The Straight Edge Society was a villainous professional wrestling stable in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) that appeared on its SmackDown brand .
92-425: The concept behind the group was the straight edge lifestyle, which promotes and abides to discipline—primarily no smoking, drinking, or drugs. The group acted as a militant organization, denouncing all people who did not live the straight edge lifestyle, even those who also abstain from substance abuse , so new members were required to shave their heads , which signified a "new beginning". The founder and leader of
184-449: A gimmick generally refers to a wrestler's in-ring persona, character, behaviour, attire, and/or other distinguishing traits while performing which are usually artificially created in order to draw fan interest. These in-ring personalities often involve costumes, makeup and catchphrases that they shout at their opponents or the fans. Gimmicks can be designed to work as good guys/heroes ( babyfaces ) or bad guys/villains ( heel ) depending on
276-543: A 1966 mask vs mask match. His own mask was pulled off by opponent Big Daddy during a televised match in December 1975, an important turning point in Daddy's rise in popularity. Nagasaki later voluntarily unmasked in a ceremony in the ring on TV in December 1977. By 1986 he was back under the mask and was the top villain of All Star Wrestling from this point until his second retirement in 1993. Another successful masked wrestler from
368-628: A character based on an authority over other people. These include non-wrestlers like managers , and wrestlers like The Mountie , Big Boss Man , "The Alpha Male" Marcus Cor Von , Consequences Creed , "The Man" Becky Lynch , "The Boss" Sasha Banks , Sean O'Haire 's devil advocate gimmick, and David Otunga 's legal adviser character, ECW 's 911 , and stables New World Order , Right to Censor , The Truth Commission , The Acolytes Protection Agency , 3-Minute Warning , and most recently, The Authors of Pain , The Shield , and The Authority . The evil billionaire/millionaire tyrant character works well as
460-496: A common sight in the United States and Canada , but masked wrestlers have a long history in that region, dating back to 1915. 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
552-468: A component of more outlandish characters such as the tag teams Les Piranhas and Les Maniaks (a team of evil masked clowns) and Mambo Le Primitiv, based on the film character of King Kong . This tradition continued in the early 21st century with Cybernic Machine, a masked wrestler playing a "computer virus" character, who was a successful heel in France. The original wrestling masks were often masks attached to
644-414: A dead wrestler who returned for vengeance. Raven was the leader of five stables; Raven's Nest , The Flock , The Dead Pool , The Gathering , and Serotonin . The Brood was a vampire stable, composed of Gangrel , Christian and Edge . Alexa Bliss was also given a different gimmick after her alliance with Bray Wyatt in late 2020s, appearing suddenly and sometimes attacking the other wrestlers,
736-1927: A demonic but somewhat-bumbling figure in horror face paint who claims to be "very nice, very evil" and attempts to put curses on his opponents. Exaggerating the characteristics of a wrestler's (on occasion fabricated ) origin is one of the most commonly exploited gimmicks, in which overarching characteristics of a character play up to clichés and stereotypes . A long list of wrestlers in this category includes: Arab ( The Sheik , The Sultan , Muhammad Hassan ), African ( Kamala , Abdullah The Butcher , Akeem ), American ( The Patriot , Hulk Hogan , 'Hacksaw' Jim Duggan , Jack Swagger ), Australian ( Outback Jack , Nathan Jones ), Austrian ( Walter ), Bulgarian ( Rusev ), Canadian ( Team Canada (TNA) , Team Canada (WCW) ), Chinese ( Xia Li , Boa ), Cuban ( Razor Ramon ), English ( William Regal , Lord Alfred Hayes , Gentleman Jack Gallagher ), French/Québécois ( La Résistance ), German ( Fritz Von Erich , Baron von Raschke ), Hawaiian ( Crush , Leilani Kai ), Indian ( The Great Khali , Jinder Mahal ), Iranian ( The Iron Sheik , Ariya Daivari ), Irish ( Finlay , Sheamus ), Italian ( Full Blooded Italians , Santino Marella ), Jamaican ( Kofi Kingston ), Japanese ( Yokozuna , The Orient Express , Mr. Fuji ), Mexican ( The Mexicools ), Native American ( Chief Jay Strongbow , Tatanka ), New Zealander ( The Sheepherders ), Nigerian ( Apollo Crews ), Pacific Islander ( Jimmy Snuka , The Wild Samoans , The Headshrinkers ), Puerto Rican ( Carlito Colón , Primo and Epico ), Polish ( Ivan Putski ), Russian ( Ivan Koloff , Nikolai Volkoff , Lana ), Scottish ( Drew McIntyre , Roddy Piper ) and Swiss ( Claudio Castagnoli ). Masked wrestlers made their appearance in Europe ( Theobaud Bauer in France, 1865) and
828-525: 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
