Yesterday’s article describing the domination of two masked Heels over Ricky Steamboat reminded me how much I love wrestling masks. Sorry if you think it’s a weird fetish, but I feel compelled to write about this topic and confess my mask kink about once a year (such as my Mask Appreciation Society article from last January).
I like the allure of a wrestler concealing his identity, especially if he’s a sadistic Heel. There is power in being anonymous and hidden, as if you can do anything wild or depraved and get away with it. I like the flamboyant colors and shiny fabrics often used, holding our attention and giving the wearer a super-human vanity. I like how the openings accentuate the eyes and mouth: the half-closed lids handling the emotive work for the entire face, the parted lips making you wonder what it feels like to kiss (or be blown by) someone in a mask.
So let me take this opportunity to unveil some sexy mask images that have been accumulating on my Hard Drive and revisit a few of my classic Mask galleries. I’m sure I’m not the only viewer who notices the homo-erotic allure of these images, the usage of fetish hoods to amp up the sexy. Having your face covered but your torso bare is just plain hot.
The victim's mask turns a routine Sleeper into pure porn.
Someone recently posted this animation on Tumblr — Tom Zenk putting away some stud in a gorgeous white mask. Whoever created this image is probably seeing what I’m seeing — that it’s a perfectly fine Sleeper (those big hard arms on Zenk — Jeezis!), but it’s that sexy mask on the victim that makes it worthy of being GIFed and uploaded.
I wrote about this very same Sleeper on “The Pro” back in March 2007 — the Pro’s arm drooping “like a candle in the microwave.” It’s nice to see somebody else out there also appreciates how hot this looks!
My April 2013 article, “Mask Porn,” describes the “Mask-to-Mask” phenomenon used frequently in Mexican wrestling magazines where masked Luchadores are posed in close proximity for a posed photo. The description I wrote back then perfectly captures the spirit of this photo:
“When the Mask-to-Mask involves identical or very similar gear, we see the merging of their identities together, like a married couple. Both wrestlers surrender their individual identities by covering their faces. The fact that the colors of their masks and other gear are matching will further indicate that the two have become one when they press together in the Mask-to-Mask pose.”
And I have not given up on my dream that wrestling masks will become a common fashion accessory, to be worn in public to work or for special events, all of us having colorful masks for every day of the week and holidays.
Like trying to get the Wave started, I’ve repeatedly promoted masks as everyday wear such as in my article Don’t Fear the Mask Man (2013), my 2012 description of a wrestling-themed nightclub in Paris, and my 2011 article praising the Los Angeles Angels for giving away masks at a baseball game. Come on guys, don’t be shy (or maybe, do be shy??) and start wearing those hot masks you have stashed in your bottom drawer out in public!
