"I never liked wearing the mask" - AEW star says Andrade El Idolo made him go unmasked

AEW star Preston Vance, who has been working under a mask as Number 10 in the Dark Order, recently revealed that Andrade El Idolo was the reason he was unmasked.

Preston Vance turned heel and unmasked himself during the November 25th, 2022 edition of Rampage. He betrayed his former faction and joined La Faccion Ingobernable alongside RUSH and Jose the Assistant.

Speaking on AEW Unrestricted, Vance shared that he had faced issues working under the mask and that he was ready to change his character after portraying 10 for three years.

He said it was Andrade El Idolo who pushed for Vance to be unmasked and join his group, saying he would look cool in a suit.

“I remember I was somewhere backstage and Andrade (El Idolo) pulled me aside and was like, ‘Hey, I’m gonna go to Tony. I want you with us. I think you’d look cool in a suit, take off the mask’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah. Let’s do it.' I was doing the ‘10’ thing for, at that point, like three years, so I was pretty ready to change,” Vance said. [H/T - Post Wrestling]

Vance also credited Chris Jericho for being influential in the development of his new persona, which he adopted after betraying the Dark Order.

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AEW Star Preston Vance reveals challenges of working under a mask

AEW star Preston Vance has opened up on the challenges he faced working under a mask when he was with the Dark Order.

During the same episode of the podcast, Vance admitted to never liking wearing the mask and struggling to connect with the audience.

"I never liked wearing the mask. I never wore it before AEW. It’s hard trying to connect with the people when you’re under a mask. There are pros and cons to it. A pro is that you never have to worry about facial expressions or anything but the con is I mean literally, it’s hard to show any enthusiasm. It’s all body language, body language, and so I’m pretty glad I’m done with the mask,” Vance said.

Since his unmasking, Vance has been a regular fixture on Rampage, Dark, and Dark: Elevation, as well as making appearances in ROH on HonorClub.

What do you think of Preston Vance's unmasking and character change? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.