920-654: A handicap match to Big Show, a visibly frustrated Punk executed a Go to Sleep to Gallows and left the ring. On the September 24 episode of SmackDown , Gallows confronted Punk by saying that after defeating him later in the night, he would celebrate by having a beer, but Punk would go on to win the match and Gallows would later be released from the company shortly thereafter, fully disbanding The Straight Edge Society. Gimmick (professional wrestling) Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s In professional wrestling ,
1012-408: A joke, dancing and finding out his opponent to win the 24/7 Championship in a strange and funny way. Characters who do charity are depicted as a heroic gimmick due to real-life charity . Wrestlers who used this gimmick include Sweet Daddy Siki , Brother Love , "Make a Difference" Fatu , Dude Love , and most recently, "The Doctor of Hug-o-nomics" Bayley , and tag-team Men on a Mission . Usually
SECTION 10
#17328583762031104-451: 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
1196-474: A masked character which allows for the identity of the wrestler in question to be concealed. Razor Ramon was portrayed by both Scott Hall and Rick Bognar and Diesel was portrayed by Kevin Nash and then Glen Jacobs . Occasionally, a wrestler uses a gimmick as a tribute to another worker; such is the case of Ric Flair 's Nature Boy persona which he took on as an homage to the original Nature Boy, Buddy Rogers . When
1288-407: A masked heel. Doing so, however, was banned under French wrestling rules - if unmasked, a wrestler would crouch on the mat face-down until the referee restored his mask. One of the earliest successes of televised wrestling in France was the feud between babyface masked wrestler L'Ange Blanc , and black clad heel masked wrestler Le Bourreau de Bethune Another successful masked heel of the 1960s
1380-586: A minority of the roster, with most shows containing an abnormally high proportion of clean sportsmanly matches between two "blue-eyes" (as faces were known backstage in the UK). This would remain the case for several decades to come. Gimmick matches were a rarity, midget wrestling failed to catch on, while women were banned by the Greater London Council until the late 1970s. During the Golden Age of pro wrestling in
1472-496: A more individualistic and narcissist form of character. He was one of the first pro-wrestlers to use entrance music, " Pomp and Circumstance " which always played as he made his way to the ring. In Britain, television took British wrestling to the next level when in 1964, it went full-time as part of the World of Sport show. The style of wrestling at the time was unique with strong emphasis on clean technical wrestling. Heels made up
1564-446: A real-life Hollywood actor/actress. These include "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan , The Rock , and most recently, Batista , John Cena , The Miz , and David Otunga 's A-list character, and tag-teams The Hollywood Blondes , and MNM , and most recently, The Bollywood Boyz , despite being of Indian descent and being billed from the famous Indian filming district of Bollywood , Mumbai ( Bombay ), instead which they were named after (although
1656-406: A recent attack on The Undertaker, Serena showed security camera footage of herself breaking edge by drinking at a bar with an unknown man on the same night The Undertaker had been attacked, only for the other Straight Edge Society members to arrive on the scene and angrily trash the place. Despite facing expulsion from The Straight Edge Society, Serena was forgiven by Punk after she told him she showed
1748-489: A sidekick companion during segments while addressing the fans. And recently, The New Day pursued a joyous gimmick, giving them a character heavily associated with the fans. Damien Sandow also falls under this category due to his 'stunt double' gimmick in late 2014 where he copied whatever his on-screen mentor The Miz did, due to the latter using a gimmick of an arrogant movie star. R-Truth also influenced his character with some of his comedic activities, such as breaking out
1840-418: A superhero, into Nikki A.S.H. (Almost a Superhero). TNA 's Dean Roll's ring name, Shark Boy , became the inspiration for the 3D film, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D . Similarly to superheroes and supervillains, supernatural characters add to entertainment value. Most famously in this category is The Undertaker , considered one of the most respected wrestlers in the business, whose gimmick
1932-474: A top that snapped in the groin making it very uncomfortable for the people wearing it. If the masks were not attached to the top, then they were made from uncomfortable material such as brushed pig skin, leather or suede . In the 1930s, a Mexican shoe maker called Antonio Martinez created a mask on request from Charro Aguayo that became the standard for wrestling masks created since then. The basic design consists of four pieces of fabric sewn together to create
SECTION 20
#17328583762032024-720: A villain — due to the jealousy of the fans who want the things "money can't buy" for themselves which they can't afford — in contrast to professional wrestling's working-class fan-base. It is because of this audience that Dusty Rhodes' Common Man or " American Dream " was highly successful with the crowds. 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 Lucha Libre in Mexico. At
