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History of the Cape and Mask

Posted: Mar 16th 2011 By: mikeiles

The mask and the cape are two of the most identifiable and theatrical elements of a pro wrestler?s attire. Masks were used as early as 1917 when a New York based wrestler named Mort Henderson wrestled as ?The Masked Marvel.? Wrestling Historians (four year degree) name Mort the first masked pro wrestler. It is unclear when the cape first came into play.

So why the mask? They?ve been used to disguise the fact that a wrestler that has run his course in a regional promotion is still working for the promotion. If a wrestler had moved territories and didn?t want to be recognized as a wrestler from another territory, a mask solved the issue. In the US, the mask was something a bad guy, or heel, would wear. They?re also a great tool to break the rules. For example, the villain might ?load? his mask with something like a steel plate, which can easily slip into the forehead compartment of the mask, in order to knock out his opponent. Another heel trick involves switching of the masked wrestlers in a tag team. If the wrestlers are both of similar build and wear masks, it is simple to switch places without getting in trouble with the referee. Not that it is really hard to fool an official in the world of pro wrestling.

Over the years some of the best heel masked wrestlers in the US were the bad guys. The Assassins, Masked Superstar, The Grappler, Dr. X and The Spoiler were some of the best of the bad. The mask has evolved from the generic look of a mask with eyes and mouth holes. During the late 90s wrestler, Mick Foley played a character called Mankind ? a mentally tortured man-child. His mask was more like a leather harness used in an asylum to protect the inmate from hurting himself. The mask evolved from not just being a disguise to a part of the wrestler?s character.

A popular gimmick for a wrestler is to put him in a match with dire consequences ? if he loses he will be suspended or kicked out of the promotion. In such a match the good guy is almost always screwed over by the heel, leading to his dismissal. The good guy will subsequently return wearing a mask, and pretend to be someone else. This drives the heel crazy and the fans eat it up. Andre the Giant did it after being ?suspended.? The Giant pretended to be a Japanese wrestler named the Machine. Dusty Rhodes was famous for showing up as masked cowboy wrestler, the Midnight Rider, and just recently WWE star, John Cena, was ?fired? from WWE and showed up under the disguise of Cena?s Latin cousin, Juan Cena.

The mask is most employed in Mexico. Latin pro wrestling, known as Lucha Libre (English translation is Free For All), has a rich history with masks. Both the rudos (bad guys) and the technicos (good guys) wear masks. They play very important roles in Latin wrestling. A match stipulation to end all grudge matches usually involve losing your mask if you lose the match. In Mexico, it is a very bad thing to be stripped of a mask. Losing a mask can literally end a career. Masks are, in fact, so important in this culture that instead of selling T-shirts and foam hands which are ever present at US wrestling matches, Lucha Libre masks are sold.

Many masked wrestlers appeared in kids fantasy movies where the luchadores would play themselves against the likes of vampires and mummies. One of the most famous technico, El Santo, was just such a wrestler. His mask was such a part of him that he was actually buried wearing it. It is hard to imagine being so committed to what you do that you take it to the grave. What would be considered honoring tradition would be sad by our standards? Could you imagine Paul Reubens buried as Pee Wee Herman or Adam West in an open casket, wearing the Batman cowl and tights?

Today, Rey Misterio, Konnan, Juventud Guerrera and La Parka are known here in the US. In Japan the mask is not as sacred as it is in Mexico. Japanese masks are more of a marketing tool aimed at children. Like in Mexico, Japanese masked wrestlers are often depicted in comic books and cartoons. Tiger Mask and Jushin ?Thunder? Liger are two of the most popular. Tiger Mask was worn by different wrestlers over the years.

Capes, while not nearly as symbolic as the mask, have their own place in wrestling history. Wrestlers in Japan and Mexico still frequently use the capes, but in modern US pro wrestling it isn?t as common.

Early wrestling was not showcased like it is today, with a fireworks and light show enhanced with carefully chosen theme music. Capes provided earlier wrestlers with a way to make a showy presentation in order to get the fans to react accordingly. I?m sure it also goes back to comic book super-heroes and villains. For some wrestlers like Hans Schmidt, Waldo Von Erich or Baron Von Raschke, playing German heels, the cape was part of the military uniform and next to the monocle and riding crop, personified the Nazi soldier stereotype.

Of course these guys were as Italian as the Olive Garden. Hans and Waldo were two Canadians and the evil Baron was born in Omaha, Nebraska. A royal purple cape trimmed in fur and paired with a crown is a classic look donned by heel wrestlers throughout history. Nothing incites anger in a crowd more effectively than a wrestler proclaiming their superiority over the fans. It explains why most people find King Friday so annoying. And to quote Paul Rudd?s character in the movie Role Models, ?People tend to avoid people in capes.?

The tradition of capes and masks is mainly still held by wrestlers in Japan and Mexico. In the US, capes evolved to ring robes, but even those are rarely used anymore because of money. Wrestlers get a percentage of T-shirt and other merchandise sales. So instead of wearing a jewel encrusted ring robe that reads ?Nature Boy,? the wrestler will come out in a T-shirt bearing his or her likeness or catch phrase that fans can buy at the merchandise stand at a live event or online. Who knows what the next decades will bring for the cape and the mask. For all we know Vince McMahon disapear from television and return as the masked luchador, Senor Grande Cajones. The thing that always has been true about the business it is theatrical and the outlandish.

Tags: Assassins, Masked Superstar, Grappler, Spoiler, Mick Foley, Mankind, Andre the Giant, Dusty Rhodes, Midnight Rider, WWE, Waldo Von Erich