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LENS: Top 20 Masked Wrestlers

Posted: Sep 29th 2011 By: CMBurnham

This lens is in tribute to the masked wrestlers past, present and future. When I was a kid, I would watch professional wrestling every chance I got. I was mesmerized by the entrance music themes they were using. My mom had her soap operas and I had my pro wrestling. I always had a few buddies who watched, as well. Every Monday during lunch, we'd sit at the table and talk about every storyline that took place over the weekend.

For some reason, I always tended to gravitate towards rooting for the masked guys. I even liked the bad ones. This lens is paying respects to the Top 20 masked guys that I enjoy. From Parts Unknown is a fantastic website dedicated to masked wrestlers. If you're into professional wrestling, at all, check out the site. Fair Warning : This lens is a lengthy look at the best masked wrestlers.

1 - Rey Mysterio, Jr.
There is very little doubt that Rey Mysterio, Jr. is the most popular masked wrestler in the United States. We can wax philosophic about Japan and Mexico, but for the United States, the kids go bonkers for Rey Rey. His masks sell like hotcakes at WWE events and children resonate with him because he is the classic underdog. He's smaller than everyone else, yet there is still a huge fight in him. I feel that his body of work during the Luchadore phase of WCW was his best. The matches he routinely had with Dean Malenko and Ultimo Dragon were just amazing for me to watch. I didn't even have an opiion about "Cruiserweights" vs. "Heavyweights". It was just amazing action in the ring. I watched with my jaw on the floor as he would hit his Huricanrana's and Planchas.

2 - Jushin "Thunder" Liger
What Rey Mysterio is to the United States, Jushin "Thunder" Liger is to Japan. The difference is that Liger has been doing his style of wrestling much longer but has been every bit as innovative. Liger is credited with inventing the Shooting Star Press. I think the most amazing statistic on his resume, for me, is the fact that he had Brain Tumor surgery in 1996. The different body suits, combined with the horn mask and elaborate hair was something I had not seen until then. The closest I had come to seeing a non-traditional mask was when Tiger Mask wrestled in WWE in the 1980s.

3 - El Santo
One of the biggest lucha feuds of the 1950's was between El Santo and Blue Demon. The angle began with El Santo defeating Black Shadow in a tag-team match and unmasking him. Black Shadow's partner was a witness to this and immediately turned into a babyface, becoming tag-team partners with Santo. Towards the end of 1952 and the early part of 1953, El Santo and Blue Demon rekindled their feud, that actually ended with Blue Demon defeating El Santo in several high profile matchups.

Along with Mil Mascaras and Blue Demon, El Santo is heralded as one of the greatest icons of Mexican sports. El Santo was the first luchadore to captivate an entire nation, paving the way for future generations. You can't have a masked wrestler list without including El Santo.

4 - Ultimo Dragon
Ultimo Dragon was an amazing performer. My introduction to him was when he debuted in WCW and had great matches with Rey Mysterio, Jr., Juventud Guerrera and Dean Malenko. The different masks and outfits that he and Mysterio wore had me hooked immediately.

Ultimo Dragon invented the Asai Moonsault, held numerous titles at the same time and was moving his way up the WCW (World Championship Wrestling) ranks from about 1996-1998. In 1998, he had surgery on his arm and sustained nerve damage, as a result of complications by the doctors. He originally announced his retirement, thereafter, but ended up having another surgery and a short-lived run in WWE, before returning to training students. He now wrestles for several smaller independent promotions in Japan, Mexico and Canada.

5 - Tiger Mask
I feel a little bit guilty about Tiger Mask. I didn't appreciate his contributions when he was around. I had no idea, until much later, that he had a profound influence on The British Bulldogs, Chris Benoit and pretty much every Canadian wrestler to come out of Stu Hart's dungeon. My favorite fun fact about Tiger Mask is that he is the only wrestler to simultaneously hold the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship and the WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship. The politics during that time make it extremely hard for one wrestler to pull this feat off.

The ironic twist is that those behind-the-scenes politics are the reason Tiger Mask retired in 1983. His retirement caused both belts to be vacated, which must have sent shockwaves throughout Junior Heavyweight-land.

6 - Mil Mascaras
There is no Rey Mysterio, Jr. or Alberto Del Rio without Mil Mascaras. Throughout the 1970s, 80s and 90s, Mil Mascaras won over the hearts of wrestling fans worldwide. His Cross Bodyblock was the typical babyface finisher and he never really resorted to doing anything underhanded to gain an advantage. The kids looked up to him. Me? I just loved all of the different ring outfits and mask variations he would have.

I enjoyed a lot of Mil Mascaras' lucha libre flair, but never really got into his finisher. It didn't really seem like anything special that other wrestlers weren't using. Known as "The Man Of 1,000 Masks", he always wore two to the ring and removed the first one before taking off his robe or jacket. Rey Mysterio's multiple mask combinations are directly attributed to Mil Mascaras. Mil broke ground in lucha circles by introducing the Mexican style of wrestling to audiences outside of Mexico, who had never seen it before.