2116-1807: A villainous gimmick, initiated by Gorgeous George , due to the jealousy of the good looks the fans want to have for themselves. Wrestlers that followed on with this trend include Sonny Kiss , Angel Garza , "The Untouchable" Carmella , Lana with her catchphrase, "I am the best in the world", "Dashing" Cody Rhodes , "The Black Machismo" Jay Lethal , "The Artist Collective" Sami Zayn , "The Masterpiece" Chris Masters , Byron Saxton , "The Swiss Superman" Antonio Cesaro , Dolph Ziggler with his "perfection" gimmick, The Miz with his catchphrase, "AWESOME", Randy Orton , "The Glamazon" Beth Phoenix , Carlito Caribbean Cool , "The Phenominal" AJ Styles , "Glorious" Bobby Roode , "The Almighty" Bobby Lashley , "The Golden Standard" Shelton Benjamin , Scotty 2 Hotty , "The Rated R Superstar" Edge , The "Great One" Rock , "The World's Strongest Man" Mark Henry , Val Venis , "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels , "Big Sexy" Kevin Nash , Lex Luger 's "The Narcissist" character, "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton , Ravishing Rick Rude , "The Model" Rick Martel , "Adorable" Adrian Adonis , Hulk Hogan , "Macho Man" Randy Savage , Jesse "The Body" Ventura , "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair and his daughter , "Handsome" Harley Race , "Classy" Freddie Blassie , AEW's "Pretty" Peter Avalon , and Powerhouse Hobbs , TNA's Mr Pec-tacular , Brian Christopher's Grand Master Sexay , Billy Gunn's Mr Ass , Curt Hennig's Mr Perfect , Paul Orndorff's Mr Wonderful , NXT's Tyler Breeze , Lacey Evans , and "The Finest" Kona Reeves , and tag-teams The Mexicools , and Too Cool , as well as women's tag-teams The Beautiful People , LayCool , Fire and Desire , and The IIconics . Hollywood movie stars are occasionally villainous due to fame outside of wrestling as
2208-566: A wrestler acts outside their gimmick this is known as 'breaking kayfabe ', a term showing pro wrestling's linkages to theatre , where the more common term " breaking the fourth wall " is used. Gimmicks are annually rated for the Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards by the publication's owner, professional wrestling journalists, and various industry insiders, such as Dave Meltzer , promoters, agents and performers, other journalists, historians, and fans. The two awards are given to
2300-402: 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
2392-416: A wrestler to perform as more than one character for a variety of wrestling promotions. In Mexico, a masked wrestler's identity is often not even a matter of public record, and being unmasked, usually as a stipulation of losing a match , is considered a great humiliation. It is a major taboo for a Mexican wrestler who has lost his mask to start wearing one again, though this has occasionally been violated, as in
2484-752: Is a horror-themed character of an undead, macabre and paranormal dark presence prone to scare tactics. He was managed by the ghostly character that was Paul Bearer and tagged with his half-brother Kane in The Brothers of Destruction stable. Other wrestlers displaying supposed supernatural powers include Matt Hardy (as his Broken/Woken persona), and his younger brother Jeff Hardy (as his Brother Nero/Willow character), Mordecai , Waylon Mercy , Jake "The Snake" Roberts , Papa Shango , The Boogeyman , Abyss , and most recently Asuka , Aleister Black , and Bray Wyatt's The Fiend , and stables The Three Faces of Fear , and The Dungeon of Doom . Japanese Onryo portrays
2576-623: Is also an ex- amateur wrestler , NFL player and UFC champion. Welsh wrestler Mason Ryan is also a former Gladiator and football player. English wrestler Wade Barrett was also a former bare-knuckle fighter as well as Elijah Burke who is also a former amateur boxer . Former MMA fighters Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler also uses their MMA background as part of their characters as well as former American Ninja Warrior competitor Kacy Catanzaro , former kung-fu fighter Xia Li , and Matt Riddle , who always wrestles barefooted during matches, presuming that he had an MMA background career in
2668-414: Is often a rare gimmick in professional wrestling due to its controversial nature. Wrestlers who used this gimmick include Friar Ferguson , and most recently, "Bolieve" Bo Dallas , and "The Monday Night Messiah" Seth "Freakin'" Rollins . Whilst being way beyond over the limit from some sheer violence is scary in some matches, hardcore technician gimmicks are also another popular choice for gimmicks, due to
2760-475: Is said to have the most luchas de apuestas , with over 200 masks won. The Destroyer , an American, was the first masked wrestler to work in Japan during the 1960s but remained a novelty with very few Japanese wrestlers choosing to wear a mask. The first Japanese masked wrestler is considered to be Shozo Kobayashi , who briefly competed under a mask as Fukumen Taro ("Masked Taro"). In the 1970s Mil Máscaras became
2852-484: 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
