Anatomy of The Wrestling Mask
The original wrestling masks were often masks attached to a top that snapped in the groin making it very uncomfortable for the people wearing it. If the masks were not attached to the top, then they were made from uncomfortable material such as brushed pig skin, leather or suede. It wasn't until a Mexican shoe maker called Antonio Martinez created a mask on request from Charro Aguayo that would become the standard for wrestling masks created since then. The basic design has not changed much over the years, consisting of four pieces of fabric sewn together to create the basic shape that covers the entire head. The mask has openings for the eyes, nose and mouth with colorful trim around the open features, this trim is known as "Antifaz" in Spanish. The back of the mask is open with a "tongue" of fabric under laces to keep it tight enough to not come off accidentally during a match. The first variation in style came when the jaw and mouth area was removed from the mask to expose the skin. Other masks have solid material over the mouth, nose, eyes or all three, in the case of fabric covering the eyes a stretched fabric that is see through up-close is used.
Originally being made from fabric masks have evolved and are now made from a variety of materials from cotton to nylon to various vinyls in all the shades of the rainbow. Several additions have been made to the mask decorations over the years with the most prevalent and visually striking being foam horns and fake hair attached to the mask. Artificial ears are also commonly used, especially if the mask has an animal motif such as a tiger.
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Famous quotes containing the words anatomy, wrestling and/or mask:
“I love to see, when leaves depart,
The clear anatomy arrive,”
—Roy Campbell (1902–1957)
“There are people who think that wrestling is an ignoble sport. Wrestling is not sport, it is a spectacle, and it is no more ignoble to attend a wrestled performance of suffering than a performance of the sorrows of Arnolphe or Andromaque.”
—Roland Barthes (1915–1980)
“I imagine, on the benches of an assembly, the most intrepid of thinkers, a brilliant mind, one of those men who, when they ascend the tribune, feel it beneath them like the tripod of the oracle, suddenly grow in stature and become colossal, surpass by a head the massive appearances that mask reality, and see clearly the future over the high, frowning wall of the present.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)