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| Image: SciFighting.com |
There have been many masked Superstars whom have been in WWE over the years but here are the Top 5 most popular and successful ones.
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| Image: IGN |
This 6 foot 5 450 pound giant dominated the WWE throughout 1996-1998. Vader originally
was part of WCW form 1990-1995 but when he made his debut in the WWE in 1996, he would soon become a huge name within the company. Vader's debut in the WWE was in the 1996 Royal Rumble match in which he showed a dominating display. Vader would then shock the world on an episode of Raw shortly after the Rumble attack the then WWE President Gorilla Monsoon in which led to Vader being suspended.
When Vader returned later on in that year he would go on to feud with Shawn Michaels which led to a WWE Championship match at the 1996 SummerSlam. Vader would give Michaels one hell of fight and the match had to be restarted twice, once due to a count-out from HBK and the second from a DQ from HBK. Eventually Michaels would get the pinfall victory on Vader but Vader sure left his mark on HBK.
Vader would go on to feud with the Undertaker in the earlier months of 1997 and then formed a tag team with Mankind. Then in 1998 Vader would face off against Kane in a Mask vs Mask match in which Vader would lose. Following his loss to Kane, Vader never really got back to his reign of dominance and would eventually leave WWE in late October 1998.
Vader would return to WWE in 2005 for a brief appearance at Taboo Tuesday and then on the historic 1000'th episode of Monday Night Raw. Vader's run with WWE may have been short lived and it could have been better than it had been, but Vader still dominated the competition throughout much of his run and he sure left his mark on whom ever he faced.
#4: Mankind
Mick Foley was very famous in the world of wrestling for many reasons, one of them reasons was for his three persona's he wrestled under. There was Cactus Jack, the hardcore side of Mick Foley. There was Dude Love, the cool and hipper side of Foley. And then there was Mankind, the masked, creepy, mysterious side of Foley.
Mankind was the first 'Face Of Foley' which we saw when he arrived in the WWE on the April 1st edition of Raw in 1996 the night after WrestleMania XII. Mankind's first rivalry in the WWE was with The Undertaker. Their rivalry would last for a few months which even had Paul Bearer turn on The Undertaker and join Mankind at the King Of The Ring PPV. They would go on to face each other in a Boiler Room Brawl Match at SummerSlam and then they faced each other in the first ever Buried Alive Match in late October.
After an absence from the Mankind persona for just over a year, Foley would bring back in famous persona for another feud with The Undertaker. This time though they faced each other in the most infamous Hell In A Cell match in history! At the King Of The Ring 1998 PPV event Mankind and The Undertaker gave the WWE Universe a match which is still spoken about today.
The Undertaker would throw Mankind of the top of the cell sending Mankind crashing through the announce table. J.R's words said it all ''GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY! THEY'VE KILLED HIM!''. Mankind would later get chokeslammed on the top of the cell which would send him crashing down to the mat. The Undertaker would win the match but Foley's incredible performance is what we remember.
On the 4th January edition of Raw Mankind would win his first WWE Championship when he
beat The Rock. Mankind would lose the title just a couple of weeks later in an incredible I Quit Match against The Rock. Mankind would win the title back in WWE'S first ever Empty Arena match during SuperBowl Halftime. They would clash in a Last Man Standing Match at St Valentines Day Massacre which ended in a draw. Then the night after on the 15th February edition of Raw, The Rock would win the title back in a Ladder Match against Mankind.
Later on the year 1999 Mankind and The Rock would become a tag team and go on to have quite a bit of success as well with three tag team title reigns. Mankind would win the WWE Championship at SummerSlam 1999 but would lose the title the next night to Triple H. Mankind and Triple H would engage in a heated rivalry which would bring back Foleys hardcore persona Cactus Jack. Foley would go on to retire from full time competition at No Way Out 2000 when he lost a Hell In A Cell match to Triple H.
Out of his three personas, Mankind was Mick Foleys most successful as it gave him three WWE Championships and an incredible rivalry with The Undertaker.
#3: Kane
Bad Blood 1997 was the night that Kane arrived in the WWE. It was during the epic Hell in a Cell encounter between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels in which Kane would appear. Tearing open the cage door and attacking his half brother The Undertaker, Kane would cost The Deadman the match and start an incredible rivalry which would last for months.
Kane was brought in by at the time The Undertakers former manager the late great Paul Bearer. Kane was back to exact his revenge on his brother and he and Paul Bearer would cost The Undertaker the WWE Championship at the 1998 Royal Rumble.
The two brothers would finally clash at WrestleMania XIV in which The Undertaker was able to win, but it would take three Tombstones to do so. The following month the two monsters would clash at Unforgiven in the first ever Inferno Match. The Undertaker would win that battle by setting Kane on fire, but Kane's career would get even bigger within the following months.