Straight Edge Society - Misplaced Pages Continue
2944-529: 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. In 1915, Mort Henderson started wrestling as the "Masked Marvel" in the New York area making him the first North American wrestler to perform with such
3036-690: The Batman comics have inspired wrestling attire for Sting and Alexa Bliss respectively. Finn Bálor 's Demon King persona is visually based on Spider-Man villains Venom and Carnage . Sandman's character name is also based on Spider-Man villain Sandman as well as Rhyno , whose character name was based on a pun on the Spider-Man villain Rhino . Raven's character name was based on DC Comics superhero, Raven . Kenny Omega 's taunts were inspired by video games since he
3128-474: The Royal Rumble , where he would preach while eliminating Dolph Ziggler , Evan Bourne , JTG , Beth Phoenix , and Zack Ryder , even though he was ultimately eliminated from the speaking platform by Triple H , whom he had tried to convert previously and who had espoused that he too avoided drugs, smoke, and alcohol, but he did not think it was right to be preaching like Punk was doing. On February 23, 2010 it
3220-474: The best and worst gimmick of that year. Pro wrestling's history has been tied to the use of gimmicks from its infancy. From its circus origins in the 1830s, showmen presented wrestlers under names such as "Edward, the steel eater", "Gustave d’Avignon, the bone wrecker", or "Bonnet, the ox of the low Alps" and challenged the public to knock them down for 500 francs. During the late 19th century-early 20th century, when wrestler Frank Gotch rose to prominence,
3312-732: The leprechaun Hornswoggle , El Torito and other various dwarfed versions of other various wrestlers . Education is a rare gimmick in wrestling due to the fact that, most times, the wrestler is a former real-life student or scholar of a school , a college , a university , or a TAFE , who also worked as a cheerleader , a coach , a dean , a librarian , a teacher , or even a principal . Wrestlers who used this gimmick include NXT wrestlers, e.g. Alex Riley etc., Bobby "The Brain" Heenan , Sgt. Slaughter , Dean Douglas , Jonathan Coachman , Michelle McCool 's "sexy teacher" character, The Miz 's and Jack Swagger 's "student" amateur background characters, Damien Sandow 's "Intellectual Savior of
3404-668: The 1970s was blue-eye martial artist Kung Fu, played by Eddie Hamill, who lost his mask after a 1976 televised defeat by Mick McManus but continued to wrestle unmasked still as Kung Fu, winning the British Heavy Middleweight Championship in 1986. At Christmas 1979, Big Daddy defeated and unmasked Mr. X on television. Subsequently, during the 1980s in Joint Promotions , masked wrestlers were generally built towards being fodder for Big Daddy to defeat, unmask and humiliate in headline tag matches on ITV, such as
3496-585: The 1980s–1990s, a rise of cartoonish, outlandish gimmicks became popular with the increase of the World Wrestling Federation's popularity. The WWF contributed to the explosion of gimmicks by becoming the most colorful and well-known wrestling brand because of its child-oriented characters, soap opera dramatics and cartoon-like personas. Most notable was the muscular Hulk Hogan , who marked the 1980s with his "Real-American" gimmick and made his main events into excellent ratings draws. His dominant role in
3588-1074: The 1994 movie The Crow , based on the comic book of the same name . Other wrestlers with superhero and supervillain gimmicks include late WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes ' sons Gold and Stardust , Big Van Vader , Bam Bam Bigelow , Pierre Carl Ouellet , Dr. Luther , the magician Phantasio , Icarus , Super Eric , Dexter Lumis , Samoan Rosey during his "the Super Hero in Training" (the S.H.I.T.) phase and his tag-team partner The Hurricane and valet Super Stacy , Earthquake/Avalanche and his tag-team partner Typhoon in The Natural Disasters stable, and tag-teams The Road Warriors , Demolition , KroniK , The Assassins , The Super Assassins , The Machines , and most recently, The Ascension , and The Viking Raiders/War Machine . Some of these characters are brought during very short periods of time for entertainment value. The Joker and Harley Quinn from
3680-934: The 80's, The Honky Tonk Man worked with a Elvisesque character. Elias also works well with his musician guitar character. Rapping was demonstrated by R-Truth / K-Kwik 's original rapper character along with Road Dogg and John Cena worked during the first years of his career with a rapper gimmick. AEW tag team The Acclaimed also begin each of their matches with a different rap. Other music genre types were demonstrated by CM Punk 's straight edge iconoclast hardcore punk , party boys No Way Jose and Adam Rose , Cameron Grimes , Rick Boogs , Rockstar Spud , Heath Slater , Lance Archer , Chris Jericho , Jeff Jarrett , Marty Jannetty , The Honky Tonk Man , Disco Inferno , One Man Gang , Buck Zumhofe , WWE's Brodus Clay and his fun-loving, funk dancing gimmick "The Funkasaurus" and Fandango who includes salsa dancing in his routine, and AEW's Jack Evans who usually does breakdancing in
