Rob Faint
Under the Hood: Five Wrestlers Who Spent Time Behind a Mask
There are several reasons why a wrestler would wear a mask. To establish a character, advance a storyline or work several territories at the same time. Here are 5 wrestlers you might not have known wore a mask.
1) Greg Valentine/Hiroshima Joe- Greg Valentine wrestled under the masked, foreign-menace gimmick “Hiroshima Joe” during his early career in the 1970s, specifically in the Los Angeles NWA territory. He used this alter ego to gain experience, experiment with different character personas, and work as a “heel” (villain) under a mask before establishing his legendary identity as Greg “The Hammer” Valentine.
2) Paul Jones/Mr. Florida- Jones was an established star in the Mid-Atlantic area in the 1970’s. Earlier in the 1970s, Jones was a heel in Florida and committed one of the most infamous acts when he threw a championship belt off the Gandy Bridge into Tampa Bay. When he returned to the promotion in 1980, he adopted the masked “Mr. Florida” gimmick as a fan-favorite who was reportedly too ashamed of his past villainy to show his actual face to the fans.
3) Bobby Duncum/Spoiler 2- Duncum previously wrestled in the AWA and WWWF. In 1978 he wrestled as Spoiler 2 to tag with Spoiler 1 (Dan Jardine). This allowed them to compete as an interchangeable, dominant duo across various wrestling territories like Florida. He also could wrestle in other territories like the WWWF and protect his identity.
4) John Studd/Masked Superstar 2/Executioner 2- Studd, at the time wrestling as Chuck O’Connor, joined Killer Kowalski as the Executioners in 1976 in the WWWF, winning the tag titles. Later he joined the Mid-Atlantic area as Big John Studd. He then tagged with the Masked Superstar as Masked Superstar #2 to collect a bounty on Blackjack Mulligan.
5) Killer Kowalski/Executioner 1- In 1976 Killer Kowalski wrestled as one of the masked Executioners in 1976 and 1977 alongside his protégé, Big John Studd. They adopted masks and monikers to shake up their characters, easily work as a dominant tag team, and set up dramatic feuds with top babyfaces.
The 5th Horsemen
Rumor had it that both Dusty Rhodes and Andre The Giant wrestled under masks in the mid 80’s but it was never proven.
Dan Wray
Valentine also worked Survivor Series 93 under a mask as the Red Knight, versus the Hart Family
David Fullam
I would like to add Bugsy McGraw. he was doing job duty as The Green Machine at one point in Crockett.