8 Best Masked Wrestling Returns

In the territory days, it was one of the classic loopholes.

A beloved babyface is banished from the territory by a dastardly heel, perhaps in a Loser Leaves Town match. And the next week, a masked man makes his debut. Sometimes, those two storylines would never meet. Other times, the masked man would play an integral part in the continuation of the feud.

The masked return is played mostly for laughs these days, like when Elias Samson donned a mask as El Vagabundo, only to be unmasked by Oney Lorcan (repeating a gimmick done a few years earlier by Bo Dallas [as Mr. NXT] and Sami Zayn). But the gimmick still has legs. Modern fans remember a banished Miz resurrecting his WWE career disguised as The Calgary Kid.

A masked return, properly executed, can be a great shock, a welcome surprise, or a brilliant way to extend a bitter feud. A masked return, poorly executed, makes you Kane in a welding mask. "Hey guys, what if he returns, but wearing TWO MASKS instead of one?!" "BRILLIANT."

From Brian Pillman and Jimmy Valiant to Bruiser Brody and John Cena, plenty of wrestlers have pulled a masked return.

But only a few of them were iconic.

Kota Ibushi is a rarity in pro wrestling: a nomad, happy to trade the safe money of signing with a name promotion for the freedom to compete wherever and whenever he likes. Whether he's taking a Burning Hammer from The Brian Kendrick or moonsaulting off a car while fireworks are shooting everywhere, Ibushi marches to his own curious drumbeat.

Of course, that hasn't kept him from making a noteworthy masked return. As shocking as it was baffling, Kota Ibushi's decision to spend an entire year in New Japan only competing as Tiger Mask W instead of himself was bizarre. But it also made for some very entertaining matches, particularly against Kazuchika Okada and various Tiger Mask-related opponents, including Red Death Mask and Tiger the Dark.

This also allowed Ibushi to make an even more surprising unmasked return, as he competed in this year's G1 Climax tournament, which was billed as his first NJPW match in over two years.

Kayfabe lives!