3772-542: The August 27 episode of SmackDown , after defeating JTG, Punk ordered The Straight Edge Society to assault Big Show during his match with Gallows, but Big Show defeated Gallows, showing signs of discontinuity in the Straight Edge Society. Later on in the night, WWE.com announced that Serena was released from her contract, severing her ties to The Straight Edge Society. On the September 3 episode of SmackDown , after losing
Straight Edge Society - Misplaced Pages Continue
3864-483: The Giant (7 ft 4 in), The Great Khali (7 ft 3 in), Big Show (7 ft 2 in), Awesome Kong and Nia Jax (123 kg). Similarly to juggernauts, since its beginnings in the circus circuit, the professional wrestler's stereotype has been that of small, but powerful and strong like those of dwarves of Norse mythology . Various wrestlers have banked on the small size which has influenced their in-ring style and persona. Notable examples of these kind include
3956-764: The Japanese fans than the North American fans but isn't as "sacred" as the Mexican mask, meaning that the wrestler can perform both masked one day and unmasked another if he so wishes. Famous Japanese masked wrestlers include Jyushin Thunder Liger , Último Dragón , El Samurai , The Great Sasuke , Dragon Kid and Bushi . Although at live shows, masked wrestlers were as prolific in British wrestling as its American counterpart, they were largely kept off ITV 's television coverage until
4048-518: The July 23 episode of SmackDown , after the "mystery man" wrestled and lost to Big Show, the mystery man's mask was then pulled off, revealing him to be Joey Mercury . The next week on SmackDown , Punk berated the three other members, stating that they are nothing without him; this changed after Gallows lost to Big Show later in the night by disqualification after all four members of The Straight Edge Society attacked Big Show and crushed his hand repeatedly on
4140-523: 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
4232-517: The Ruthless Aggression era following the Attitude era, the emphasis of gimmicks became more realistic with wrestlers portraying themselves or actual people without wild exaggeration, freakishness or fantastical qualities. It is also more common for the wrestlers to use their actual names. Wrestlers like Randy Orton , Batista , Bobby Lashley , John Cena , and Brock Lesnar are prime examples. All
4324-687: The Spoiler ( Drew McDonald ) King Kendo (aka Red Devil) , Battle Star, El Diablo, the Black Baron, the Masked Marauders tag team and The Emperor. Meanwhile in All Star Wrestling - apart from Nagasaki - they were mostly treated as short lived reflections of recent fads in popular culture. In 1995, All Star shows were frequently headlined by a masked tag team based on the Power Rangers franchise, until
4416-448: 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
4508-573: The United States (Mort Henderson as "Masked Marvel" in 1915) considerably earlier than in Mexico, but it was the latter that popularised the use of masks. This, in some cases to signify a high-flyer style, influenced by Lucha Libre . A specific masked gimmick may be used by more than one wrestler at a wrestling company's request since their identity can be permanently concealed. This is the case of Mexican Sin Cara and Japanese Tiger Mask . Masks also allow
4600-603: The Unwashed Masses" character, and "The Librarian" Peter Avalon and his manager Leva Bates , and tag-teams The Steiner Brothers , The Spirit Squad , and most recently, Team Rhodes Scholars , American Alpha , and Chase University . Bad News reporter characters are a villainous gimmick; due to any "bad news" reported to the fans by a "bad guy" (heel); but is quite rare since that fans are not quite interested in it either. Wrestlers who used this gimmick include Bad News Brown , and most recently, "Bad News" Barrett . Religion
4692-407: The basic shape that covers the entire head. The mask has openings for the eyes, nose and mouth with colorful trim around the open features, known as "Antifaz" in Spanish. The back of the mask is open with a "tongue" of fabric under laces to keep it tight enough to not come off accidentally during a match. The first variation in style came when the jaw and mouth area was removed from the mask to expose
SECTION 50
#17328583762034784-521: The case of Rey Mysterio . Other wrestlers who have used masks in their performances include: The Masked Superstar , Mexican-American Kalisto , Lince Dorado , Gran Metalik , or Japanese legend Jushin Thunder Liger . A high number of wrestlers who start their careers in another sport incorporate their athletic abilities as part of their act. That is the case for Olympic medallist Kurt Angle , who previously competed in freestyle wrestling and alludes to it in his attire and wrestling style. Brock Lesnar
4876-462: The copyright owners intervened. In the 21st century, El Ligero wrestled successfully for both the traditional and American-style promotions. Bauer as the Masked Wrestler of Paris in the 1860s, would be followed by more masked wrestlers in his home country. A wrestling mask was known in France as a "cagoule" (hood) and fans would often chant "he he la cagoule" to encourage the babyface to unmask
