WARNING:::: GRAPHIC ::::

[SlyPokerDog]

Some of you won't understand this.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

The Hard Rock Hotel in Vegas?

sent from a phone you've probably never heard of

 

[SlyPokerDog]

The Hard Rock Hotel in Vegas?

sent from a phone you've probably never heard of

Spearmint Rhino.

 

[riverman]

Some of you won't understand this.

Brilliant! As soon as I read the last word the theme to Star Trek starting playing in my head and that's been long overdue!

 

[lawai'a]

tj for president!

 

[julius]

 

[e_blazer]

Who says the human mind is progressing? The guy who started this thread has reverted to a dog.

 

[riverman]

Who says the human mind is progressing? The guy who started this thread has reverted to a dog.

I actually suspect shape shifter is the true nature of the beast

 

[magnifier661]

Omg!!!! It's been a long time since I've seen that! Thanks for the link

 

[riverman]

Omg!!!! It's been a long time since I've seen that! Thanks for the link

Rounding up illegal aliens is old business

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Omg!!!! It's been a long time since I've seen that! Thanks for the link

We should make them build a wall and a spaceship.

And the wall should have lasers. Lots of lasers.

 

[riverman]

We should make them build a wall and a spaceship.

And the wall should have lasers. Lots of lasers.

and Mexico should pay for it

 

[SlyPokerDog]

and Mexico should pay for it

Just the alien chupacabras.

 

[riverman]

Just the alien chupacabras.

and these guys
NewsBy Aubrey Sitterson Oct. 1, 2015 1:01 pm

While masked wrestlers are most often associated with Mexican lucha libre, the tradition is now a global one, with wrestlers donning colorful masks most anywhere professional wrestling exists. Using our meticulous algorithms and scoring metrics, we here at Geek.com have collected the 11 best masked wrestlers of all time and listed them out below, for your edutainment.

If you think we omitted someone, feel free to tell us in the comments so that we can correct you, explain why your favorite was disqualified, and defend the honor of this, the most perfect, flawless, never-to-be-disputed list of masked wrestlers ever.



Rey Mysterio
No one in their right mind could do a list like this without including Rey Mysterio. The Master of the 619 isn’t just one of the best masked wrestlers of all time. He’s not just one of the best high-flyers of all time. He isn’t even just one of the most iconic wrestlers of all time. He’s one of the best wrestlers of all time, period, full stop. No one in the history of wrestling did more than Mysterio to normalize and popularize lucha libre, taking what’s best about the style and recontextualizing it for a global audience. Bow down.



Kane
Let’s get another obvious one out of the way first, huh? You’re reading a list by a guy who spent more than 1,000 words talking about how Kane should be considered one of the all-time greats, so you know he’s got a spot here. Most masked wrestlers are on the smaller side, and even if they aren’t actually Mexican, are at least in some way heirs to the lucha libre tradition in one form or another. That isn’t the case for Kane, though, whose horror movie monster gimmick is an entirely different take on the masked wrestler persona.



El Santo
With a career that spanned five decades and countless matches, as well as frequent forays into film, El Santo is one of the biggest, most popular, most beloved figures in Mexican history. Along with frequent rival and comrade Blue Demon (who just narrowly missed inclusion), El Santo did more to popularize wrestling in Mexico than anyone, and if not for him, many wrestlers on this list likely would have never taken up the mask.



Tiger Mask
One of the fascinating things about wrestling is how this enduring form of entertainment has splintered off and evolved in other countries — oftentimes along similar paths. To wit, masked wrestlers are extremely popular in Japan, and while some of them take influence from lucha libre, many are instead (or perhaps in addition to) part of Japan’s manga tradition. One of the most famous of these is Tiger Mask. Though five different wrestlers have portrayed the character, the most significant is the first, who along with opponents like Dynamite Kid, Rollerball Rocco, and others, more or less created what came to be known as the Junior Heavyweight or Cruiserweight style.



Pentagón Jr.
Currently gearing up for its second season, Lucha Underground is exposing a whole new generation and audience to lucha libre, in a wholly unique, fantastically produced package. There were many standouts during the show’s first season, but for my money, the best were real-life brothers Pentagón Jr. and Fénix. Though both are incredible performers, Pentagón edges out his brother by virtue of his tremendous, vicious heel work, and his ability to meld lucha libre with the type of submission wrestling that hardcore American fans love.