7 - Masked Superstar
Before my fascination with cruiserweights and lucha libre, my early childhood was spent with classic wrestling in the old territories. Growing up, I was lucky enough to get to watch Mid-South/UWF, Georgia Championship Wrestling/WCW, World Class (Texas), WWF (now WWE) and occasionally I could see Central States, IWA or Championship Wrestling From Florida on UHF, if the stars were aligned and the sky wasn't cloudy.

My early fascination with Parts Unknown and masked wrestlers was due to the epic feud between Mr. Wrestling #2 and The Masked Superstar. I absolutely loved Superstar's ring promos and different masks. I always rooted for #2, however because I dug his Million Dollar Kneelift finisher. Superstar was hellbent on being the only masked wrestler around. His goal was to unmask everyone he could find. His finisher was this wicked looking move, called the Shino-Nomaki, which "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase, eventually ripped off.

In hindsight, I guess Sgt. Slaughter was using the move also. The Masked Superstar was the first masked man I enjoyed watching and his accolades speak for themselves. He later became Super Machine, tagging with Andre The Giant and Ax of Demolition.

8 - Dos Caras
Dos Caras is the brother of Mil Mascaras and Sicodelico and considered to be one of the best heavyweights to ever come out of Mexico due to his hybrid style of lucha libre and American mat-based wrestling. He had several legendary feuds, but the one that stood out the most was surrounding the Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) Heavyweight Title. Over the course of more than a decade, El Canek and Dos Caras defeated each other for every major title. He invented the Caras Clutch that is just crazy to watch. I never had the opportunity to see a Dos Caras match on television or in person, but his reputation is known globally.

9 - Hayabusa
Hayabusa thrived on innovation and creativity in the ring. He introduced the Phoenix Splash and Falcon Arrow to the craft. In Japanese, "Hayabusa" means Falcon or Phoenix, hence those motifs in most of his moves. Throughout his career there were comparisons made to his friend, Jushin "Thunder" Liger, during his run in Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling (FMW).

While training in Mexico, Hayabusa was given instruction by Rey Mysterio, Sr. Upon completion of his introduction to lucha libre, he competed against Jushin Liger in the first round of the Super J Cup in 1994. After becoming the main draw for FMW and a wildly popular fan favorite, Hayabusa sustained a career-ending neck injury that left him paralyzed, after being unable to execute his Springboard Moonsault. He has recovered enough to walk without an aid and is still rehabbing, in hopes of returning to the ring.

10 - The Destroyer
The Destroyer was an extremely popular masked man in the 1960s and 70s. His feuding with Giant Baba, Mil Mascaras and Tiger Mask are the stuff of legend as he was in the main event on several sold out stadium shows. The rumor mill has The Destroyer wrestling Japan's most popular sumo wrestler, Rikidozan to a television audience of 70 million people..............IN 1963! I'm not sure if this is verifiable or not, but that number is staggering for the time. He wrestled in California and Canada, after his days in Japan and feuded with hall of famers like Freddie Blassie and Pedro Morales.

11 - Mr. Wrestling #2
I grew up watching Mr. Wrestling #2 in Mid-South and Georgia Championship Wrestling. HIs finisher was the "Million Dollar Kneelift" and he use to knock the lights out of his opponents with it. Besides his great feuds with Masked Superstar and The Spoiler, the running angle he had with Magnum T.A. in Mid-South was definitely my favorite. It was a classic "mentor-trains-student-gets-bored-and-then-gets-schooled-by-student. I always saw Wrestling #2 as a babyface and it never dawned on me that he could even be a heel. When he turned on Magnum T.A., I was stunned.

There's differing opinions about his in-ring work rate, but no one can deny that he was a solid money draw. Depending on the situation, he could be a top guy in most territories, but was usually relegated to semi-main or mid-card status.

12 - The Spoiler
I always enjoyed watching The Spoiler, even though he was a bad guy. The way he would do the tightrope walk on the 2nd or 3rd rope and his finisher, "Iron Claw" were just interesting and made him unique. The Undertaker would later go on to use the rope walk, during his matches, as a way to pay respect.

The Spoiler wrestled in a multitude of territories, as well as Japan. My fondest memories of him were during his run in World Class.

13 - The Assassin
The Assassin is by far, the best on the microphone. I always despised the tag team of The Assassins, partially because a lot of the subject matter that they would spew were half-truths and a commentary on our society, at the time. Using tons of great vocabulary words to illustrate his points, he treated the interviewer (usually Gordon Solie) and the audience like we had half a brain.

But make no mistake, he was a villain in the truest sense of the word. The full black body suit made it hard to distinguish which Assassin was in the ring, during tag-team matches. He would often resort to a loaded mask to defeat his opponent, while a manager or tag-team partner would distract the referee. Classic, old school wrestling.

