges in and out of the ring.
On the seventh episode ("Running With Wolves"), Casaus had a freak accident that sent him to the emergency room. He later returned to the training center on crutches with his title belt around his waist, revealing to Tough Enough host Stone Cold Steve Austin that he was forced to leave the competition after doctors would not allow him to continue. Casaus was the only contestant that got to hang his belt up, as well as the only competitor to never be in the "Bottom Three".[2]
In September 2014, Casaus confirmed he signed with El Rey Network's new show Lucha Underground, that began airing on October 29.[3] He worked the tapings under the ring name "Magnificent Martin".[4] He also worked as Marty the Magician, with Beautiful Brenda as his assistant. However, both suffered an injury and their characters were dropped.[5] Casaus debuted on (aired April 29, 2015) as Marty "The Moth" Martinez, a fan who interfered in the match between Cage, King Cuerno and Hernandez. On February 22, 2015, Martinez had his first aired match, where he was defeated by Prince Puma.[6] July 15, Marty demanded and lost a match against Sexy Star for one of the seven ancient Aztec medallions which she had won only moments before, due to the fact the insignia on the medallion was of a moth; confirming his claims of having "Aztec blood". His character then was tweaked to be mentally unhinged after he kidnapped Sexy Star and likely tortured her along with his storyline sister Mariposa for the duration of Lucha Underground’s hiatus in the summer. In Season 3, his character developed an obsession with ring announcer Melissa Santos, which led to a rivalry with Fénix, who was having a storyline relationship with Melissa. The rivalry culminated in a Luchas de Apuestas match at Ultima Lucha Tres with Fénix putting up his mask against Marty's hair. During the match, Marty used Mariposa (who had accompanied him) as a human shield and deliberately pulled her into the path of a dive by Fénix, causing her to turn on him and be instrumental in his losing the match, after which his head was shaved by Fénix and Melissa. In season 4 he was the last man eliminated in Aztec Warfare 4, losing to Pentagón Dark. During season 4, Martinez defeated Dragon Azteca Jr. to win the Gift of the Gods Championship. That same night, he cashed the title for an opportunity for Pentagón Dark's Lucha Underground Championship, which he won. During his reign, he defeated Mariposa and aligned with Reklusa, but lost the title against Pentagón Dark at Ultima Lucha Cuatro in a Cero Miedo match.
Casaus made his debut for All Elite Wrestling on the April 28th edition of Dark, facing Brian Cage in a losing effort. Casaus would then appear once more on the May 11th edition of Dark, losing to Jungle Boy.
In 2004 Casaus had his first taste of the entertainment business when he appeared on the TV show Everwood to play an uncredited featured folk style wrestler. He immediately began acting training.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Everwood | "Evil Wrestler" | Uncredited Season 2 Episode 12 | |
| 2007–2011 | NWA Showcase | Tristan Gallo | ||
| 2011 | WWE Tough Enough | Himself | ||
| 2013 | Barter Kings | Trader | ||
| 2014–2018 | Lucha Underground | Marty "the Moth" Martinez |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Vampired | Bully | ||
| 2017 | Sandy Wexler | Night Night wrestler |
| width=20% scope="col" | Winner (wager) | width=20% scope="col" | Loser (wager) | width=20% scope="col" | Location | width=20% scope="col" | Event | width=15% scope="col" | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fénix (mask) | Marty Martinez (hair) | Boyle Heights, California | Ultima Lucha Tres | [16] |