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Wrestling mask
A wrestling mask is a fabric-based mask that some professional wrestlers wear as part of their in-ring persona or gimmick. Professional wrestlers have been using masks as far back as 1915 and they are still widely used today, especially in Mexican lucha libre.
At the 1865 World's Fair, Theobaud Bauer debuted the mask, wrestling as "The Masked Wrestler" in Paris, France. He continued wrestling using the mask throughout France as part of a circus troupe in the 1860s before moving on to the United States in the early 1870s.
December 14, 1874, The Charlotte Democrat reported on an interesting story from Bucharest Romania about an open challenge made by local wrestler, Jules Rigal being accepted by a gentleman wishing to remain anonymous. The gentleman was a masked wrestler named "The Great Unknown," and rumored to have been Prince Stourja, a Moldavian nobleman with a reputation of Herculean strength. The success of this match lead to the several successful nightly rematches between the two opponents. Until one night a talkative member of the troupe let it slide that "The Great Unknown" was another clown from this circus. The Bucharest crowd became aware of this and lead to a disturbance that cause "The Great Unknown," the manager, and their troupe to narrowly escape being torn apart by the crowd. The police succeeded in suppressing, what seemed, to be a serious riot brewing that night. This event being the earliest documented masked wrestler in Romania and the earliest pro wrestling riot.
February 21, 1891, San Antonio's "The Light" reported on an upcoming wrestling event being held at San Antonio's historic Washington Theatre. A large crowd was expected to come see the wrestler, Christol fight "the masked unknown." The identity of the masked wrestler was unknown but reports detailing his expert mastery in the sport.
In 1915, Mort Henderson started wrestling as the "Masked Marvel" in the New York area making him the second earliest North American wrestler to perform with such a gimmick. In the subsequent years many wrestlers would put on a mask 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.
Many wrestlers have had very successful careers while masked such as The Destroyer/Dr. X, Mr. Wrestling, Masked Superstar and the Spoiler. In the days where professional wrestling was more regional, with less national television coverage, it was not uncommon for more than one person or team to use the same gimmick and mask, and there have at times been several masked "Interns", "Assassins" and "Executioners" working simultaneously. Tag team wrestling has seen more masked teams, using identical masks to create unity between wrestlers. Successful masked teams include the Masked Assassins, Blue Infernos and the Grapplers.
One of the best-known North American masked wrestlers was Big Van Vader, who was also known for his in-ring agility despite his large frame during the 1980s and 90s. Other notable examples are Rey Mysterio, Mankind, Kane, Doom, Edge & Christian as 'Los Conquistadores' & Owen Hart as 'Blue Blazer'.
Today, masked wrestlers are not a common sight in the United States and Canada, but masked wrestlers have a long history in that region, dating back to 1891. A mask sometimes will be used by a well known wrestler in a storyline where they must get around various "stipulations" or betray a trust without revealing their true identity. For instance wrestlers who are suspended in a storyline return under a mask under another name, usually with it being very obvious who is under the mask. Examples of this include: Hulk Hogan as Mr. America, Dusty Rhodes as The Midnight Rider, André the Giant as Giant Machine, Brian Pillman as The Yellow Dog, The Miz as The Calgary Kid, Dan Marsh as Mr. X and Bo Dallas as Mr. NXT. Jimmy Valiant once returned under a mask as Charlie Brown from Outta Town after losing to Paul Jones in a "Loser Leaves Town" match (a stipulation where the loser of the match must resign from the organization for which he worked). Mickie James also revealed to be under the mask when she returned to WWE as Alexa Bliss's partner.
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Wrestling mask
A wrestling mask is a fabric-based mask that some professional wrestlers wear as part of their in-ring persona or gimmick. Professional wrestlers have been using masks as far back as 1915 and they are still widely used today, especially in Mexican lucha libre.
At the 1865 World's Fair, Theobaud Bauer debuted the mask, wrestling as "The Masked Wrestler" in Paris, France. He continued wrestling using the mask throughout France as part of a circus troupe in the 1860s before moving on to the United States in the early 1870s.
December 14, 1874, The Charlotte Democrat reported on an interesting story from Bucharest Romania about an open challenge made by local wrestler, Jules Rigal being accepted by a gentleman wishing to remain anonymous. The gentleman was a masked wrestler named "The Great Unknown," and rumored to have been Prince Stourja, a Moldavian nobleman with a reputation of Herculean strength. The success of this match lead to the several successful nightly rematches between the two opponents. Until one night a talkative member of the troupe let it slide that "The Great Unknown" was another clown from this circus. The Bucharest crowd became aware of this and lead to a disturbance that cause "The Great Unknown," the manager, and their troupe to narrowly escape being torn apart by the crowd. The police succeeded in suppressing, what seemed, to be a serious riot brewing that night. This event being the earliest documented masked wrestler in Romania and the earliest pro wrestling riot.
February 21, 1891, San Antonio's "The Light" reported on an upcoming wrestling event being held at San Antonio's historic Washington Theatre. A large crowd was expected to come see the wrestler, Christol fight "the masked unknown." The identity of the masked wrestler was unknown but reports detailing his expert mastery in the sport.
In 1915, Mort Henderson started wrestling as the "Masked Marvel" in the New York area making him the second earliest North American wrestler to perform with such a gimmick. In the subsequent years many wrestlers would put on a mask 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.
Many wrestlers have had very successful careers while masked such as The Destroyer/Dr. X, Mr. Wrestling, Masked Superstar and the Spoiler. In the days where professional wrestling was more regional, with less national television coverage, it was not uncommon for more than one person or team to use the same gimmick and mask, and there have at times been several masked "Interns", "Assassins" and "Executioners" working simultaneously. Tag team wrestling has seen more masked teams, using identical masks to create unity between wrestlers. Successful masked teams include the Masked Assassins, Blue Infernos and the Grapplers.
One of the best-known North American masked wrestlers was Big Van Vader, who was also known for his in-ring agility despite his large frame during the 1980s and 90s. Other notable examples are Rey Mysterio, Mankind, Kane, Doom, Edge & Christian as 'Los Conquistadores' & Owen Hart as 'Blue Blazer'.
Today, masked wrestlers are not a common sight in the United States and Canada, but masked wrestlers have a long history in that region, dating back to 1891. A mask sometimes will be used by a well known wrestler in a storyline where they must get around various "stipulations" or betray a trust without revealing their true identity. For instance wrestlers who are suspended in a storyline return under a mask under another name, usually with it being very obvious who is under the mask. Examples of this include: Hulk Hogan as Mr. America, Dusty Rhodes as The Midnight Rider, André the Giant as Giant Machine, Brian Pillman as The Yellow Dog, The Miz as The Calgary Kid, Dan Marsh as Mr. X and Bo Dallas as Mr. NXT. Jimmy Valiant once returned under a mask as Charlie Brown from Outta Town after losing to Paul Jones in a "Loser Leaves Town" match (a stipulation where the loser of the match must resign from the organization for which he worked). Mickie James also revealed to be under the mask when she returned to WWE as Alexa Bliss's partner.
