Match Made in Heaven

In a BG East match from last year (Masked Mayhem 5), Kid Karisma, 5'8", 170#, stands with his mask on, on a pedestal, wrapped not just in anonymity but in the superpowers and macho mystique that a lucha mask represents.  Chikara founder, pro wrestler, and trainer Mike Quackenbush describes the mask's totemic symbolism like this:
No single prop is loaded with as much drama as the mask of a luchador.  To wear it is to defy the opposition, to deny them your identity and to assume the traits symbolized by the mask itself, becoming larger than life.  To lose it is to be forever humbled before your foe, and to be exposed as being all too human, small and vulnerable. It is almost impossible for me to find the words to accurately convey the importance of the mask to the man who dons it. The moment of unmasking is the point of highest dramatic tension in lucha libre, and it is conducted with an air of respect and dignity fitting for the instant of ultimate revelation. The face of a man will emerge from beneath the mask of a character.
At the end of Karisma's struggle against the masked Red Baron, another masked figure, Cage Thunder, 5'11", 180#, enters the scene to finish what the Baron started.  By not just overpowering but also unmasking Karisma, Thunder steals the Kid's mojo, ceremonially taking over his identity (literally "owning" him).  It ultimately signifies that the wrestler whose mask is intact has taken on the identity of the loser and made it his own.  The moment also reveals the true identity of the loser--who he is at heart and perhaps who he was always meant to be. 

(I was just thinking:  What better way, then, for two kinksters in love to seal their holy bond?  The imagery closely parallels that of the unveiling of brides.  The happy couple's match and unmasking could be immediately followed with cake, champagne, and dancing around the wrestling ring.  And don't forget to send me pictures, guys.)

 

Comments

  1. I didn't even start to read this post since it was wordy, but just perusing the pics - where's the fuckin ring???

    Come on. Wrestling near a floating buffet is a boner kill.

    Sincerely,
    Martha Stewart

    ReplyDelete

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