7 Wrestlers Who Weren't The Same Without The Mask

4. The Hurricane

Shane Helms was great in WCW in their last year. Once 3 Count disbanded, he got a singles push and showed a lot of potential. He was one of those guys that you could tell was going to be a big star just because he could have great matches with anybody, plus he had a good personality too. It was a no brainer for WWE to sign him. His actual debut wasn't as The Hurricane, but then he debuted that gimmick in August of 2001. This was at a time when there weren't a lot of masked characters or even over the top gimmicks, but seeing this guy in the black/green mask, the cape and everything else was a lot of fun to watch. It was actually a bit cheesy although he was such a good performer that he made it work. His most memorable work was when he was doing skits with the heel version of The Rock in 2003, even beating him in a match at one point. He also was a tag partner with Kane and later Rosey, who was known as a "Super Hero In Training." You can figure out what the letters mean there. Helms worked as The Hurricane for the majority of his WWE run. He actually held the Cruiserweight Title as both The Hurricane in May 2002 and then as Gregory Helms in 2006. That run as Gregory lasted over a year although by that point WWE stopped caring about the cruisers. Soon after he lost it, they retired the title. When he was booked as a serious wrestler or even a backstage reporter, it was fine. It's just that it was never as entertaining as The Hurricane. These days post WWE, Helms is still doing The Hurricane gimmick. Kids like the masks. Fans remember the character well because he was different. That's the point that keeps coming up. Put a guy in the mask and the people remember. Have him wrestle with short dark hair and tights, then he's like everybody else. It's all about standing out from the pack. The Hurricane did that well.