Balistik Blabber #2

Welcome back for the 2^nd edition of “Balistik Blabber”! After my grim discussion on my debut rant, I mean, article~ I’d like to lighten the mood up by talking about a more cheerful topic but one that has torn me for the past 5 years.

First of all let me say that I FREAKIN’ LOVE “Lucha Libre”.  The acrobatics, high flying, high risk maneuvers are a blast and gives a heck lot of excitement to your standard big guy versus big guy wrestling match.  I’ve recently had the chance to have a vacation in the United States and watched authentic lucha libre shows in Channel 44 in California.  Their venues may be a bit rundown but the action can still get intense! I also got confused on how they did tag team matches because I did not know then that “tags”, the act of slapping any part of your partner before you exchange places, was actually non-existent in lucha libre! Well, I guess it is true when they say that you learn something new every single day!

Apart from the joy of watching these great athletes, I also learned how highly Mexican and/or Latin Americans regard lucha libre.  In most if not all, Hispanic regions, lucha libre is a cultural icon, being implemented into art, song and everyday life.  Like the internet… It is serious business, which brings us to the object of my weird conflict: Rey Mysterio.

Not Miguel Diaz (Mysterio Senior) mind you, we’re talking about the NOW Mysterio (Oscar Gutierrez).  Before his big debut on Smackdown! those many years ago, I have never heard of this guy… seriously! When I first saw him I was like, “Whoa! Cool!” and after he started doing his thing in the ring I was lost for words! I was stunned, shocked, dumbfounded, and flabbergasted in amazement!  He became one of the main reasons I watched Smackdown! always looking forward to the next great “cruiserweight” match that featured him especially if he is against “The Japanese Buzzsaw” Tajiri (bah gawd I miss his matches)! For over 5 years, even though he got shelved a lot of times due to injuries, he has entertained us all with the magic of masked wrestling.

Whoa, whoa, wait! Masked wrestling… wrestling with masks… that is the key word right there…

            Now we get to the meaty part of today’s talk! Only after looking through his profile in the old “Obsessed With Wrestling” website (now known as “Online World of Wrestling”) did I learn of his involvement in the true ECW as well as his run in WCW.  So I fly by Youtube to search for any of his older matches. They were just as spectacular except then, he wore those tights which was too classic for me.  So there I am, checking out his old fights every now and then for some time then I see this video title:

“MYSTERIO UNMASKED!”

. . . . . . . . . .

I was thinking, “Do I really, really, reeeahehely want to see this?!” My curiosity got the better of me and I click the thing and watch it happen in a luchas de apuestas match (literally, “fight with wagers”) wherein Rey Rey put his mask on the line… and lost.

. . . . . . . . . .

            Again I was sort of lost in thought; bewildered, confused, puzzled… why you ask? You see in lucha libre, masks are considered as treasures to its owner.  It is what makes a luchador who he is.  It is his persona.  Losing it is considered the ultimate insult and usually signals the end of a career of the loser.  It is so important that even heels in lucha libre are expected to respect all rules involving the mask – and one of the these rules state that ONCE A LUCHADOR LOSES HIS MASK, HE MAY NOT PUT IT ON AGAIN.

            Now before I ask the big question, let me remind you guys you that there are a lot of luchadors who have lost their masks and still have a strong career.  Psicosis and Juventud (“The Juice”) used to have their own masks until they lost them to wager matches.  They may not be in the WWE now but they still wrestle for AAA (“Asistencia, Asesoría y Administración”, Spanish for "Assistance, Consulting and Administration"), one of the best promotions in Mexico that also works together with Total Nonstop Action from time to time.  Not convinced? Let us hop aboard an imaginary airplane and get ourselves to the land of the rising sun – Japan! If you have never watched a wrestling match from All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) take a quick break from TWG (don’t worry, you won’t suffer from a lack of TWG and if you do, it will be worth it!) and go to Youtube and do a search for some of their videos NOW!!! Japan is another country with a mother lode of great luchadors from The Great Sasuke to the immortal Tiger Mask! Speaking of Tiger Mask, his second reincarnation is a good example of a successful unmasked luchador: MITSUHARU MISAWA! After competing in a tag match with his then partner and future rival Toshiaki Kawada, he ordered Kawada to strip him of the feline mask and relinquished its identity forever.  However, the move served to launch his career sky high into winning the coveted Triple Crown Championship over 4 times! Another prime example would be Keiji Mutoh or, as he was known for awhile during his short time in the old World Wrestling Federation, the Japanese mist spewing “The Great Muta” (he switches a lot from face paint, to mask, and back).  He was and still is one of the best wrestlers of all time and now he actively does it sans the mask.  He is even the current president of the All Japan Pro Wrestling company! My final example is another Japanese man.  In fact, he is my most favorite luchador in Japan, HAYABUSA.  This time now, if you have never ever watched a match from Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW), take yet ANOTHER break from TWG (don’t you dare faint from the mere thought of leaving TWG again! Purchasing a new one or repairs for a keyboard are too costly) and go back to Youtube and do a search on their videos... NOW!!!  Still with me? Good! There was a time he too lost his mask BUT NOT to the traditional luchas de apuestas manner but because he was ordered to “retire” the persona by Fuyuki Kodo who was then appointed as FMW’s chairman, one of his most hated enemies and a very good heel.  If you didn’t get that play on words it that means he’s VERY eeevil! Despite losing his original gimmick, he began wrestling as the unmasked “H” and garnered just as much success as when he was still masked.  This proves that even if a luchador loses his prized possession, he or she (yes, women luchadors exist and a lot of them are HOT!) can still have a very successful career if they put effort and heart to it!

Even Oscar Gutierrez himself maintained his superstar status in WCW after the unfortunate result of the wager match that cost him his mask.  He was still a great contender for the cruiserweight championship and even beat wrestlers twice his size as he does today, until his most recent injury.  The point in this is that Oscar Gutierrez still delivers the same action and excitement even without help of a kickass mask.  In my opinion, if he truly respects himself, his fans and the history of lucha libre, he can give up the mask and still electrify us with his in-ring athleticism.  I know we are not in Mexico where the dreaded Box y Lucha Commission can suspend a luchadors license for putting on a lost mask again but I think Oscar should respect tradition.  Like I mentioned awhile ago, even the heel luchadors honor the code of the mask whether they win or lose.  If they win, they add another few years to keep their mask on – if they lose they would not dare keep it on.

            Even though I have always thought the WWE needed more masked wrestlers, Rey Mysterio is just one man… for me it appears like WWE is trying so hard to make it seem like they have a diverse roster.  For goodness sakes I don’t even see Super Crazy anymore and the last time I did, he was doing the really, err… crazy skit with Hacksaw Jim Duggan of “Hooo! Siii!” GAH! The memory of it burns!

So now I will ask you, my audience: what we should do about this little situation that we have. It is like asking us to choose between a delicious hamburger and a sumptuous chicken meal… We can have only one but it sure tastes great... okay so maybe it is not the best metaphor but I think you get it.  Should we just let it be and let Rey Mysterio continue to fuel our Friday nights with his masked mystique or should we remove him forever from the ring and let Oscar Gutierrez have more exposure to the spotlight?

Thanks again for reading, Akira Kagami signing off!

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