List of masked wrestlers
This is a list of masked wrestlers. The earliest known masked wrestler in the United States was The Masked Marvel who famously "crashed" the international tournament, which featured many of the top stars of the "Farmer" Burns-Frank Gotch era, held at the Manhattan Opera House in 1915.[1] In North America, many professional wrestlers have traditionally worn masks after they had been used in an area, or "territory", that their popularity and drawing ability diminished, it would be an easy way for a wrestler to begin working in a new area as a "fresh face". Sometimes workers wore masks in one territory and unmasked in another territory in order to keep their two identities separate. Several wrestlers used one or two personas for their entire career such as The Destroyer (1962–1984), Mr. Wrestling (1965–1983) and Masked Superstar (1976–1986).[2]
Wrestling masks also have a significant cultural importance in lucha libre, and puroresu to a lesser extent; famed luchadores such as Blue Demon, Mil Máscaras and El Santo have achieved an almost iconic status in Mexico. In Japan, masked wrestlers are also very popular. Many are heavily influenced by anime and manga characters such as Tiger Mask and Black Tiger during the 1980s, and Jushin Thunder Liger in the 90s. Many of these stars would appear in World Championship Wrestling during the "Monday Night Wars" period.[2]
In recent years, World Wrestling Entertainment has re-used masked characters for comedic purposes. Edge and Christian donned the masks worn by the WWF's original Los Conquistadores in their feud with World Tag Team Champions The Hardy Boyz in 2000. Under the guise of El Gran Luchadore, Paul London, Shannon Moore, Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle each challenged JBL for the WWE Championship in 2004. Likewise, El Generico and Shark Boy play a similar role on the independent circuit.
List
Single wrestlers
The Masked Russian
Tag teams and stables
References
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated (2007). "Pro Wrestling Illustrated: Wrestling History". PWI-Online.com.
- "Masked Wreslers". From Parts Unknown. WrestlingMuseum.com. Archived from the original on 2011-06-25.
- "Masked Wrestlers". Wrestler Bios. OnlineWorldofWrestling.com.
- "Top 10 Masked Wrestlers". Bleacher Report. June 4, 2010.
- Stratoti, Paul (January 12, 2010). "Remembering Masked Wrestlers – Photos". Blog Archive. ProWrestlingDigest.com.
- "Masked Wrestlers". WrestleScoop.com.
- Reynolds, R.D. and Randy Baer Wrestlecrap: The Very Worst of Pro Wrestling. Toronto: ECW Press, 2003. (pg. 14, 115–116, 135, 169–170, 172–173, 212) ISBN 1-55022-584-7
- Boivin, Noel; Chris Lombardo (January 29, 2009). "Top 20 Worst Masked Wrestling Gimmicks of All Time, Part I". Sports. TheSharkGuys.com. Archived from the original on January 30, 2011.
- Mullan, Raymond (December 9, 2010). "WWE: The 25 Most Ridiculous Wrestlers Outfits in History". Wrestling. Bleacher Report.
- Tapout, Eric. "The 50 Worst WCW Wrestling Gimmicks Ever". Tapout Zine. BedofNailz.com.
- Boivin, Noel; Chris Lombardo (February 2, 2009). "Top 20 Worst Masked Wrestling Gimmicks of All Time, Part II". Sports. TheSharkGuys.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2011.
- Bourne, Dick; David Chappell. "An Interview with Don Jardine – The Super Destroyer". Mid-Atlantic Gateway Interviews. MidAtlanticGateway.com.
- Reynolds, R.D. and Blade Braxton. The Wrestlecrap Book of Lists!. Toronto: ECW Press, 2007. (pg. 23, 25, 34, 40, 60, 111, 216–217, 337, 348) ISBN 1-55022-762-9
- Conner, Floyd. Wrestling's Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Pro Wrestling's Outrageous Performers, Punishing Piledrivers and Other Oddities. Dulles, Virginia: Brassey's, 2001. ISBN 1-57488-308-9 (pg. 1–2, 62, 66, 74, 83, 87, 114, 120–121, 123, 167–176, 183, 268)
- Dananay, John. "Who was (insert masked wrestler's name here)?". World Class Memories: WCCW Frequently Asked Questions. WorldClassWrestling.info.
- Davison, Ruby; Diane Whalen (2004). "WCCW #8 Page #2". Regional Territories: World Class Championship Wrestling. KayfabeMemories.com.
- Inside Wrestling, winter issue 1994, p.22.
- Nevada, Vance (2011). "Ricky Hunter". Slam! Sports – Wrestling. Canoe Inc. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
- "Wrestling Masks". MJ Factory. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
- "Danny Davis' OWW Profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-07-26.
- "The Nighthawk's OWW Profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
- ""The Yeti" Ron Reis reveals WCW's original plans for the Yeti character, the famous star he replaced in the booking plans, Yeti returning to WWE or TNA, and more". Pro Wrestling Insider. November 24, 2009. Retrieved 2012-12-09.
- youtube video, Posted April 17, 2008.
- "Shadows « Tag Teams Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
External links
- The History of the Mask, a brief history of masked wrestlers in lucha libre