#4 Cody Rhodes
Similar to CM Punk, Cody Rhodes was another WWE superstar that used a mask to hide something other than his identity. In what was probably the highlight of Cody’s WWE run, the current ‘American Nightmare’ was given what felt like a very old school gimmick. Cody would go around calling himself 'Dashing Cody Rhodes' looking like somebody out of the movie Grease. He would pop the collar on his leather jacket, throw a cheesy smile at the ladies in attendance and berate all of the male fans for being so ugly.
The gimmick was comical and fresh and helped Cody build some much-needed personality after his unceremonious exit from Legacy after Wrestlemania 26. However, the gimmick would soon be ended, once again, by Rey Mysterio. During a rivalry between the two, Cody became obsessed that none of his opponents should strike him in the face. This was Cody's money maker, and he had to keep it from disfiguration at the cost of his entire career.
Rey obviously didn't receive that memo and delivered a 619 to Cody that, in kayfabe terms, broke the Dashing one's nose. Cody was forced to flee the ring, and he was visibly distraught at losing his most valued possession. himself and visibly distraught at losing his most valued possession.
While this might have been an opportunity to transition him back to being another vanilla heel, the WWE instead decided to follow through on what had happened and made Cody come to the ring in a protective mask. This was partly to hide the disfiguration upon his once beautiful facial features, and also to show how paranoid he had become at having to suffer another facial injury.
The mask was part of the new 'un-Dashing' gimmick, where Cody would portray himself as a darker, more sinister character, jealous of all the people around him who weren't in need of facial reconstructive surgery. The mask itself become the centre of controversy, as Rhodes began using it as a weapon against his opponents.
If nothing else, the two back-to-back gimmicks showed a more versatile side to Cody and allowed him to showcase his impressive mic skills and his ability to work off crowd reactions, whether positive or not. It's a shame the whole affair didn’t last longer.
