The masked wrestler. A staple in the lucha libre style of wrestling as well as many wrestlers in Japan. The question posed by many is, where have they gone" Most wrestle in Mexico where eight out of every ten wrestlers are masked. Japan also has many masked wrestlers. America for some reason has usually rejected the mask.

The masked wrestlers are perhaps the hardest wrestlers to find gimmicks. Many wrestlers from Mexico and Japan simply explain the mask as culture. Kane had a good reason (the burns from the Undertaker) but then his mask was taken away. One of the over used gimmicks for masked wrestlers is the pride of one's country. These wrestlers always must defend the honor of their country. More often than not a wrestler without a mask could pull off the same gimmick. Most masked wrestlers that are "patriotic" so to speak are usually face. A nice change would be a heel national pride wrestler. This wrestler would attack people that are not very American. Even the most American of wrestlers. That gimmick as well would get old too.

Perhaps a masked version of a former wrestler" If that who would it be" Usually masked wrestlers are light weights. What current or former wrestler would benefit from a mask" Chris Benoit has already had a mask and is too marketable without one, even in his current situation. Maybe Rob Conway, that would be better than his current gimmick. Rene Dupree or Sly don't have the ability in my eyes to do it. Funaki seems to be a measuring stick for prospective talent and perhaps is headed nowhere. The only person from SmackDown I could see wearing a mask could be Hassan and Daivari coming back with masks and new names. RAW has a lot more star power and not as many potential masked wrestlers. Especially with the super-heroes there a masked wrestler there is unlikely.

The current masked wrestler would be Rey Mysterio. I like his stuff and he is a great lucha wrestler. I still am confused about why the Mexicools were asked to unmask. Perhaps to be more marketable" If a person were to switch channels over to a WWE show on mute (as I often do) no one would be able to identify with those three unmasked. Masked however many more people are likely to recognize them.

Now don't think that I am just picking on WWE. All of wrestling in America have a lack of masked wrestlers. To my knowledge the only masked wrestlers in TNA are Sharkboy and Abyss. I think that a reasonable amount of masked wrestlers for a promotion is four. Possibly two larger guys and two smaller guys. A masked wrestler is not a must for a promotion but I think it adds a wrestler with a secret or a deep tradition to the roster. I certainly think that a masked wrestler is a good way for a wrestler who has been out for a while to make his way back in to feud. The masked wrestler is a lost art in wrestling. Many greats have come through many promotions. A masked wrestler may be hard to promote but the right gimmick, the right time, and the right support can make one a superstar.

by Cody Stoots ..