Mask collection retrospective: 2022

(For previous entries, see 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021.)

We're up to 2022, which somehow feels like a long time ago already. For this year, I'm highlighting:

• Flamita / Arez / Gringo Loco fusion
• Flamita
• Komander

Flamita / Arez / Gringo Loco fusion (2022-01-23)

It's unusual to have a triple fusion mask, and even more so when two of the three luchadors involved wrestle unmasked, but here we are. These three teamed up on the The Wrld on GCW show at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, and they had these awesome one-of-a-kind matching entrance masks.

I also bought Flamita's actual ring-worn mask from the match, but if I'm being honest, the entrance mask sticks out to me much more. This is one of the most unusual pieces in the collection, and I love it for precisely that reason.

Flamita (2022-03-12)

The ring-worn Flamita mask from this year that I'll highlight instead is the one used in an excellent match against Hijo del Vikingo in AAA's Showcenter tournament. When that match was first announced, I had no doubts that it would be great, and I immediately asked Flamita for the mask from that match. I was not disappointed.

I actually picked up this mask in person – along with a bunch of others – in person when I finally was able to make my way back to Mexico City for the first time in three years. Coincidentally, Flamita was the last friend I saw on the 2019 Mexico City trip, and he was the last I saw on the 2022 trip as well.

Komander (2022-11-06)

A new luchador in this series! This is Komander's PWG debut mask, used in a great trips match at PWG DINK. I had actually first attempted to buy a mask from him more than a year before this. But he explained to me that. at the time, he was on excursion to Mexico City and had only three masks with him. On top of that, he hadn't yet figured out shipping logistics, and I was unwilling to press too hard, given the COVID situation in Mexico.

Anyway, back to late 2022. I don't think I've admitted this publicly before, but COVID and a general state of being busy had kind of gotten me into a bit of a funk with respect to lucha, where I was just fine not paying attention to the shows that were happening. I'd known about Komander since @doradafan had started to hype him on Twitter many years ago, and yes, I had tried to buy his merch before, but I hadn't fully realized how good he'd become since moving to Mexico City.

I'll also admit that I was initially a bit ambivalent about going to DINK. But at the time, there was a possibility that certain circumstances might prevent me from flying to shows for a while after the new year, so I figured that I might as well make plans to attend this one. It was a good decision. (And those circumstances ended up failing to materialize.)

I didn't know this going in, but Komander is the type of luchador who sees a lot of sentimental value in his most important masks. Certainly, for him, getting to work PWG was a career milestone. For my part, I knew this too, and I knew that other fans at PWG would know too. So I was perfectly happy to pay his asking price and get the deal done in advance.

He made it perfectly clear to me that, in selling the mask to me, he felt like he was leaving a part of himself with me. I know that people can say things to say things, but given the way that we talked about subsequent mask dealings (spoiler alert for the 2023 entry!), I fully believe that he meant what he said.

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I have a lot of special masks, and even so, I felt at the time that this was one of the special special ones. Admittedly, this assessment could partly be a reflection of how much Komander himself valued the mask and its significance to his career, but as I said above, I hadn't realized how good Komander had become. Even though I had seen some of the crazier GIFs highlighting his special brand of insanity, I had done so with interest that was detached at best. That changed at DINK. It's a special feeling when you see wacky lucha stuff being done in a mask that you know you've bought.

The series concludes next time with 2023, bringing us up to the present.