Destroyer
There are a lot of masked wrestler archetypes: The acrobatic luchador, the agile Japanese light heavyweight, the hulking monster and so on. But one of my absolute favorites is the crusty old white dude. Though there are many examples of the form, my favorite is The Destroyer, Dick Beyer. Though he had a solid run in the United States, the Destroyer’s most popular work took place in All Japan Pro Wrestling, where promoter Giant Baba made him a humongous star. But the best part of the Destroyer? It’s that the 85-year-old Dick Beyer still keeps up the gimmick, with a website full of picturesshowing him grinning out from under his mask. Oh yeah: He also wrestled a bear.



Último Dragón
No wrestler embodies the blending of Japanese and Mexican styles better than Último Dragón. These days, he is perhaps best known for a photo of him holding approximately 100 different Junior Heavyweight titles, but the glibness surrounding that meme-ready image oftentimes obscures something important: Último Dragón earned those belts by being a peerless innovator that was able to connect with the audience and find success nearly everywhere he went, on account of his Japanese foundation and the lucha libre seasoning obtained during his time in Mexico.



Mil Máscaras
Along with El Santo and Blue Demon, Mil Máscaras is considered one of the “Big Three” of lucha libre, so unsurpringly, he also has quite a film career on his resume. Born 20 to 25 years after Santo and Demon, however, Mil Máscaras was able to continue appealing to audiences longer, while also, arguably, having a wider-reaching impact on account of his frequent bouts in other countries. Máscaras also boasts an impressive familial legacy, as his brother, Dos Caras is a legendary talent in his own right as well as the father of former WWE and current Lucha Underground star, Alberto El Patrón nee Del Rio.



Vader
I hate that I live in a world where I even need to explain to someone how great Vader is. If you don’t know the joys of watching Big Van Vader in action, you need to go directly to your room, turn on the WWE Network and not leave until you know — not just in your mind, but in your soul — the proper response to the question “What time is it!?” For those of you who just need a refresher though: Vader is one of the all-time great big men and monsters, melding a shocking, brutal physicality with an even more shocking quickness and agility. Add an iconic mask and that is a recipe for wrestling greatness.



Jushin Thunder Liger
The first thing you need to know is this: Jushin means “Beastgod.” That should be enough to justify Liger’s inclusion on this list, but if not, keep reading. Like Tiger Mask, Liger’s gimmick was lifted from a popular manga, but unlike Tiger Mask, the Liger character has only been played by one guy. One guy with absolutely astounding longevity, who just recently competed in a WWE ring for the first time at the age of 50. Decades prior to that, however, Liger revolutionized New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Junior Heavyweight Division with a high-flying, fast-moving, dynamic style that is still heavily imitated around the world to this very day.



El Generico
El Generico and his partner Kevin Steen (who now wrestles as Kevin Owens in WWE) were one of the North American independent scene’s greatest tag teams. Though Generico never did learn much English, that didn’t slow the pair down, as they won titles practically everywhere they wrestled, which was practically everywhere. Then, things got even more interesting, as Steen turned on his partner and the two began a rivalry that spanned years as well as promotions. Perhaps the greatest thing about Generico, however, is that he walked away at the height of his fame. Though no one has seen him since 2012, rumor is that Generico has committed his life to working with orphans in his native Tijuana, Mexico.

That’s it. The 11 best masked wrestlers of all time, never to be questioned or disputed. I’m Moses, these are the Commandments, and they’re etched in stone. Only they’re better than the Commandments because there’s one more. Feel free to say who you (wrongly) think I missed in the comments, but do not, I repeat, do not just list other masked wrestlers. In fact, if you’re going to list someone, you should also tell us who you’d jettison in favor of them! It better not be Vader.

Honorable mentions: Mr. Wrestling II, Mankind, Blue Demon, Mr. Wrestling.

Aubrey Sitterson lost his mask in a match back in 2004. Watch him talk about wrestling every week on STRAIGHT SHOOT, available onYouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. Then, make sure to find him on Twitter and check out his website.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

How could they leave the Revolting Blob off of that list?! He killed a man in the ring!