4968-480: The crowded independent circuit by adopting absurdist comedy gimmicks intended to be understood by post-kayfabe fans as purely fictional characters. Two such wrestlers whose independent-scene popularity got them noticed and eventually signed by the internationally televised promotion All Elite Wrestling are Orange Cassidy , an emotionless slacker who puts as little effort as possible into his matches and frequently wrestles with his hands in his pockets; and Danhausen ,
5060-469: The end of the match, Kane interfered and took Punk from the ring, allegedly accusing him of injuring The Undertaker , causing Punk to lose the match and not win the title. On the June 25 episode of SmackDown , Punk faced Kane in a no disqualification match , where Punk legit injured his arm and left the building, resulting in a no contest . After an ultimatum was set by Kane to show Punk's innocence concerning
5152-637: The end, on the August 28 episode of SmackDown , Punk retained his World Heavyweight Championship in a Loser Leaves WWE steel cage match and Hardy left the WWE. The formation began on the November 27, 2009 episode of SmackDown where Punk transformed the formerly mentally disabled and unresponsive Festus into the focused and driven Luke Gallows, who explained that his friends got him hooked on prescription pain medication, which explained his behavior as Festus, and he also credited Punk with cleaning him up and "showing him
5244-797: The fans being over with getting used to watching sheer violence as they don't shy away from it either. These include Abdullah the Butcher , and Bruiser Brody , which came popular into other professional wrestling companies like ECW wrestlers, e.g. Terry Funk , Hardcore Holly , New Jack , and Mick Foley/Mankind/Cactus Jack , etc., CZW wrestlers, e.g. John Zandig , Necro Butcher , Wifebeater , Nick Mondo , and Nick Gage , etc., AEW wrestlers, e.g. The Blade and The Butcher , etc., Japanese Wrestlers Atsushi Onita , Toshiaki Kawada , and Jun Kasai , and tag-teams The Motor City Machine Guns , and most recently, The Mechanics , and Heavy Machinery . Music influences are another popular choice for gimmicks. In
5336-476: The fans. Such showmanship was unheard of for the time; and consequently, arena crowds grew in size as fans turned out to ridicule George. Gorgeous George's impact and legacy on wrestling gimmicks was enormous, demonstrating how fast television changed the product from athletics to performance. Before him, wrestlers' gimmicks imitated "ethnic terrors"—Nazis, Middle Eastern Muslims (Arabs, Turks, Persians, Afghans, etc.), Japanese, Russians, etc.—but his success birthed
5428-407: The first Mexican Luchador to work on a regular basis and became very popular with the fans. The original Tiger Mask , Satoru Sayama was inspired by Mil Máscaras to create the masked "Tiger Mask" persona. After the success of Tiger Mask several wrestlers have adopted the mask, mainly lighter wrestlers who like Sayama had a more high flying and flashy style. The wrestling mask is held in more regard by
5520-478: The first masked wrestler on ITV, The Outlaw (Gordon Nelson) was announced as being an American. The most famous masked wrestler in British history, Peter Thornley , the original British version of Kendo Nagasaki , made his professional debut - complete with masked Samurai gimmick - in 1964 but did not appear on television until 1971. Nagasaki's first big victory was a win over mentor (and real life trainer) Bartelli in
5612-517: The focus became on contests largely legitimate (see catch wrestling ), which largely resulted in the abandoning previous character gimmicks. It was not until the First Golden Age of Professional Wrestling in the United States during the 1940s–1950s, when Gorgeous George created pro wrestling's first major gimmick. His heel character focused on his looks and quickly antagonized the fans with his exaggerated effeminate behavior, drawing jealousy to
SECTION 60
#17328583762035704-521: The group was CM Punk , who follows the straight edge lifestyle in real life. Members included Joey Mercury , Luke Gallows , and Serena . As of 2024, Punk, and Gallows remain employed with the WWE, while Deeb is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Before The Straight Edge Society was formed, CM Punk feuded with Jeff Hardy over the World Heavyweight Championship while making allusions to Hardy's real life drug usage. In
5796-449: 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
5888-465: 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
5980-592: The industry at that time led to this era to be also known as "Hulkamania". Around this time, wrestling became a form of entertainment rather than an official sport. Other wrestlers from this era with similarly vivid and outlandish characterization include The Iron Sheik , The Ultimate Warrior , Randy Savage , The Undertaker , Sting , Goldust , Roddy Piper , Ric Flair , "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels , Big Daddy Cool Diesel , Kwang , The Bushwhackers , Big Boss Man , Tatanka , Razor Ramon , Sgt. Slaughter , Irwin R. Schyster , among many others. Beginning with
