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One of the images most synonymous with wrestling over the past century has been masks. Whether it be to hide an identity or respect a tradition, the mask - or hood - has been used in wrestling for almost as long as wrestling has been around.
While the earliest known masked wrestler in the United States was The Masked Marvel, masks have been prominent in wrestling for over 100 years now with many professional wrestlers traditionally wearing masks so they could lose a match quickly to "put another wrestler over" without diminishing their own reputation, or even just to keep identities separate from territory to territory.
One important aspect of masks in wrestling, too, is the cultural aspect of the mask in lucha libre with the "unmasking" being the ultimate sign of disrespect in the ring, but more so in recent times, the mask has been used as a plot progression, hiding the identity of a wrestler until the most opportune moment to make a big reveal.
To the average fan, though, the mask is the biggest enigma in wrestling. If someone dons a hood, we instantly want to know who's underneath.
Recently Sami Callihan unmasked Pentagon Jr in one of the most shocking moments in Impact history, but that's not the kind of thing you'll see in this list. Here, we see the men UNDER the masks, not just a split-second glimpse of half a face.
Honourable mentions, too, to Mankind, Vader, Abyss and The Great Muta - some of the best masked men ever to perform in the ring, but neither man makes the list as the enigma was quickly extinguished.
So here's a list of my top eleven 'masked' wrestlers unmasked.
#11 Sin Cara
So, what better way to start off than with the man in the photo above, and the only wrestler on this list who we can unmask twice to reveal two different identities?
This is a picture of the original Sin Cara, otherwise known as Mistico. While Mistico had an illustrious career in Mexico, it didn't quite translate in WWE.
In fact, Mistico would then go on to feud as Sin Cara with Sin Cara. Well, Sin Cara Negro, also known as Hunico. Hunico would then reprise his role as Sin Cara, remask and form a team with another masked man, Kalisto, in the Lucha Dragons.
We'll have more on Kalisto later, but for now, here is Hunico, the current Sin Cara, shown below on the left.
Meanwhile, Sin Cara plays on the "unmasking" gimmick on Twitter as he changes up his attire. You can see him unmasking himself below.
I mean, we could have actually made it three and put Chris Jericho on the list, but that may have been cheating.
#10 Prince Puma
Okay, so this one might not be the world's best kept secret, but Prince Puma is definitely worth mentioning.
From Boyle Heights, California, the fictional character of Prince Puma burst into Lucha Underground with a losing effort against Johnny Mundo that proved to be a very rare occurrence before Puma went on to defeat 19 other wrestlers to be crowned the inaugural Lucha Underground Champion.
In Lucha Underground, Puma had a longstanding rivalry with Mil Muertes and, after dropping the belt, formed a team with El Dragon Azteca Jr. and Rey Mysterio Jr and became Trios Champions.
Puma, though, was already a huge name on the indies under his moniker of Ricochet and has since become an even bigger star since signing to WWE where he competes under the same name. The King of Flight, whose real name is Trevor Mann, is actually from Kentucky but resides in Florida.
Also, in his recent feud with Velveteen Dream in NXT, Dream actually wore the Prince Puma pants to face off against Ricochet.
#9 El Santo
Well, now for a trip to the past. For those who don't know, El Santo was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year - something many said was long overdue.
The Saint is one of the first men every to transcend wrestling and, even more impressively, he did it all with a mask on. Outside of the ring, the wrestler was actually a film star and folk icon - but what's so poignant here is Santo was NEVER without his mask, even in films or during public appearances.
In fact, El Santo only took his mask off in public once, and it was during his final public appearance. The Saint unmasked himself on television to say thank you and goodbye to his fans before passing away one week later.
What's even more impressive is, even after death, El Santo proves to be one of wrestling's biggest mainstream hits, as the Disney Pixar movie Coco paid homage to him this year.
El Santo is a true legend and there is no way this list could have not included him.
#8 Son Of Havoc
Another one for the Lucha Underground fans. Son of Havoc is probably one of the most distinctive wrestlers on the planet. A plain black hood, plain black tights and an almighty beard - but watch him in the ring and he absolutely flies!
Well, if you ever wanted to see more of Son of Havoc, he's a well-known name on the indie scene named Matt Cross. The former Lucha Underground Trios Champion is every bit as impressive as M-Dogg 20 and perhaps has an even more unique look with the mask off, as his brown beard is complemented by short grey hair.