A year later after his debut at King Of The Ring 1998, Kane would win the WWE Championship in a First Blood match against Stone Cold Steve Austin. Kane would have some help from his brother The Undertaker to win that night. However the next night on Raw, Austin would win back the Championship from The Big Red Machine.
Much throughout 2000-2001, Kane and The Undertaker were a very successful tag-team known as 'The Brothers Of Destruction'. They went on to become two time World Tag Team Champions. Also throughout the early 2000's Kane won the Hardcore Championship at WrestleMania XVII. And at Judgement day in 2001 Kane would beat Triple H to win the Intercontinental Championship.
In late 2002, Kane and Triple H would battle over the World Heavy Weight Championship. The two would collide at No Mercy in which Triple H would retain with a bit of help from Ric Flair. Then in 2003 on the 23rd June episode of Raw in Madison Square Garden, Kane was forced to unmask due to losing his match against Triple H for the World Championship. It is one of the most infamous and iconic moments in WWE history and we wouldn't see the masked Kane gimmick again for quite some time.
Kane would go on to have a lot of success throughout 2004 onwards as he would win multiple Tag Team Championships. But in 2010 Kane would win the coveted World Heavy Weight Championship at the Money In The Bank 2010 event. Kane would win the briefcase earlier on in the night and then cash in later against an injured Rey Mysterio. Kane would hold on to the Championship until December at TLC where Edge would win the Championship in an epic Fatal Four Way TLC match.
The Slammy Awards in 2011 was when the masked Kane gimmick would return. Kane would return and attack John Cena and the two would engage in a personal rivalry which concluded at the Elimination Chamber event in 2012. They would face in an Ambulance match in which Cena won.
Later on 2012 Kane and Daniel Bryan would form a tag-team known as 'Team Hell No'. They were very entertaining and fun but also very successful as they held on to the Tag-Team Championships for many months. Then in late 2013 Kane would 'sell out' and join Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in The Authority. Kane was now known as 'Corporate Kane' and he would engage in a rivalry with then WWE World Champion Daniel Bryan at Extreme Rules 2014 and the two battle in an Extreme Rules match over the gold. Kane would lose after going through a burning table and then the mask would soon come enough shortly after the PPV event.
Kane is still currently known as 'Corporate Kane'. I do hope we see Kane bring back his masked gimmick again as being with The Authority just doesn't make him seem like a monster. But nonetheless Kane is still one of the most successful masked wrestlers the WWE has ever seen.
#2: Rey Mysterio
Rey Mysterio isn't just one of the WWE's most famous wrestlers, but he is one of the most famous wrestlers in the world.
Mysterio debuted in ECW in 1995. Mysterio would debut against Psicosis. The two would engage in an incredible rivalry, one of they're most memorable matches was a two out of three falls match and another being an Mexican Death match.
Mysterio would debut in WCW in 1996 and he was straight away one of WCW's most popular Cruiser-Weights. Mysterio would engage in heated rivalries against the likes of Chris Jericho and Eddie Guerrero for the WCW Cruiser-Weight Championship. Mysterio and Guerrero would face of in one of the most infamous matches of all time. At Halloween Havoc in 1997 Mysterio and Guerrero would face of in an incredible Title vs Mask match in which Mysterio would win. Mysterio would capture the WCW Crusier-Weight Championship five times in his WCW career.
After WCW was shut down in 2001, Mysterio would work independently in Mexico. Then in 2002 Mysterio would sign with the WWE. Mysterio would debut during the summer of 2002 and he was put into a feud with Kurt Angle. The two would face of at SummerSlam in classic opening match. Mysterio would later form a tag-team with Edge and the two would capture the tag titles in October.
Much throughout 2003-2004 Mysterio would dominate the Cruiser-Weight division. He would beat names such as Chavo Guerrero and Matt Hardy in great matches. Mysterio was by far WWE's most popular Cruiser-Weight as his matches would amaze fans.
In 2005 Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero would become a tag-team and they would win the tag-team titles at No Way Out. Mysterio and Guerrero would face each-other at WrestleMania XXI in the opening match of the show. Mysterio would win that contest, but weeks later Guerrero would betray Mystertio and the two engage in an incredible rivalry throughout the summer of that year. They faced each-other in Ladder matches and Steel Cage matches to name a few.
At the 2006 Royal Rumble Mysterio would enter as the #2 entrant and win the match by eliminating Randy Orton. Mysterio still holds the record for the longest time in a Rumble match at 62.12. At WrestleMania XXII Mysterio would beat Randy Orton and Kurt Angle to capture the World Heavy Weight Championship. That is by far the highlight of Mysterio's coveted career. Mysterio would hold onto the gold until The Great American Bash where Chavo Guerrero would cost Mysterio the match up and Rey would lose the Championship to Booker T.
After getting injured by Chavo in late 2006, Mysterio would return at the 2007 SummerSlam and exact his revenge on Guerrero. In early 2008 Mysterio and Edge would battle over the World Championship which would result in Mysterio sustaining another injury and keeping him out of action for some time.