14 - Lord Humongous
Lord Humongous might seem to be a little bit high on this list. I know this is a conroversial pick because there seemed to be 3 or 4 different versions. The only version of Lord Humongous I know was the one who wrestled in Mid-South/UWF. This guy was ripped and just mammoth. The crazy thing was that he was so omninous that he didn't even need the hockey mask. For me, the mask was just over the top nonsense.

The fun part about watching Humongous wrestle was that we never knew who was going to rise up to the occasion and take the guy down. He made a wicked tag-team with Eddie Gilbert and were feuding with Jake "The Snake" Roberts and The Barbarian. Back in the day, before his WWE run, Jake was my favorite wrestler on the planet. His finisher was sick and his promos were just the stuff of legend.

Jake's partner turned on him and joined Humongous. This led to a fantastic feud. Jake Roberts hit his DDT on Humongous, who was wearing his hockey mask. The move had no effect, which was just mind blowing. Jake mangaged to get the mask off, which revealed a 2nd mask underneath. Jake dropped Humongous on his head and finally defeated the monster, but man it was an epic feud.

15 - The Blue Blazer
The Blue Blazer was the alter ego of Owen Hart. The character provided comedic relief to most telecasts, as he would pull pranks and tell us to "drink our milk". Unfortunately, tragedy struck as the harness that was used to lower him to the ring snapped, causing him to fall to his death. He died in the ring, doing what he loved most, entertaining us. I think about that Pay Per View often and know that there's a hole in pro wrestling that will never be filled. He had a positive impact on a lot of people's lives and he will never be forgotten.

16 - El Generico
My introduction to El Generico was on a few Ring Of Honor DVDs. He's been a mainstay in ROH for about 6 years now and originally started off as a tag-team specialist. The name of the game is innovation and creativity in the ring and being able to tell a story. El Generico has evolved into a major player on the indie singles scene and just spews this. He has a high-flying style and several power moves in his bag of tricks and it would not surprise me in the least to see him on the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) roster.

17 - The Grappler
The Grappler is about as old-school as one could get. His finisher was either a loaded boot, loaded mask or loaded elbow pad. Occasionally, in some territories, he would get a championship and run with the title for a few months, but for the most part, he was mid-card status. I think I enjoyed the tag-team of The Grapplers moreso than the singles wrestler. The Grappler was predominantly a star in the Portland territory, but travelled all over the country. I think I've seen him wrestle in Central States, Mid-South, Georgia, Portland, Houston and World Class.

The Grappler was finally unmasked in the old Continental Wrestling territory, by Jerry Stubbs and The Dirty White Boy, Len Denton was born.

18 - La Parka
"The Chairman Of The Board" is one of the funnier comedic wrestlers in lucha libre. La Parka has this Elvis-styled swivel dance he does with a chair that gets the crowd worked up. La Parka went to World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1996. During this time, his lucha home (AAA) gave the "La Parka" name to a new wrestler because they owned the copyright and when he returned to active wrestling in Mexico, he was forced to change his name to L.A. Park. The inevitable feud between L.A. Park and the new La Parka happened, ending in a no contest. To this day, L.A. Parka is considered one of the premiere wrestlers in lucha libre and is a major draw for AAA.

19 - The Super Destroyer
Bob Orton, Sr. might have invented the Superplex, but Super Destroyer made it a household name. I'm not sure if it was because of the mask or what, but when he would execute the maneuver, it just seemed to have more impact than Orton's version. As a tag-team they held titles all over the country, but #1's singles work gets overshadowed, at times. The transition from the Super Destroyers to the Long Riders occured, when the Destroyers defeated "Rock & Roll" Buck Zumhoffe & Iceman King Parsons to regain the World Class American Tag Team Titles, but were subsequently unmasked in the aftermath.

20 - Mr. Olympia
Mr. Olympia was one of those wrestlers that had a cool mask, but wasn't too impressive for me in the ring. He had a few runs in Mid-South/UWF and teamed with Junkyard Dog and The Sandman for a few months, but other than that the only angle I seem to remember was him getting tar and feathered with some molasses. His main fanbase was in the Continental Wrestling Association and when he wasn't Mr. Olympia, he had a salty tag-team run with Arn Anderson before he debuted with the Four Horsemen.

Indie Bonus : Canadian Red Devil
So at this point, you've got my Top 20 list of masked wrestlers I either grew up watching or read in the magazines, growing up. I wanted to take this opportunity to shine a spotlight on a new, up-and-coming indie wrestler named Canadian Red Devil. He's working hard in the independents throughout the Southwest and is starting to gain a bigger fanbase and some momentum. He hails from Medicine Hat, Alberta Canada and is really fun to watch in the ring.

This gives you a snapshot of where the wrestlers get their start and how they move up through the ranks to bigger crowds and better production. It's a lifelong struggle for the independent wrestler, as they work on their craft and enjoy entertaining the fans.