He is more commonly known by his ringname Mike Mendoza.
Early in his career he worked as the masked Enigma (stylized as "Eni?ma"), continuing to perform under the name for some time afterwards.
Ortiz began his career in the International Wrestling Association (IWA) as a cruiserweight, winning the division's title before ascending to the lower mid-tier and later performing in the tag team division and winning the EWO World Tag Team Championship in an interpromotional angle with the large independent promotion Extreme Wrestling Organization (EWO).
After the promotion ceased to exist, he joined the World Wrestling Council (WWC), where he reigned in the junior heavyweight and tag team divisions before concluding his stay following a run with the second-tier WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship.
Ortiz then joined the spiritual successor of the IWA, the World Wrestling League (WWL), where he won the WWL World Heavyweight Championship.