The Mask, Not Just A Jim Carey Classic! What Are The Benefits? What Are The Negatives?
By Mason Childs
The Mask, Not Just A Jim Carey Classic!
Welcome back to another article, and it’s a subject I am still learning myself quite a bit about.
Wearing a mask as part of your ring gear.
What are the benefits? What are the negatives? Who should? Who shouldn’t? How do you spell “Hippopotamus” backwards?
For me, one thing I’ve found talking to every day, run of the mill, non-wrestling fans is they associate wrestlers with two significant looks: Firstly, being insanely muscular and huge. Secondly, luchadore Mexican style masks and spandex. I for one have never been willing to take any hormone changing chemicals to enhance my physique, so I went with the mask.
Back in the early 90s, a group toured Australia that had some former WWF wrestlers on the card. The first show I saw had Junkyard Dog vs Jim The Anvil Neidhart, but the one wrestler that stuck out to me was this Japanese wrestler, he had crazy hair and looked almost like a power ranger. He did moves I’d never seen done before. His name was Jushin Liger.
Liger was always a hero to me. Whether it was coming back to wrestling after just 3 months of being diagnosed with a brain tumour, getting bottle by a tequila bottle in a match with Juventud Guerrera or having my personal favourite match of all time, vs Great Sasuke in NJPW Super J Cup 1994, I always wished I could be like him.
Then on an off-chance, I met a man who became a mentor to me, Ryu-Kyu Dog Dingo, and it was around the time he was moving to Okinawa to be apart of Super Delphin’s new company called Okinawa Pro.
Okinawa Pro was truly something different. All the characters were based on local icons, myths, tales and food. Dingo became the cheeky swamp spirit “Kijimuna”.
After taking a hiatus from wrestling, I decided I wanted to not only come back under a mask, but make a company very similiar to Okinawa Pro, which became Grindhouse Wrestling. I’ve previously written about GHW, so check that article out if you’d like to go down that rabbit hole.
So, what are some cases of masks benefiting a wrestler coming through? My biggest example, Combat Wombat. Not the best looking bloke, or the most athletic, the former army soldier was able to translate his real life experience into a beloved babyface character.
Another great example is when Queensland wrestler Renegade took on the character “Hugh Manatee”. The Master of Sleepy Style, Hugh was the ultimate underdog in an adult oriented show.
There are many examples of a mask not working for people, but I won’t jump in and name names, but there are many reasons why:
Firstly, claustrophobia. This is a big issue for many people, and that includes wrestlers. This can also include getting over heated by the mask.
Another factor to take into consideration, is the differing of selling whilst in a mask. The wrestlers has to rely less on their facials and more on using your whole body.
One troupe I’ve found that can be either a benefit or a detriment, is how the mask can act as a “blinder”. A mask can shut out a lot of what is going on around you. For me, I like this. It calms my nerves quite a bit, as I can just focus on my match, not people in the crowd who want to carry on. Other people I’ve known have found it distracting, with one of my trainees nearly injuring himself running ropes due to poor light and the mask.
I’ve seen some amazing workers wear masks, but still have an unmasked gimmick. I’ve seen some of the most talented workers I know wear masks and despise them.
But at the end of the day, do what’s going to make you noticed. Do what’s gonna help you connect with the crowd, help you sell merchandise and help you progress in your career.
I for one know I wouldn’t have gotten to Japan and been as successful as I have been as Mason Childs, but I do know I’ve missed out on quite a few opportunities because I won’t do that character anymore.
Thanks for reading and always remember, make the most of what you have, push your strengths, hide your weaknesses and enjoy TF outta life.
