Mask collection retrospective: 2017

 Apologies for the slight delay in posting this; I've had a busy week. In any event, my retrospective continues into 2017. Previous entries in the series are here:: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016.

For 2017, I'm highlighting two masks from Flamita and one from Draztick Boy (who now also wrestles under the name El Mago).

Flamita, 2017-01-01 (CaraLucha) and 2017-01-21 (The Crash)

Around the time, all-black masks were starting to become fashionable, and Flamita was not left behind in this trend. This was the first time that I actually agreed to buy a mask to be used on New Year's Day, and in advance no less. Flamita used this mask in the January 1, 2017 CaraLucha show in a very good three-way match vs. Volador Jr. and Rey Fénix that I only wish that I could have seen in person.

The other notable match in which this mask saw use was in Flamita's successful defense of the The Crash Cruiserweight Championship against AR Fox in Tijuana on January 21. I actually flew out to the west coast for the weekend just to see this match, which I enjoyed thoroughly:

I got more than I bargained for with this trip: Pentagón Jr. made a surprise appearance at The Crash, announced that he was now Pernta el Zero Miedo, marking his independence from AAA. (His brother, Rey Fénix, had left a few months prior.) So much time has passed since this show that it's easy to forget how significant of a development this was at the time. I'm happy that I had the opportunity to witness it live.

Draztick Boy, 2017-07-23 (Kobe World)

I'll admit that my interest in Japanese wrestling exists mostly only to the extent of luchador participation, and even then, I need to work up the motivation to actually watch the matches. However, I do have several masks that have seen use in Japan, and this is one of them. Draztick Boy used this mask in a dark match in Kobe World on July 23.

Flamita, 2017-07-23 (Kobe World) and 2017-09-01 (PWG BOLA N1)

However, Draztick Boy's was not the only mask that I managed to get from Kobe World that year. Flamita challenged Jimmy Kagetora for the Open the Brave Gate title. Flamita later used the same mask in his PWG debut on Night 1 of the Battle Los Angeles, in a great first-round match against Ricochet, in what ended up being the main event of the night due to a last-minute cancellation.

I'll readily admit that I started going to PWG because Flamita was announced for BOLA, and the timing couldn't have been better. This was the last BOLA to be held in the now-demolished American Legion in Reseda, and as stressful as it was to get tickets for BOLA in that venue, I'm happy to have experienced it once. I haven't missed a BOLA since then, and I try to attend at least one other PWG show a year, schedule permitting. And as I'll explain in upcoming entries in this series, PWG has brought me many other memories that, no matter what, I'll carry with me for the rest of my life.

So this mask is a great memento from that first PWG show that I attended at the tail end of the Reseda era. On top of that, it was Flamita's debut in PWG and in BOLA. For those reason, I consider this mask one of the really special ones in my collection.

That concludes the retrospective for 2017. I'll cover 2018 next time.