At WrestleMania XXV in 2009, Mysterio would beat JBL in 21 seconds and win the coveted Intercontinental Championship. Mysterio would engage in an incredible rivalry with Chris Jericho for the title. Mysterio would beat Jericho at Judgement Day. Jericho would win the ttile at Extreme Rules in a No Holds Barred match, but Mysterio would win the title back at The Bash from Jericho. They're matches in 2009 for the I.C Championship brought a lot of prestige back to the title and it was some of the best matches 2009 had to offer.
In 2010 Mysterio and CM Punk would engage in a heated feud in which we saw three back to back PPV matches. They finished things of a Over The Limit in which Rey won and he would shave CM Punk bald! Mysterio would capture the World Championship at Fatal Four Way, but lose the Championship the following month to Kane at Money In The Bank.
In the summer of 2011 (the summer of Punk), Mysterio would beat The Miz in the finals of a tournament for the WWE Championship. Mysterio would only hold onto the gold for an hour as John Cena would beat Mysterio later on that night on Raw. Mysterio would get injured in a match against Alberto Del Rio on Raw after SummerSlam, we wouldn't see Mysterio again for nearly a year and he would return in 2012.
Throughout 2012-2015 Mysterio wasn't seen so much with WWE. Injuries were catching up with Mysterio and he would wrestle his last match against Bad News Barrett on the 7th April edition of Raw. Mysterio recently has been released by WWE and he is now working in the Mexican Wrestling promotion known as AAA.
Even though his later years in WWE were not to good for Mysterio, he is still one of the greatest masked wrestlers the WWE has ever seen. And Mysterio is by far a future WWE Hall Of Famer!
#1 Sting
Sting is one of the most iconic wrestlers in the world. And he is set to compete in his first ever match in the WWE at this years WrestleMania on the 29th March.
Sting debuted in the NWA in 1987. Sting was given a strong very early into his career as he would challenge Ric Flair for the NWA World Championship at the Clash Of The Champions. The match would end in a draw at its 45 minute time limit. A few years later though after even being a part of The Four HoreseMan, Sting would finally beat Flair for the NWA World Championship at the 1990 Great American Bash.
In 1991 when WCW seceded from the NWA, Sting would beat a young 'Stunning' Steve Austin and capture the WCW United States Championship. Throughout 1992 Sting was involved in an incredible rivalry with Vader which led to Sting dropping the title to Vader at The Great American Bash. Then in 1993 the two would continue they're feud for the gold in incredible matches. One of they're most famous was a very bloody Strap Match at SuperBrawl III. Throughout the years Sting would become a multiple WCW United States and World Champion.
In early 1996 Sting would begin to change his character. His hair would grow longer and darker, wore black tights with a multi coloured scorpion and a white and black painted face. Then when the NWO formed, Sting was one of the few who would stand up and fight the infamous stable. Sting became WCW's fan favourite. Sting would become a much more mysterious character as he would appear throughout the weeks on Nitro appearing on the rafters in the crowd. Sting was a master at mind games.
Sting would continue in his rivalry with the NWO as he battled Hogan at Starcade 1997 but due to a botched finish, Sting was forced to surrender the WCW World Championship the next night on Nitro. Sting would later engage in a rivalry with The Giant (Big Show) and then the two would shortly after become a tag-team.
Sting would have his last run with WCW in 1999-2001. Throughout those three years he would feud with names such as Goldberg, Sid Vicous and the late great Randy Savage. Sting would beat Hogan at Fall Brawl to win his sixth and last WCW World Championship. Sting was for the first time a heel in WCW, but the fans would still cheer him. Towards the end of WCW, Sting would feud with Jeff Jarrett and then Scott Steiner. Sting would wrestle Flair in the last ever match in WCW history. After ther match they would both embrace the end of they're on/off rivalry between them both.
Sting would go on to have an incredible career with Impact Wrestling. Sting would feud with names such as Kurt Angle, Mick Foley, Jeff Hardy, AJ Styles and Jeff Jarrett. Sting would become a four time Impact Wrestling World Champion. Sting would leave Impact Wrestling on the 23rd January 2014 when he lost to Magnus in a Title vs Career match.
Then in 2014 on the 19th July edition of Raw, Sting would appear in a vignette for 'WWE 2K15'. Sting would make his much awaited WWE debut at Survivor Series 2014 as he attacked Triple H and cost The Authority they're jobs. Sting would make his Raw debut on the 19th January when he distracted Seth Rollins costing The Authority another match. The at Fast Lane Triple H and Sting would confront one-another and it was soon made official that at WrestleMania XXXI, Sting and Triple H will face-off!
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Despite his loss at WrestleMania 31 to HHH, Sting is by far the most successful masked wrestler the WWE/WCW has ever seen.
More: Month in Review for February 2015 featuring WWE
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