The 37-year-old is straight edge and also dual nationality as his grandfather is from San Marino, but no amount of interesting facts will be anywhere near as incredible as this man is in the ring.
#7 Suicide / Manik
Well, here's a unique one. Suicide was a persona created for a TNA videogame and no less than five stars portrayed the character under a hood. Low Ki was the character in the game, from motion capture to the voice, but in the ring, Frankie Kazarian, Christopher Daniels, Kiyoshi, Jonathan Gresham and Caleb Konley all performed under the suit. In fact, Austin Aries also stole the suit to win the X-Division Championship.
Only one is worthy of a place in this list, though, as they were the only person to reprise the role as Manik and even appeared unmasked on television, and that's the inaugural WWE Cruiserweight Classic winner TJ Perkins!
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#6 The Monster Matanza
Well, anyone who watched Lucha Underground would have undoubtedly have been left speechless when Matanza Cueto finally debuted and ran roughshod through the entire roster in one night.
While his identity wasn't kept secret for long, the identity of Matanza was definitely much sought after when he first appeared.
Jeff Cobb, the man behind the mask, has represented Guam at the Olympics for amateur wrestling, is a huge name on the indies and has wrestled for NJPW. He's a star in his own right, but has undoubtedly never made quite the impact he did as Matanza Cueto in Lucha Underground.
You can see the man behind the mask below.
#5 Sexy Star
Well, she's the only woman on the list, but Sexy Star is undoubtedly the most famous masked lady in wrestling history.
Dulce Maria García Rivas retired the Sexy Star character to pursue a career in boxing where she won her debut match and now wrestlers sporadically unmasked, but the former Lucha Underground Champion was very protective over her identity during her first stint in wrestling.
In 2016, though, Sexy Star retired and Rivas stepped into the limelight when she posted an unmasked photo on Facebook, stating she would no longer be using the masked persona.
#4 Mil Muertes
Well, he was one of the most dominant wrestlers across seasons one and two of Lucha Underground, but Mil Muertes is still one of the show's biggest enigmas.
Mil Muertes' almost demonic demeanour and menacing stature only add to his intimidating presence, but the former Lucha Underground Champion, as with many others on the show, is played by an established professional wrestler.
Ricky Banderas may be the only person on this list to perform as two completely different masked men. While Perkins performed as Suicide and Manik, Banderas is Mil Muertes, but also performed as Judas Mesias, the brother of Abyss, in TNA.
#3 Kalisto
So, this is the most contentious appearance on the list.
A special mention is in place here for Kalisto who has been unmasked in the ring, on camera several times, although never deliberately, with Alberto Del Rio tearing his mask off on Raw and then him losing the hood in a match with Cedric Alexander recently - but the former United States Champion has managed to keep his face covered both times and, for the most part, keep his face hidden.
Below are the clearest photos of Kalisto's face so far.
A similar event happened just last week, and the referee was thinking on his feet to help Kalisto get his mask back on before the world could see his face again.
Who knows if Kalisto will ever show his face. For now, this is as good as we're getting.
#2 Rey Mysterio
Well, what would an unmasking list be without possibly the most famous masked man of all time?
Mysterio, though, has let the mystery slip several times. Not least in WCW when he actually performed without his mask. While that period is long forgotten, Rey still appears unmasked from time to time on his social media, although it's very rare that his full face is on show.
Kurt Angle took to social media with a clear photo of Rey's face at the Greatest Royal Rumble.
For a completely clear photo, though, you need to roll back the years. Below is Rey Mysterio when he appeared unmasked for WCW.
#1 Kane
And what would a list of masked men be without the Big Red Machine?
You'd be hard pushed to find a wrestling fan who doesn't remember the moment Kane was unmasked live on WWE Raw in one of wrestling's most shocking moments of all time.
While Kane obviously didn't have an appearance to match the scarred past we'd been told about, this is still probably the biggest moment in Kane's career, and one of the biggest surprises in WWE history.
Not only did Kane go on to perform minus the mask, but we then saw Corporate Kane become a character and now Glenn Jacobs, the man behind the mask, looks poised to become Mayor of Knox County.
While we always want to know what's under the mask, sometimes the truth isn't quite as gruesome as we'd once hoped and, once it's off, it's off.
