by Brian Phelps
http://wrestlersway.blogspot.com
Recently, Abyss gave an interview to Slam! Wrestling where he said he would be open to losing his trademark mask. Now, I'm not the biggest Abyss fan, but I feel like Abyss unmasking may be a mistake. You have to be very careful when it comes to unmasking because history has shown us that unmasking can be a very mixed bag when it comes to that particular wrestler's fortune. Some grapplers have unmasked with great success, and others have unmasked and it flushed their careers down the toilet. I am here to take you all on a look back at other stars of the squared circle who chose to unmask, and the outcomes it had on their careers and perception of their characters. Buckle up.
Juventud Guerrera
Back in WCW's heyday, Juventud Guerrera wrestled under a mask. Under his mask, Juventud Guerrera seemed like just another luchadore along with Psychosis, Ciclope, and other stars of the time. It wasn't until he lost a Mask vs Title match at WCW's Superbrawl pay-per-view to Chris Jericho that Juventud's popularity really took off in the United States. Juventud Guerrera seemingly overnight became the top luchadore in the company, briefly enjoying a popularity burst where he was bigger than Rey Mysterio for a short while. He had a memorable feud with Raven's Flock faction where he defeated 7 footer Reese with an assist from Van Hammer, and then joined up with Rey Mysterio, Kidman, and Konnan to form the Filthy Animals. This was the apex of his American wrestling popularity. He later went on to run his own faction in WWE called the Mexicools. Juventud is to this day one of the greatest cruiserweights of all-time mentioned right alongside Rey Mysterio, Kidman, Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko and Chris Jericho. Other than Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero, Juventud will go down as arguably the number three luchadore of all-time as far as American pro wrestling promotions go. Had he not unmasked, Juventud Guerrera would probably not be mentioned in the same breath as those guys... nor would he be remembered like he is now.
Mortis aka Chris Kanyon
Kanyon began his WCW career under a masked gimmick wrestling as a character by the name of Mortis. After being denied entry into Raven's Flock, Mortis sought revenge on Raven. During a cage match between Diamond Dallas Page and Raven, Mortis disguised as a riot cop unmasked much to everyone's shock. From that point on, he became Kanyon. Once unmasked, it was almost liberating to Kanyon as he enjoyed great success that he never did as Mortis. He ended up joining up with DDP and Bam Bam Bigelow to form the Jersey Triad, and eventually became United States Champion. Had he continued to wrestle under Mortis... he may never have ended up enjoying the success that he did. We would probably chuckle and say things like "You remember that goofy WCW wrestler Mortis?" in the same way that we currently say "You remember that goofy WCW wrestler Glacier?"
Rey Mysterio
Even the greatest masked luchadore of all-time was unmasked. During his time in WCW, Rey Mysterio lost his mask at the hands of the Outsiders. The unmasking was a huge blow to Rey Mysterio's career and popularity. I actually believe that he ended up becoming less of a draw when he lost his mask. My feelings are further bolstered by the fact that when Rey went to work for WWE after WCW's demise, Vince put the mask back on Rey as if the unmasking never happened. Look at him now, a multi-time World Champion.
Kane
On the other hand, we have examples of wrestlers who unmasked and the outcome wasn't as kind to them. The legendary Kane is one of these examples. Under the mask, Kane was the "Big Red Machine". He was one of the most dominating forces in WWE history. We were told he wore a mask because the Undertaker burned their house down, killing their parents and as a result Kane was burned beyond recognition. So when Stone Cold Steve Austin convinced Kane to unmask, we were given a guy that just looked like he had some chimney soot on his face, two different contact colors for his eyes, and the front half of his head shaved. Hmm... it was very... weird to say the least. It was such a let down for us all, and this is one unmasking that we want to take back so badly. Everyone thought masked Kane was awesome. No one likes unmasked Kane. He's boring and lame. I haven't been interested in Kane since he unmasked, and 30 feuds (exaggerated) with the Undertaker since then isn't going to change my mind. Kane is particularly important to note because his gimmick is VERY similar to Abyss's gimmick, and therefore there is some logic in assuming that Abyss would wind up in the same situation.
