Mariano Fernandez

Mariano "Shadow" Fernandez, born January 20th, 1989, is an Argentinean professional wrestler, currently wrestling in the Classic Wrestling Federation, where he is the CWF National Champion, having won the title in his rookie year, just in two months after joining. He is known for his martial arts moves, his thirst for justice, his respectful attitude towards anyone and his love for ancient Japanese culture. Besides his wrestling career, he is studying in law school, to become a District Attorney in his homeland after retiring from wrestling.

Early life

Mariano was born in Quilmes, Buenos Aires, Argentina, the son of Roberto Fernandez and Monica Alejandra Cuzzocrea. He has a younger sibling, Luciano Fernandez. He is the only one in his family related to wrestling. Mariano had to deal with bullying at aggression at school in his early years (although he is known to say "it wasn't anything extremely dramatic"), which led him to learn martial arts, most precisely Tae-Kwon-Do and Judo. He is quoted to say "A month after I started martial arts, I was respected at school and defended other people from bullying". He was known to be a genius student, by peers and teachers. However, he didn't excel at sports other than martial arts and wrestling. He decided to become a wrestler when he was 10 years old. According to his own words, "my dad, brother and I used to watch wrestling back in the day, and although they enjoyed it, I was so passionate about it that I wanted to become a wrestler".

Befor starting Junior high, at the age of 12, Mariano visited Japan by himself, a destination he always wanted to go to. "I was a big fan of anime and manga (Japanese comics and animation), and when I was little I remember reading about the Samurai and their philosophy of life, so ever since I was 4 I wanted to go to Japan. It was a dream of my life come true." While in Japan, Mariano became a black belt in Karate, Aikido and Kendo, becoming a Western Samurai. He also trained in Ninjitsu, something to which he says to be one of the accomplishments he is proud of the most. After his training in Japan was complete, Mariano travelled to the United States at the age of 15, where he graduated from the N.E.S. highschool at the age of 17, becoming one of the proudest students the school ever took in. Mariano considers his highschool years "the best period of my life so far".

Upon graduating from highschool, Mariano started law school, while wrestling in independent federations throughout his homeland, but only as an amateur wrestler. His professional wrestling career started after applying for Mark Xamin's Classic Wrestling Federation, which accepted him as a member.

Classic Wrestling Federation

Mariano's CWF debut took place on June 6, 2009 in Vancouver, BC, Canada, having his first appearance in Saturday Night Showdown, losing to Bob Osbourne, the son of CWF Hall of Famer "Nitemare" Rob Osbourne. The next edition of Showdown he was one of the five contestants in the 5-way Battle Royale match in which the Unified Title was reinstated, competing against Alex Ruettiger, Motion, Bob Osbourne, and the Raving Lunatic, who was crowned champion. Mariano was the first eliminated entrant, being thrown out of the match by Alex Ruettiger.

His first Showdown victory was in the June 20th edition of Showdown, in Portland, OR, against "Da Xtreme Gangsta" James Baker. He would be the winner once again in Summer Smash 2009, in a three-way dance against Baker and the debuting Terry Richards.

By this time, he became immersed in a feud with Baker, who was stalking Mariano's love interest at the time, known as Nagase (Stephanie Jacobs). After the Showdown prior to Scars and Stripes, when "Nitemare" Rob Osbourne gained control of the CWF over Mark Xamin who as a final act made Osbourne lose the National Title against his henchman, the Maniac, Mariano defeated MMA fighter "Iceman" Tyler Thomas. At Scars and Stripes, Mariano was scheduled to compete against James Baker and Drastic, A.K.A Bryan Joseph Osbourne, in a three-way elimination match contested under hardcore rules for a shot at the Unified Title. Mariano managed to pin Baker, but he was brutally assaulted by Drastic and put through a table in front of a horrified Nagase, earning Drastic the win.

After Scars and Stripes, Mariano was scheduled to participate in a Battle Royale in Saturday Night Showdown for a match against CWF World Champion "Nitemare" Rob Osbourne, along with the likes of Magnus Thunder and T-Money. It was on the week before the Showdown Match that Baker allegedly kidnapped Nagase. Mariano and Terry Richards were the last people to be eliminated simultaneously by Magnus Thunder. In the following week, Mariano negotiated Nagase's release with Baker, only to discover that it was all a double-cross on Nagase's behalf, who then left him. By this point, Mariano had gained compliments by multiple-time CWF World Champion and recently inducted Hall of Famer Pledge Alligence, who was at ringside during the Battle Royale. Pledge Alligence, named CWF Interim President of Wrestling Operations, sided with Mariano in a tag team match against Terry Richards and then CWF National Champion Maniac, in the August 8th edition of Saturday Night Showdown. He got the pin over Maniac for the win, after Terry Richards walked out of the match after assaulting color commentator "Beautiful" Bobby Crane. After the match, the Maniac, humiliated by Mariano's victory over him, confronted Mariano backstage, challenging Mariano to a title match, then hit him with his finisher move, the Headhunter.

On August 15th, Mariano faced the Maniac for the National Title, in a match with Pledge Alligence as Special referee. Before the match, "Nitemare" Rob Osbourne announced the loser would leave the CWF, a move intended against the Maniac for putting Bob Osbourne out of commission by attacking him and having his face burnt with stage pyrotechnics. Mariano did the unthinkable and pinned Maniac after climbing Pledge Alligence's back and executing a Shooting Star Press off his shoulders, thus becoming the new CWF National Champion and driving the Maniac out of the CWF.

Mariano sided once again with Pledge Alligence in the August 23rd edition of Saturday Night Showdown, being scheduled in a match against Magnus Thunder and T-Money, with CWF World Champion "Nitemare" Rob Osbourne as special referee. However, this was not to be, as Magnus Thunder and T-Money were sent to Hawaii by Mark Xamin, who returned to the CWF accompanied by the Shock Value stable, consisting of Brian Adams and Keith Daniels. It was then that Pledge Alligence turned on Rob Osbourne and hit him with the World Title belt in front of a surprised Mariano.

After Showdown, Mariano is now scheduled to defend his National Title against Terry Richards, who by this time has become a ruthless serial killer. Richards stabbed Mariano's best friend, 17-year-old Paul Villanueva, putting his life at stake. Mariano, enraged, travelled to Manhattan, New York City, New York, to find Richards and pass justice upon him for the attack on Paul. There, Mariano met Richards' long lost sister, Hikari, whom he helped find his brother. There was a brief confrontation afterwards, ending in a stalemate. Mariano's match will take place in CWF Pay-Per-View Global Warning, which will broadcast on August 30th 2009 from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.