The Best Masked Wrestlers In TNA History

The use of a masked wrestler can provide an interesting selling point to make fans enjoy them. Masks are a fun, colorful way to switch things up from all wrestlers looking the same, and it has been a valued tradition in the business. WWE has quite a few legendary masked characters with Rey Mysterio and Kane standing out the most.RELATED: 10 Rare Pictures Of Wrestlers Without Their MasksImpact Wrestling tried to have its own masked characters with different styles throughout their history. Some names had their masks become part of their identities to huge successes. Others were just secondary gimmicks trying to get over. The only constant for all names is that they had their faces hidden. Each of the following wrestlers were the best to wear masks in TNA.

10 Rellik

An odd instance of TNA using a masked wrestler featured the horror movie inspired gimmick of Rellik. Former WWE and WCW talent Johnny the Bull wore a red mask and adopted the moniker of Rellik, citing it as killer spelled backwards.

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Dustin Rhodes, playing the failed Black Reign gimmick, saw them teaming up to form a spooky duo attempting to torment the rest of the TNA roster. Rellik had some funny moments, but the masked persona didn’t have a long run due to not getting over as strong as the others

9 Black Taurus

One of the more recent instances of a masked wrestler scoring success in Impact Wrestling features Black Taurus getting over. The working relationship with AAA sees the talented masked wrestler working in multiple promotions. Black Taurus joined the established faction of Decay to form a trio with Rosemary and Crazzy Steve. Fans have gained interest in Black Taurus to make him one of the most successful wrestlers to wear a mask in TNA’s history.

8 Shark Boy

TNA tried to make Shark Boy a fun part of the program in the early years, and it worked to an extent. Shark Boy provided the fun variety typically needed from a wrestling product, but he rarely felt like an important part of the show. There was even some drama involved when lawsuits were threatened due to a Shark Boy movie character. TNA did manage to have some fun memories of Shark Boy from the early Asylum years to his humorous parody of Stone Cold Steve Austin.

7 Curry Man

TNA decided to take a big risk by having Christopher Daniels change gimmicks despite getting over without a mask. Daniels received the worst briefcase in the Feast or Fired match to get fired in storyline. The move was made to have Daniels play his masked Curry Man gimmick that he used in Japan. TNA placed Daniels in the comedic role for mixed results. Curry Man got solid ovations from the fans, but Daniels was best as himself without the mask.

6 Tigre Uno

Mexican wrestling sensation Tigre Uno received a major opportunity when joining TNA under a full-time contract. Tigre Uno was the traditional luchador known for high-flying moves and exciting fast paced matches. TNA valued Tigre Uno enough to win the X-Division Championship, and he became arguably the most important member of it for a year. The mask of Tigre Uno also looked cool to add that fun factor that comes with masked wrestlers.

5 Willow The Whisp

TNA allowed Jeff Hardy to use his alter ego character concept going all the way back to his days in the Omega promotion. Hardy was primarily himself throughout his TNA tenure, but he had a few instances to showcase Willow the Whisp.

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The unique mask and use of an umbrella fit the darker look of Hardy. TNA sold the story of it being a different persona from Jeff and fully committed to it. Willow’s best appearances came in cinematic match environments where the Hardys could get bold with the risks.

4 Rey Fenix

The Lucha Brothers continued to break out in Impact Wrestling during their stint there before AEW formed. Rey Fenix is always viewed as the more explosive wrestler between the two since he had more high-flying moves that defy the logic of gravity. Impact found success from Fenix in both the tag team division and singles matches without his brother Pentagon Jr. Fans fell in love with Fenix due to his fearless style and cool persona to match the masks he wore.

3 Pentagon

Impact Wrestling pushed Pentagon Jr. a little more than his brother to rank one spot above Rey Fenix. Many forget that Pentagon won the Impact World Championship for a short reign, since fewer fans watched at the time. It ended after a few days. Pentagon joined the prestigious list of names to win both the Impact World Championship and Impact Tag Team Championship. The success of Pentagon and Fenix in Impact led to them getting the AEW offers right before the new promotion started.

2 Suicide

TNA came up with the concept of the masked wrestler Suicide, who is a harder wrestler to rate compared to the others on this list since multiple wrestlers played him. Christopher Daniels, Franke Kazarian and TJ Perkins were the names under the mask for the extended periods of Suicide being on television. Suicide was actually first seen in a TNA video before becoming part of the product. Three X-Division Championship reigns helped make Suicide a successful masked entity in TNA.

1 Abyss

TNA witnessed Abyss becoming the most beloved and successful masked wrestler in company history. Abyss started off as a spooky character with obvious inspirations from the established masked WWE legends Kane and Mankind. The peak for Abyss featured him becoming an upper-carder with noteworthy feuds against AJ Styles, Sting and Christian Cage. Abyss won the top NWA Heavyweight Championship and was even inducted into the Hall of Fame at the end of his run. Abyss is considered an all-time TNA great.