6072-511: The late 1960s. Successful masked wrestlers up until this point included Count Bartelli (Geoff Condliffe), the White Angel ( Judo Al Hayes ) and Doctor Death (promoter Paul Lincoln as the top villain of his own major independent promotion). Masked wrestlers were frequently disparaged by top promoters during this period as a symptom of the allegedly "anarchic" conditions in American wrestling - indeed
6164-407: 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. When I put on the mask, I'm transformed. The mask gives me strength. The mask gives me fame. The mask is magical. When I remove the mask, I'm a normal human who can walk right by you, and not even get a "hello". Usually with
6256-436: 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
6348-406: The mask on, everything is positive. Without the mask I'm a normal being who has his problems, who cries, who sometimes suffers. I could tell you that I really admire El Hijo del Santo . But do you know who I admire more ? The human being. Thanks to him, El Hijo del Santo has a life. And this human being sometimes sacrifices a lot to give this other identity life. The Luchador mask, known as
6440-522: 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
6532-440: 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. In lucha libre,
6624-468: 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
6716-501: 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. 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
6808-519: The name "Bollywood" was borrowed from the word "Hollywood" but with a "B" instead of a "H" to describe a famous filming district in Mumbai (Bombay), in India, which it was named after). Authority figures are apparently villainous but sometimes as heroic characters as wrestlers and non-wrestlers (e.g. referees , general managers, security , police , etc.) as well depending on the storyline. Some wrestlers also use
6900-445: The past before debuting in WWE along with Mojo Rawley 's "hyperactive" wrestling style due to being a former NFL player before debuting WWE as well as the stable The Four Horsemen . The theatrical nature of professional wrestling easily blends with comic hero and villain characters , made popular in the 1980s by legend The Ultimate Warrior and Sting , whose character was inspired by
6992-540: The ring during entrances or when he's won a match, and tag-teams The Public Enemy , Badd Company , The Rockers , The Rock 'n' Roll Express , The Rhythm and Blues , and most recently, The Vaudevillains . AEW 's Adam Williams is also a professional wrestler and a real-life guitarist. Whilst humor has long been present in professional wrestling matches and many wrestlers incorporate elements of comedy in their act, full-on comedic gimmicks are not commonly seen. These are sometimes reserved for wrestlers who not always have
7084-407: The said wrestlers are depicted as less-exaggerated average people. Although rare, colorful and cartoon-like characters remain in the WWE, such as Shinsuke Nakamura (a wildly random, erratic mixed martial arts enigma, emotionally charged by the sound of violins) and Matt Riddle (a stereotypical carefree, barefoot surfer Valley boy ). Outside WWE, some wrestlers have made names for themselves on
7176-524: The same things that Bray Wyatt would do. Since its beginnings in the circus circuit, the professional wrestler's stereotype has been that of large, powerful and strong, most notably Kane upon his arrival to the WWF/E. Various wrestlers have banked on the larger size which has influenced their in-ring style and persona. Notable examples of these kind include Swede Tor Johnson (181 kg), Gorilla Monsoon (182 kg), Giant González (8 ft 0 in), André
7268-411: The skin. Other masks have solid material over the mouth, nose, eyes or all three, in the case of fabric covering the eyes a stretched fabric that is see through up-close is used. Originally being made from fabric, masks have evolved and are now made from a variety of materials from cotton to nylon to various vinyl polymers in many different colours and patterns. Several additions have been made to
7360-436: The steel steps, with Punk revealing that his arm had healed. Big Show then challenged all three members of The Straight Edge Society in a 3-on-1 handicap match at SummerSlam , which Big Show won. On the following episode of SmackDown , Serena and Gallows competed in a tag team match against Big Show and Kelly Kelly , which if Gallows and Serena lost, they would be kicked out of The Straight Edge Society, which they won. On