In closing, I think Abyss would face a very similar situation to Kane's unmasking as it was essentially the death of his popularity. Abyss should think about the gamble that unmasking is on a wrestler's career before deciding. I vote to keep the mask. Please Abyss, do not open Pandora's box.
You all remember this past Summer when CM Punk was on fire, and Kevin Nash screwed him out of the WWE title at Summerslam right? Do you also remember how Triple H somehow spun the beef between Kevin Nash and CM Punk into Triple H defending his wife's honor from CM Punk's derogatory comments? Somehow he turned a beef that had nothing to do with him into a story about Triple H defending his manhood to CM Punk. 
Then there's the Undertaker feud. Shawn Michaels put on two of the greatest Wrestlemania matches ever, and came the closest to ending the Undertaker's streak. Of course, Triple H decides he has to "one up" Shawn Michaels. He can't let Shawn be the closest to beating the Undertaker. HE has to be the closest one to beating the Undertaker. If Shawn Michaels took the Undertaker to the limit then Triple H has to leave the Undertaker unable to leave under his own power. If Shawn Michaels fights the Undertaker twice, then Triple H has to fight the Undertaker THREE TIMES! It can't just be a regular match like Shawn Michaels first match with the Undertaker. It has to be a "No Holds Barred" match. If Shawn puts his career on the line in the second match, then Triple H has to have "Hell in a Cell" for his second match. Triple H always has to outshine everyone. It seems like he can't let people have their moment without interjecting himself. Now, I do think that Triple H made sense to fight the Undertaker last year since the Undertaker retired his best friend. HOWEVER, their feud last year wasn't even about Undertaker retiring his best friend. It was about Undertaker and Triple H being the last ones left from the Attitude Era. Triple H said himself last year that the "streak" was all he had left. So, once again it wasn't even about defending the honor of his best friend Shawn. It was about Triple H wanting to get the only accolade that was left for him to attain. It was about ego. 
Even if you go back a couple of years, it's the same thing. When Shawn Michaels beat John Cena cleanly on RAW after Wrestlemania 23 in 2007 in that hour long epic, Triple H couldn't let it fly. Despite the fact that Triple H lost to John Cena multiple times in the past, he had to beat John Cena clean at Night of Champions 2008. 
Back in WCW's heyday, Juventud Guerrera wrestled under a mask. Under his mask, Juventud Guerrera seemed like just another luchadore along with Psychosis, Ciclope, and other stars of the time. It wasn't until he lost a Mask vs Title match at WCW's Superbrawl pay-per-view to Chris Jericho that Juventud's popularity really took off in the United States. Juventud Guerrera seemingly overnight became the top luchadore in the company, briefly enjoying a popularity burst where he was bigger than Rey Mysterio for a short while. He had a memorable feud with Raven's Flock faction where he defeated 7 footer Reese with an assist from Van Hammer, and then joined up with Rey Mysterio, Kidman, and Konnan to form the Filthy Animals. This was the apex of his American wrestling popularity. He later went on to run his own faction in WWE called the Mexicools. Juventud is to this day one of the greatest cruiserweights of all-time mentioned right alongside Rey Mysterio, Kidman, Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko and Chris Jericho. Other than Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero, Juventud will go down as arguably the number three luchadore of all-time as far as American pro wrestling promotions go. Had he not unmasked, Juventud Guerrera would probably not be mentioned in the same breath as those guys... nor would he be remembered like he is now.
Kanyon began his WCW career under a masked gimmick wrestling as a character by the name of Mortis. After being denied entry into Raven's Flock, Mortis sought revenge on Raven. During a cage match between Diamond Dallas Page and Raven, Mortis disguised as a riot cop unmasked much to everyone's shock. From that point on, he became Kanyon. Once unmasked, it was almost liberating to Kanyon as he enjoyed great success that he never did as Mortis. He ended up joining up with DDP and Bam Bam Bigelow to form the Jersey Triad, and eventually became United States Champion. Had he continued to wrestle under Mortis... he may never have ended up enjoying the success that he did. We would probably chuckle and say things like "You remember that goofy WCW wrestler Mortis?" in the same way that we currently say "You remember that goofy WCW wrestler Glacier?"
Kane
