Cito Conarri was born in Tijuana, Mexico, the son and grandson of luchadores. He debuted in the late 1980s under a mask as The Inferno Kid, one of lucha’s earliest innovators of the triangle jump and the 450 splash (Burn Baby Burn). His career nearly ended in 1993 after a devastating neck injury, but he refused to leave wrestling behind. Instead, he built a reputation as a trainer, moving wrestlers through two years of grueling conditioning before letting them touch the ropes, but always preaching a love of the sport rather than breaking spirits. Among his earliest students were Jeff Andrews and Heidi Christenson, who would both go on to become stars.

While rehabbing his injury, Cito met Felicia, the woman who would become his wife in 1995. Their only son, Juarez, was born the following year. Their marriage endured through the turbulence of the wrestling world, even surviving on-air storylines designed to test it, and remains one of the rare long-lasting unions in the business.

In 2001 Jeff Andrews tapped Cito to be technical commentator for the Innovative Wrestling Alliance in Orlando, giving him his first steady role in years. Through the CAL interfed he returned to the ring in MSWA, where he became a top cruiserweight contender and formed a tag team with Quinn Tate. He later carried that momentum into CSWA and then Total Impact Wrestling in Virginia before finally retiring. In 2003 he moved his school to Florida and rebranded it as The Wrestling Inferno, while also becoming the play-by-play voice of Old Line Wrestling until its closure in 2008.

Cito joined DEFIANCE in 2009, paired with Angus Skaaland on commentary in a booth that became instantly iconic. Later made commissioner of the Heritage League, he resigned on principle in 2011 rather than be complicit in Jeff Andrews’ planned coup. For all his fame as a trainer, commentator, and innovator, Cito Conarri never once held a title belt — a rarity that only deepened his reputation as one of the sport’s most respected voices.