Masked Marauders

There was a time in wrestling when a masked wrestler was common. When I started this piece, my intention was to point out the lack of masked wrestlers present in wrestling in Canada and the U.S.

Upon conducting my research, I discovered that there are more masked wrestlers than I realized in the present and recent wrestling history.

Other than the obvious guys like Rey Mysterio. I had overlooked so many. The more I looked into the subject, the more the list of contemporary superstars piled up.

Rey Mysterio, Abyss, Mankind, Curryman, The Hurricane, Mr. America, Suicide, Sting, Relik, formerly Kane, Goldust, Big Van Vader, Ultimo Dragon, Tiger Mask, Psychosis, Doink the Clown and the list goes on.

I can remember growing up in the 70’s and 80’s when masked wrestlers seemed more common. There were jobbers that wore masks whose names you would never remember. Wrestlers whose whole gimmicks revolved around a mask, like The Killer Bees or The Machines or The Road Warriors or Demolition (who took their masks off before wrestling to reveal facepaint). Nowadays, the masked wrester is slowly becoming a thing of the past.

As I looked into the history of masked wrestlers, I discovered some surprises. There were guys who I never knew donned masks at some point in their careers. Perhaps I wasn’t exposed to them or I was uneducated about their true identities. Either way, I found some interesting surprises.

Guys like Randy Savage as The Spider and The Executioner or Brian Pilman as Yellow Dog #1, Jim Neidhart as Who, Scott Hall as Starship Coyote, Junkyard Dog as Stagger Lee. As well, Big John Studd as Masked Superstar II, or Black Jack Mulligan as Big Machine.

Who knew that both the Hardys and Edge and Christian all played the role of the Conquistadors at different times or that Ric Flair was Black Scorpion? We all knewAndre was the Giant Machine and Hulk Hogan was Hulk Machine but how many people knew that Killer Kolwoski, John Studd and Nikoli Volkoff were The Executioners? I couldn't be the only one in the dark about those.

The history of the mask goes back to 1915. A North American wrestler became the first masked wrestler ever when Mort Henderson started wrestling as the "Masked Marvel" in New York.

Over the years, many wrestlers would put on a mask after they had been used in an area, or territory in which their popularity and drawing ability diminished. It was 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.

The first lucha libre mask was a gimmick used to excite the audience. In 1934, an American wrestler brought the leather mask down from Chicago and was dubbed El Enmascarado, “The Masked Man”. This mask provided the model for all those that have followed.

Two years later, the promoter decided to bring back masks. Antonio Martinez, a sporting goods retailer, sewed a leather mask for Cyclone McKay, another American, who became El Maravilla Enmascarado.

Soon the Masked Marvel was drawing crowds, and the newspapers were calling him “hated and mysterious” — the mask was a hit.

The masked wrestler started its decline, however, in the 80’s with the deconstruction of the territory system in wrestling. Although there are more current masked wrestlers today then I realized, it’s defiantly becoming a thing of the past outside of Mexico and Japan.

As wrestling changes with the times and goes through phases that can’t be predicted, styles come and styles go. Just like music and fashion. Everything comes in cycles, so perhaps one day the masked marauders will come back stronger.

It’s almost been a hundred years since the first masked wrestler stepped on the scene. I can’t see them fading away permanently anytime soon. I like the concept of the masked wrestler but I don’t think every gimmick works well. Some are, of course, better than others and that goes with all things.

I’d like to hear your opinions. Do you like masked wrestlers? Who’s your all time favorite masked wrestler? I’m going to go on record and say my favorite masked wrestler of all time would have to be Sting. (Wait, does he count?).

Long live the Masked Marauders!

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