The recent passing of Mr.Wrestling II made me think of masked wrestlers and the one wrestler that for me deserved to be involved in the Forgotten Superstars series.
You don't see many masked wrestlers anymore, but I always enjoyed the wrestlers that wore the mask as a fan and it might have been better and more mysterious at that time as seldom did masked wrestlers come to the Northeast and the McMahon/WWF territory.
Since I couldn't see other wrestling companies (other than the one weekend a year that I visited my Ohio relatives when I would watch Georgia wrestling on WTBS) , I relied entirely on the wrestling magazines to gain any knowledge of the happenings around the country and even though the articles were hokey and usually even more fictional than the actual programs (even as a kid and as a regular purchaser of these, it was pretty apparent to see that wrestling wasn't on the level), it was the only way to read about other wrestlers.
I always liked the masked wrestlers because the masks were often colorful, more often than not were "rulebreakers" (the term the magazines used for the "heels"), and it was fun trying to figure out any small tip on their "real" identity.
There were many masked wrestlers such as the Super Destroyer, the original Assassin and his partner Assassin #2, the Masked Grapplers, etc, but for me, three stood out above the rest.
Mr.Olympia was often a "fan favorite", but I liked the mask and he would eventually turn in the Mid-South area.
The Spoiler had a really menacing look with his vicious finisher- The Claw.
The Spoiler was often managed by J.J. Dillon or Gary Hart and magazine articles on him would picture bloody grapplers damaged by his fierce grip, but the other was my favorite- The Masked Superstar.
Superstar was a wrestler that stretched the rulebook because he wanted to, not because he had to.
The magazines always stressed the Superstar had the "scientific ability" to win fairly, but he preferred the rougher style with breaking the rules and that appealed to me!
The Masked Superstar also used several different masks with far more colors than the usual black or white and those hoods stood out even in the black and white print of the magazines.
The Superstar cemented himself with me on an Ohio visit when I saw him for the first time with his unique interview style because he was a rare entity in pro wrestling.
The Superstar rarely screamed and yelled or made ridiculous threats, he spoke matter of factly as in I mean what I say, take me seriously, he came across as a legitimate athlete similar to those in other sports and there was the hook- legitimacy.- The Masked Superstar fit that mold and his finishing "Cobra Hold" was a little different as well.
The hold and application were similar to the "Cobra Clutch" of Sgt. Slaughter, but the Superstar could use it as a submission hold as Slaughter did, as a "sleeper" hold, and on occasion even drop the affected grappler to the canvas and pin him as he continued to maintain the cobra.
Slaughter's hold was a bit more flashy but the Superstar's cobra seemed a bit more realistic and far more versatile in its use.
Superstar brings out his toolbox in this win over Mike Davis, an underrated wrestler that is most remembered for his brief stint as "Dusty Rhodes" (has to be seen to be believed) and as part of the "Rock N Roll RPM's".
Superstar spent almost his entire career under the mask ( Bill Eadie had previously been one of the Mongols) with either the Jim Crockett/Mid-Atlantic territory or the Georgia territory as a heel but did have brief runs with both companies as a fan favorite in tag teams with Paul Jones (Mid-Atlantic) and King Kong Bundy (Georgia).
Superstar ranked at the top of the list of wrestlers that I wanted to see enter the WWF that I hadn't seen there before and in 1983, Superstar finally arrived under the tutelage of the Grand Wizard and when the Grand Wizard died in October 1983, Superstar was the last wrestler that he officially managed.
Superstar had to scrap the cobra hold since Sgt. Slaughter was using it there, but using the sweeping neckbreaker as his finisher, he rose to the status of the latest challenger to then-champion Bob Backlund after injuring Backlund's protege Eddie Gilbert with the neckbreaker on the floor to boost the heat for the Superstar's challenge.
The Superstar still had the confident, self-assured "real sports" interviews, but other than the Gilbert angle and his two-match set at Madison Square Garden (the unofficial WWF capital at the time) challenging Bob Backlund for the championship, Superstar's WWF tenure likely wasn't remembered as anything special for anyone other than his most devoted fans.
Backlund's November 1983 win over the Superstar was an odd one, as it seemed that Superstar had a solid amount of crowd support, which was unusual, and would be a forbearing of the following month when Backlund's title reign of almost six years was ended by the Iron Sheik.
Had the situation been a little different, Superstar would have been a better choice to be the man that supplanted Backlund, but Superstar was leaving the WWF shortly and if he wrestled as another wrestler (changed gimmick), he couldn't take credit for the title reign anyway.
Sheik was the better choice but had the WWF chosen a few month title reign for the conqueror of Bob Backlund, and then lose to Hulk Hogan as the Sheik did the following month, Superstar would have been the superior option.
Ironically, it was the Superstar that would be Hulk Hogan's first title defense and he did receive a few title shots around the circuit against Hogan.
For the most part in North America, that was the end of the Masked Superstar.
The Superstar would wrestle in Japan as under that mask until early 1986 when he returned to the WWF as one of the Machines (Andre the Giant, Superstar, and Blackjack Mulligan under masks).
After that stint was somewhat disappointing, it was back to the Masked Superstar in the Florida territory in that promotion's waning moments for a program against a young Lex Luger.
Superstar won the Southern title (Florida's top championship) from Luger, lost it back before moving back to the WWF as Ax of the tag team Demolition.
Demolition was successful with three championship reigns but other than an occasional independent show long after leaving the WWF, the Masked Superstar was gone from the ring.
The Superstar did refer once to a possible trip to WCW when Ole Anderson was booking the company, but Anderson wanted the Superstar character, while Bill Eadie preferred to use the Demolition gimmick and the sides couldn't come to an agreement.
For all of the success that Bill Eadie would have as part of Demolition, Eadie will always be the Masked Superstar to me and even though the Spoiler is close (The Spoiler could make these pages someday), the Superstar will always be the epitome of the term masked wrestler and we welcome him to the Forgotten Superstars Universe.
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