I look at this and see more of a "Who would you pick if you were starting a wrestling company?" mentality then that of "Who belongs in the Hall of Fame?" So many wrestlers who are still in the prime of their career, or wrestling full-time, have been bantered around. I have no problems with the likes of Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, and Steve Austin being in, because while all 3 are still "on-screen" characters, the latter two no longer wrestle and Flair does only once or twice a year. So why we would we induct a John Cena, Rey Mysterio, and Randy Orton in the here and now when they haven't had a beginning, middle, and end of their careers yet and are full-time wrestlers, or worse, wrestlers with no passion for and but a few significant achievements in the wrestling business they're still involved in weekly such as an RVD?
I have no issue with the Rock being nominated, as he hasn't wrestled since 2004. I have little issue as well with nominations for Undertaker or Sting, since we've essentially seen the beginning, middle, and end of their careers and remain relevant despite both being part-timers/special attractions at this point. The problem with nominating current day stars is that our recent memories are generally not only individualized, but also personalized. We look on past stars with nothing more then nostalgia, a past that really didn’t exist, which replaces clarity. When we seperate the greats from the past with finished careers from the stars of the here and now, rather then mixing them together, we're able to see things much more clearly and objectively. In other words, we consider the entire body of work, not just the wrestler who we enjoy most in the here and now that has yet to even approach the twilight of their career.
The man Id like to nominate here is Mil Mascaras(Aaron Rodriguez). The "Man of a Thousand Masks" is easily the most popular and important crossover star from Mexico of all-time. Miscaras was the first Mexican to win the IWA(International Wrestling Association, U.S.) Championship, the first time a wrestler born in Mexico had won an American title and headlined their promotion. Mascaras began his career in 1965 and won the title in 1976. Not only did this pave the wayfor other foreign wrestlers to have success in the United States, his persona held the fledging IWA together while he was there. It was because of his popularity that he paved the way for the luchadors to follow to have the success they did, truly making him a pioneer. Mascaras won the first of his titles in 1967, and won his last one in 1991, holding it until 1994. That's 27 years between his first title reign and the end of his last. Not only was he a pioneer, but his longevity and success during has been matched by few.
Mascaras was able to open the door and become such a pioneer because of his lucha libre style. While in Mexico, he utilized the traditional mat-based approach that was the standard of the time. But when he branched out to the United States and Japan, he relied more on his high flying moves and counters of lucha libre, introducing moves such as the plancha and the top rope suicide dive to American and Japanese fans alike. Love him or hate him(and many felt the latter), he paved the way for wrestlers such as Jushin Liger, Ultimo Dragon, the Great Sasake, Rey Mysterio and most recently, his nephew Alberto Del Rio. I would argue that without Mascaras, none of these wrestlers would have achieved the levels of success they did, or at all. All 5 men, amongst many others, cite Mascaras as their primary influence.
During Mascaras' time with the WWF, he was one of the biggest draws in the history of the company. Bruno Sanmaartino is often noted for his success at selling out MSG, but Mascaras did the same many times during the late 70's and early 80's, specifically while feuding with then champion Superstar Billy Graham. He also was the first masked man to be able to wear his at MSG, as a ban implemented there was lifted solely for him. Other notable feuds Mascaras had within the WWF were with Ken Patera, Harley Race, Ivan Koloff, Nick Bockwinkle, "Classy" Freddie Blassie, and Dory Funk Jr, most of whom are WWE Hall of Famers.
When you break it down, it's hard to find someone who holds a candle to Mil Mascaras. Ive read Foley and Jericho's books where they've discussed Mil's difficulty to work with. Both cited his unwillingness to sell their moves, job to anyone, or listen to suggestions. But if we were use such criteria other then wrestling ability against other performers, we'ld have to disqualify Hogan, Flair, and Austin from the first 5 for similar reasons.
Mascaras holds every criteria needed to garner a nomination here. He was the first crossover superstar from Mexico to the US and Japan, both in terms of being a draw and a pioneer in terms of style. His drawing ability was second to few, selling out not only MSG, but arenas all over the world. An exemption was made to the MSG mask ban just to accomodate him, because he was that great a star. He paved the way and was the biggest influence on some of the greatest foreign wrestlers of all-time, and his longevity and championship resume across it is astounding. And I havent even touched on his successful film career in Mexico, in which he starred or appeared in over 50 movies to this date. "The Man of A Thousand Faces" deserves the nomination here.
(JGlass you'd recall said argument.) However, this guy is why we even have a wrestling business and due to him retiring officially recently I could easily see him winning the polls. I think that he has done so much and deserves a Hall of Fame induction.