If Rey debuted in WWE without the mask?

[wildojinx]

If Rey came to WWE unmasked like in WCW, would he still be able to get over due to his skill, or did the mask help him with his popularity?

[Allie Kitsune]

Depends on if he was still wearing those stupid glue-on horns or not.

[Porky's Butthole]

I think the only difference would be millions in lost revenue from mask sales.

[Feyrhausen]

He would have gotten over to a degree based on his skills but he would have been nowhere near as over or marketable without the mask. He would have been buried and released like most of the cruiserweights around that time. And the title would have never even lasted long enough to be ruined by Hornswoggle.

["Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik]

I don't think he gets out of the cruiserweight scene really. He might mix it up with the midcard every so often but he never reaches the same heights.

[timelimitdraw]

I think he would've gotten over but lost out on a lot of merch money. I also think if he had arrived without it, then they would have had him start putting it back on when he won the World title after Eddie passed away, ostensibly as a way to honor him somehow.

[James Fabiano]

Mexicool #4.

[Deleted]

There'd be lots of jokes about him looking like a kid.

[Push R Truth]

Dec 16, 2020 14:23:37 GMT -5 @dax said:

There'd be lots of jokes about him looking like a kid.

I'm going with this.

If he was an actor he would have been cast as a high schooler for 20 years.

[romanstylesiii]

Dec 16, 2020 12:25:24 GMT -5 wildojinx said:

If Rey came to WWE unmasked like in WCW, would he still be able to get over due to his skill, or did the mask help him with his popularity?

I thought he was more over in WCW without the mask. Filthy Animals FTW

[floundertime]

It comes down to 1 thing, marketing.

Is Rey without the mask marketable? No

Rey with mask is marketable

[BatPunk]

I don’t think he would be as over as he is. The mask is a HUGE part of his persona. His skill definitely would have gotten him in the upper echelon of the WWE wrestlers, but that combined with his look is what got him over the edge.

The exact same thing could happen with Humberto. Under the mask he has an entirely different presentation than what we have now and would most likely have gotten more over. Especially with the kids.

[James Fabiano]

Dec 16, 2020 14:30:48 GMT -5 Push R Truth said:

Dec 16, 2020 14:23:37 GMT -5 @dax said:

There'd be lots of jokes about him looking like a kid.

I'm going with this.

If he was an actor he would have been cast as a high schooler for 20 years.

Not that some people didn't go with the kid jokes, like Kurt.

[wildojinx]

Dec 16, 2020 14:16:56 GMT -5 timelimitdraw said:

I think he would've gotten over but lost out on a lot of merch money. I also think if he had arrived without it, then they would have had him start putting it back on when he won the World title after Eddie passed away, ostensibly as a way to honor him somehow.

If that was the case then he'd wear the Black Tiger mask.

[Pushed to the Moon]

Someone should wear a mask of Rey's unmasked face.

[Mochi Lone Wolf]

I don't think there's any question it would hurt.


That mask is iconic. To debut him without it would be leaving far too much money on the table. It's why booking him to take it off in WCW was such a stupid idea.

[Sponsored by Groose Wipes]

Promos would be something like this...

[eJm]

Considering Vince was hesitant to hire Rey at all and only brought him in because of the marketability of his mask, if Vince saw Rey without his mask, it’d be the end of his career in WWE before it started.

[fw91]

On one hand, his mask made him marketable, but on the other hand there have been quite a few masked luchadors since, who haven’t been nearly as successful as Rey.

[Kevin Hamilton]

He'd have gotten over on talent, just not as much without the mask. He'd be helped by the fact that fans would have already known him from WCW or ECW regardless.