7452-794: The stereotypical physique required in the industry and instead exploit their entertainment abilities. Initiated by English wrestler Les Kellett , wrestlers who fall under this category are Doink The Clown which was majorly portrayed by Matt Osborne until his death in 2013, which inspired others like Scottish comedian and actor Grado , Ring of Honor 's Colt Cabana , Santino Marella , James Ellsworth , and Eugene's "mentally disabled boy" character, Japanese Wrestlers Stalker Ichikawa , Gran Naniwa , Kuishinbo Kamen and Toru Yano , Charlie Haas during his impersonations run, and WWE 's 1990s turkey character Gobbledy Gooker , and rooster character Red Rooster , WCW's Brian Pillman , and Al Snow along with his mannequin prop called "Head" which he used as
7544-674: The two agreed to face each other at Over the Limit in May, in a match which combined the stipulations of their previous two pay-per-view matches. At Over the Limit, Punk was defeated and wound up getting his head shaved after interference from Kane . To conceal his baldness, Punk then began to wear a mask. In June, Punk participated in a fatal four-way match at the Fatal 4-Way pay-per-view event for Jack Swagger 's World Heavyweight Championship that also featured eventual winner Rey Mysterio and Big Show , and near
7636-460: The video to protect him from Kane, promising to never break the code again. The following week on SmackDown , Punk got into a verbal altercation with Big Show with regards to the upcoming Money in the Bank pay-per-view and a ladder custom made for Big Show; retaliating against an attack from The Straight Edge Society, Big Show chased Punk up the ladder and pulled his mask off, revealing his bald head. On
7728-707: The way", and became Punk's main enforcer. Gallows would assist Punk in his feuds with R-Truth and Matt Hardy . A few weeks later, the two began shaving the heads of ( planted ) fans in the audience who wished to follow the straight edge lifestyle, demonstrating a "new beginning" for their lives. Before Punk was able to find a third person to convert, a woman named Serena came out of the crowd begging to be saved by Punk, but instead of having security escort her out, he accepted Serena and shaved her head. From thereafter, Serena accompanied Punk and ran interference in his matches. Punk would interrupt many events in an attempt to recruit members to The Straight Edge Society, starting from
7820-425: 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
7912-478: The wrestler's desire to be popular or hated by the crowd. A tweener gimmick falls between the two extremes, such as wrestlers who manifests many heel and face traits such as Randy Orton 's viper gimmick. A wrestler may portray more than one gimmick over their career depending on the angle or the wrestling promotion that they are working for at that time. Promotions will use gimmicks on more than one person, albeit at different times, occasionally taking advantage of
8004-509: Was L'Homme Masqué (The Masked Man). Spanish wrestler Angelito initially wore a silver mask in France before taking it off midway through a 1971 televised match with Jacky Richard. Another Spaniard, Oscar "Crusher" Verdu, who wrestled under a mask as Der Henker, would win the French Heavyweight Championship in 1983. British wrestler Dave Larsen wrestled in France under a mask as Zarak. In the 1980s, masks were primarily worn as
8096-408: Was a big fan of them. Mantaur 's character name was also based on a pun on the word Minotaur , a half-man, half-bull creature from Greek Mythology . Luchasaurus ' character name is a portmanteau of " lucha libre " and " dino saurus ". Tag-team The Super Smash Brothers 's name was based on the video game franchise Super Smash Bros. Nikki Cross also changed her gimmick and name like that of
8188-745: Was eliminated by Mysterio in an Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship. The feud would then intensify when Mysterio cost Punk a qualifying match against Shelton Benjamin the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXVI . The Straight Edge Society would then interrupt Mysterio's daughter's ninth birthday party, enticing Mysterio into challenging Punk to a match at WrestleMania XXVI, where if Mysterio lost, he would have to join The Straight Edge Society. However, Mysterio defeated Punk at WrestleMania. A rematch
8280-413: Was made at Extreme Rules where Mysterio said if Punk lost, he would have his head shaved; however, Punk won the match with interference from a mysterious fourth member who concealed himself either with a hood or a mask ; thus Punk kept his head from being shaved. On the following episode of SmackDown , after getting assaulted by Mysterio during a match with Luke Gallows against Montel Vontavious Porter ,
8372-496: Was revealed that Punk would be mentoring Darren Young , a "South Beach Party Boy", on the first season of NXT . A few weeks later, Young became fascinated with The Straight Edge Society and decided to join them, only to quickly change his mind after finding out he had to shave his head as initiation. The Straight Edge Society would begin a feud with Rey Mysterio at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event, where Punk
8464-476: 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. High-profile luchas de apuestas include El Santo winning the mask of Black Shadow , Los Villanos winning the masks of all three Los Brazos ( El Brazo , Brazo de Oro and Brazo de Plata ), Atlantis winning
#202797