10 Best Masks In WCW History, Ranked

World Championship Wrestling was an innovator in the United States for pushing to have a few names from Mexico and Japan that weren't getting much screen time in the US prior. With the help of Eric Bischoff, WCW's Cruiserweight division took off and featured names from all around the world putting on amazing matches and some great storylines with each other.

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With the many cultures that were present throughout the division, others also took notice and started incorporating aspects to make their character more interesting. Of course, not every masked wrestler was a Cruiserweight and some just were inspired from their peers and previous names in luchador history or wherever they got that idea. With that in mind, here are some of the best mask designs that were featured throughout WCW history, ranked from worst to best.

10 Mr. J.L.

Mr. J.L. started his career with WCW back in 1995 where he alternated between his real name and this masked character he had. The man under the mask later became ECW legend, Jerry Lynn. Lynn didn't last long in WCW and was soon off to work in the land of Extreme after being fired by Eric Bischoff in 1997.

During his WCW tenure though, Lynn did get to compete in the Best of the Super Juniors league with New Japan Pro-Wrestling where he represented WCW and had a Clash of the Champions match teaming alongside Konnan and La Parka.

9 Wrath

Wrath might be cheating just a slight bit as he didn't wrestle in the mask, and it was only present during his entrance alongside a massive jacket and crazy-looking staff. Wrath was introduced alongside Glacier to try and capitalize on the massive popularity of the fighting video game, Mortal Kombat.

Wrath's helmet was black and featured spikes and horns on the top while also trying to resemble a somewhat ninja design to keep that Mortal Kombat feeling to it. The character was gone by 1999 once Bryan Clark formed KroniK alongside Brian Adams.

8 The Patriot

Most fans might recall The Patriot from his time in the WWE where he feuded with The Hart Foundation, but some might remember that he had a short stint with WCW back in 1994. The Patriot was a member of the Stars and Stripes team alongside a young Marcus Bagwell, a.k.a. Buff Bagwell.

The duo's biggest feud was against Pretty Wonderful (Paul Orndorff and Paul Roma) over the WCW World Tag Team Championship. The team captured the belts twice before The Patriot left the company the following year.

7 Mortis

Another name that was part of the "Blood Runs Cold" storyline featuring Glacier and Wrath was Mortis. The character was portrayed by Chris Kanyon and would be the main antagonist to Glacier during the feud.

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Mortis' gear was similar to that of the ninja character in Mortal Kombat with the padding design on his singlet and being a primary color, in this case green like the character Reptile. Mortis and Wrath formed a duo for a while before the angle was dropped quietly.

6 Juventud Guerrera

The second-generation luchador, Juventud Guerrera has wrestled all around the world during his career from Mexico to Japan. Guerrera worked with WCW for four years from 1996 to 2000 where he was at one point forced to lose his mask in a match against Chris Jericho.

Juventud captured countless championships with WCW including the WCW Cruiserweight and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championships. Guerrera was let go from WCW in 2000 and by 2005 would be wrestling in the WWE as part of the Mexicools stable.

5 La Parka

The character of La Parka was created by AAA founder Antonio Pena and given to Adolfo Tapia during his time in the promotion. The gimmick and outfit were designed after the Grim Reaper with the hood and skull mask combo.

La Parka was a comedic character in WCW and brought a chair to the ring with him quite often. Much like other names, La Parka would be out of WCW by 2000 and was back in Mexico wrestling in CMLL.

4 Psicosis

One of the other top Cruiserweights in WCW during the late '90s was Psicosis. The luchador got his first big break in the US when he started working in ECW after many names like Eddie Guerrero and Dean Malenko left the promotion for WCW.

Psicosis soon followed and started feuding with Ultimo Dragon, positioning Psicosis as a top face in the division. Despite being a popular name, he only held the Cruiserweight Championship twice, both times never officially winning it and losing it on his first defense.

3 Ultimo Dragon

Ultimo Dragon is one of the most decorated professional wrestlers of all time, capturing championships everywhere he has gone and even holding ten championships at once. Dragon would train in the NJPW dojo before working in CMLL where he established the Ultimo Dragon character.

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His work in WCW often saw him partnered with or facing against Sunny Onoo. Ultimo Dragon stayed with WCW until suffering some nerve damage from a botched operation on his arm and retired from wrestling in November 1998. Luckily Dragon recovered and made his way to WWE for a short run and a return to Japan.

2 Jushin Liger

Sort of cheating again as Jushin Liger wasn't a full-time WCW wrestler and instead just made a few appearances while under contract with NJPW. Liger made enough appearances for fans to get to know his character a bit and also captured the short-lived WCW World Light Heavyweight Championship.

Liger also faced controversy during his work with WCW as he lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship to Juventud Guerrera after being hit with a tequila bottle, a change that NJPW didn't acknowledge until 2007.

1 Rey Mysterio

No matter what promotion Rey Mysterio has worked for he is always one of the biggest babyfaces and most loved characters. In WCW, Rey would use the original spelling of his surname similar to his trainer and uncle Rey Misterio Sr.

Misterio Jr. captured the Cruiserweight Championship five times before WCW was bought out by the WWE. Mysterio wouldn't immediately jump at an offer from WWE and instead worked in Puerto Rico for a year before finally debuting under the McMahon-owned promotion.