Ruíz began wrestling in 1995 under the ring name Rencor Latino ("Latin Hostility"). Working as Rencor Latino he soon started working in the lower ranks of "Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre" (CMLL; "World Wrestling Council"). He won his first "Lucha de Apuestas", or "bet match", 1998 unmasking Apolo Chino by defeating him after a midcard feud. On August 4, 2002 Rencor Latino was one of twelve wrestlers putting their mask on the line during CMLL's "Entre Torre Infernal" ("In the Infernal Tower") pay-per-view. The match came down to Rencor Latino and veteran wrestler El Hijo del Gladiador, and ended with Rencor Latino winning the match, taking El Hijo del Gladiador's mask in the process. He continued wrestling in the midcard until he was recruited by El Satánico in the summer of 2001 to be part of a new "Los Infernales" ("The Infernal Ones") group.