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.
History
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.
The mask in the US and Canada
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. Mickie James also revealed to be under the mask when she returned to WWE as Alexa Bliss's partner.
The mask in Lucha Libre
The Luchador mask, known as a mascara in Spanish, “draws from Mexican history in which Mayans and Aztecs warriors would complete for superiority”. The style of the masks represent “animals, gods, mythological figures and other elements of Mexican folklore”."The mask is the luchador's identity, both in and out of the ring. Luchadores will keep their faces and real names a secret throughout their entire lives; some of the more iconic luchadores have even been buried in their mask."
WWE hall of famer El Santo is one of the most iconic luchadores. He “helped fuel the growth and reputation of lucha libre throughout the world”. “WWE Hall of Famer Eddie Guerrero once wrote that ‘Calling him a legend doesn’t even do justice to how big he was. In his heyday, Santo was bigger than Hulk Hogan and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin combined’”.
The Mexican fanbase quickly took to the mystery of the masked man and soon after, Mexican wrestlers themselves started wearing masks, becoming "enmascarados". Early masks were simple with strong, basic colors designs that could be recognized even in the back row of the arena. Over the years, the masks evolved to become very intricate and colorful, drawing on Mexico's rich history. Image:Mascarita Sagrada.jpg|thumbnail|180px|Luchador ‘Mascarita Sagrada’ wearing a “mascara’.
Lucha Libre is still an incredibly popular sport in Mexico, with souvenir masks being sold at events and online. Masks are colorfully designed to evoke the images of animals, gods, ancient heroes, and other archetypes, whose identity the luchador takes on during a performance. Most wrestlers in Mexico start their career wearing a mask, but over the span of their careers, a substantial number of them will be unmasked. Sometimes, a wrestler slated for retirement will be unmasked in one of his final bouts or at the beginning of a final tour, signifying loss of identity as that character. Sometimes, losing the mask signifies the end of a gimmick, with the wrestler moving on to a new gimmick and mask, often without public acknowledgement of the wrestler's previous persona.
The wrestling mask is considered "sacred", so much so that the intentional removal of a mask is grounds for disqualification. If a wrestler is unmasked during the match, his top priority is to cover up his face and they usually get help from people at ringside to do so. Most masked wrestlers wear their masks for any and all public appearances, using the mask to keep their personal life separate from their professional life; because of the mask, most Mexican wrestlers enjoy a higher degree of anonymity about their personal lives. Some wrestlers become larger-than-life characters, such as El Santo, one of the most popular cultural icons who always wore his mask in public, revealing his face only briefly in old age, and was even buried in his trademark silver mask.
Luchas de Apuestas
In lucha libre, the highest achievement is not winning a championship but winning the mask of an opponent in a luchas de apuestas, a "bet fight" where each wrestler bets their mask. The luchas de apuestas is usually seen as the culmination of a long and heated storyline between two or more wrestlers, with the winner getting the "ultimate victory". It is customary for the loser of such a match to reveal his real name, where he's from and how long he has been a wrestler before taking the mask off to show his face. Unmasked wrestlers will wager their hair instead, risking having his or her head shaved bald in case of defeat. There can be several reasons to book a luchas de apuestas beyond the obvious purpose of elevating the winner. If the loser is a younger wrestler, then the loss of the mask can sometimes lead to a promotional push after unmasking, or the wrestler being given a new ring persona. Older wrestlers often lose their masks during the last couple of years of their career, often for a big payday depending on how long and successful a career they've had; the more successful the wrestler that's unmasked, the bigger the honor for the winner.The first luchas de apuestas match was presented on July 14, 1940 at Arena México. The defending champion Murciélago was so much lighter than his challenger Octavio that he requested a further condition before he would sign the contract: Octavio would have to put his hair on the line. Octavio won the match and Murciélago unmasked, giving birth to a tradition in lucha libre.
Image:Mascaraluchalibre.JPG|thumb|150px|A wrestling mask mural in Madrid, Spain.
High-profile luchas de apuestas include El Santo winning the mask of Black Shadow, Los Villanos winning the masks of all three Los Brazos, Atlantis winning the mask of Villano III, La Parka unmasking both Cibernético and El Mesias, Villano V taking Blue Panther's mask and Último Guerrero winning the mask of Villano V. Some wrestlers have made a career by the volume of masks they have won rather than the general quality of their opponents—wrestler Super Muñeco claims to have won over 100 masks, with at least 80 verifiable luchas de apuestas wins, while Estrella Blanca is said to have the most luchas de apuestas, with over 200 masks won.