The Only Luchadores Allowed To Break The Biggest Rule

With the dawn of YouTube, streaming, and other avenues providing a glimpse into its colorful world, lucha libre has been able to break out from Mexico more recognized and seen than it had in previous decades — WWE's recent acquisition of AAA doesn't hurt. And thanks to that exposure, fans have learned that the most important thing in lucha libre isn't the flips, it's the mask; masked luchadores have to follow a strict set of rules. The mask is everything in lucha libre; it is identity, and in many cases, it's the luchador's career. This may seem strange to many fans, as plenty of luchadores wrestle without the mask, whether they've gone their whole career without it, or because they lost it. But while many wrestlers go on to have great careers after being unmasked, many do not. In some cases, in fact, losing the mask is a death sentence, and the apex of a luchador's career.

It's also, supposed to be, the end of a luchador wearing a mask period. Those who give up their mask in a mask vs. mask, mask vs. hair, or mask vs. title scenario are barred from ever putting the mask on again, a sign of respect to the luchador that unmasked him, and something that is heavily enforced by lucha libre commissions found in Mexico. For the most part, luchadores who have been unmasked have stuck to that tradition, at most wearing masks to the ring for their entrances before then taking them off to wrestle a match. But over the years, there have been a few luchadores that have broken the rules and worn their masks after losing them, or cases in which luchadores have asked for permission to re-mask, and have been granted it. And it wouldn't shock many to know that the names involved are among some of the most notable luchadores of the last 50 years.

The most notable case of a luchador re-masking without permission is Silver King, who many may remember for his stint in WCW. By then, King was a decade removed from losing his mask to El Hijo del Santo in 1987, and seemed to have no issue wrestling unmasked. That changed by the early 2010s, when he attempted to put his mask back on, and briefly changed his name to Silver Cain in order to circumvent the commission. King's story contrasts that of his former WCW rival, Rey Mysterio. Mysterio was famously unmasked by WCW in 1999, and then again unmasked in Mexico days later. When he arrived in WWE, however, Vince McMahon requested Mysterio wrestle with the mask, prompting him to seek permission. Unlike with Silver King, the commission granted Mysterio's request, and he has continued to wrestle with the mask ever since.

Another wrestler who's done this song and dance is Juventud Guerrera, yet another former WCW luchador. Like Mysterio, Guerrera lost his mask in WCW, being defeated by Chris Jericho in early 1998. Like Silver King, Guerrera worked unmasked for a long time afterwards. Eventually, he began wearing the mask again from time to time in matches, including his AEW bout against Jericho in 2021, though it remains unclear if he received permission to do so. Then there's CMLL's Blue Panther, a different case than all the above. Though Panther lost his mask to Villano V in 2008, there are times — including the recent DEAN 2 event before Double or Nothing, or his matches with Bryan Danielson in CMLL — in which Panther has wrestled wearing the mask. In both occasions, however, Panther asked the lucha libre commission to wear the mask for these matches, and was granted permission, while continuing to wrestle unmasked in other situations.