Cyclone Mackey

Corbin James Massey (July 19, 1903 – December 30, 1979) was an American professional wrestler known under a number of ring names such as Cyclone Mackey, Ciclón McKey, La Maravilla Emmascarada, Mr. X, The Grey Mask and The Yellow Mask. Massey was the first wrestler to work masked in Mexico as the enmascarado character La Maravilla Enmascarada (Spanish for "The Masked Marvel") and helped starting the tradition of masks in Lucha libre that still exists today. Massey was one of many wrestlers who used the name "Masked Marvel" during the early days of wrestling. During his career he held both the World Light Heavyweight Championship twice and the Pacific Coast Light Heavyweight Championship, both while working as "Grey Mask".

Cyclone Mackey
Birth nameCorbin James Massey
Born(1903-07-19)July 19, 1903
Missouri, United States
DiedDecember 30, 1979(1979-12-30) (aged 76)
Los Angeles, California, United States
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Ciclón McKey
Ciclón Mackey
Corbin MacKey
Corbin Massey
Cyclone Mackey
Cy Mackey
The Gray Mask
John Mackey
La Maravilla Enmascarada
Mask Mackey
Mr.
The Mysterious X
The Yellow Mask
Billed weight160 lb (73 kg)[1]
Billed fromLos Angeles, California, US[1]
Amarillo, Texas, US[2][3]
Galveston, Texas, US[4]
Houston, Texas, US[5]
San Antonio, Texas, US
Ireland
Trained byCal Farley
Dutch Mantell[2][Note 1]
Debut1930
Retired1951

Professional wrestling career (1930–1951)

Corbin Massey was trained for his professional wrestling career by Cal Farley and Dutch Mantell.[2][Note 1] Massey took the ring name "Cyclone Mackey" due to his fast moves inside the ring early on. He made his debut in 1930 and initially worked for Al Haft's Midwest Wrestling Association in Ohio. In 1931 and 1932 he worked throughout Texas after he moved there and bought a house. In June, 1933 he received a match against Yaqui Joe for the World Middleweight Championship, but it was decided to not make him the champion.[5]

Mexico (1933–1936)

While working in Texas Mexican wrestling promoter Salvador Lutteroth saw him in action and invited Mackey to compete for his newly created Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL). Working under the name "Cíclon MacKey" he wrestled on EMLL's first show, which took place in Arena Moreno in Mexico City[, On the show Mackey lost to Liong Tin Kit.[6] A year later Mackey would help make Lucha libre history as he started to wrestle in a mask under the name La Maravilla Enmascarada ("The Masked Marvel"). While masked wrestlers had competed in the United States for a number of years, including several "Masked Marvels", this would be the first masked wrestler in Mexico.[7] The colorful mask and the imagery of the masked warrior soon became a fundamental part of Lucha Libre based on the work of La Maravilla Enmascarada, El Enmascarado ("The Masked Man"), El Enmascarado de Chicago and El Murciélago Enmascarado ("The Masked Bat").[7] The tradition of the mask would rise to take a "sacred" place, with the majority of all Mexican wrestlers starting out as masked wrestlers.[7] La Maravilla Enmascarada made his in-ring debut at the EMLL 1st Anniversary Show defeating Frank Gou in three falls.[8][9][10][11] Two years later, at the EMLL 3rd Anniversary Show he defeated Bobby Pearce.[9][10][11][12] in late 1936 Mackey stopped working in Mexico, moving to territories in California instead.

Mr. X (1936–1940)

After Massey moved to California he began working as "Mr. X", another masked character which, like the Masked Marvel, was an identity used by many wrestlers both before and after Massey used it. At times he was billed as the "Mysterious X", but it was the same mask and character he played. Playing a masked character he was able to work two separate characters, the heel (wrestling term for those that play the "bad guy" role) Mr. X and the face ("Good guy") character Cyclone Mackey without the public being aware that they were one and the same. In 1940 Mackey was unmasked, taking off the Mr. X mask as a result of losing a match to Gil LaCross and Paul Orth.[2] After he was unmasked he resumed using the Cyclone Mackey ring name.

Gray Mask (1943–1949)

Over the years the Cyclone Mackey style of wrestling took its toll on Massey's body and he had to adopt a slower, more brawling style. To fit the style he developed a masked heel character called "The Grey Mask" as he wrestled in California. As the Gray Mask he defeated Wild Red Berry to win the National Wrestling Association's World Light Heavyweight Championship on December 27, 1943.[13] As the champion he toured the West Coast defending the championship several times, including a successful defense against Frankie Hart in Eugene, Oregon.[14] He later lost the championship to Gorilla Ramos on March 13, but regained it two weeks later.[13] His second run as the champion was ended by Wild Red Berry on April 24.[13] The Grey Mask was such a despised wrestling character that he would occasionally incite a riot in the arena, with the fans trying to attack him.[15] In 1944 he moved on to Don Owen's Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW) promotion based in Portland, Oregon, where he also worked as The Gray Mask. During his time in PNW he faced a young George Wagner, before he adopted his famous "Gorgeous George" character. On February 3, 1947, he defeated Billy Goelz to win the Pacific Coast Light Heavyweight Championship, a title he would later lose to Billy Hickson.[16] He would later do double duty in PNW as well, working as Cyclone Mackey once more while also making appearances as the Gray Mask.

Final years (1950–1951)

In the early 1950s Massey worked less and less, adopting another masked character known as "The Yellow Mask" as well as a run as the masked Mr. X once more

Retirement and death

Corbin Massey retired from wrestling around 1951–1952 and died on December 30, 1979, at the age of 76.

Championships and accomplishments

Luchas de Apuestas record
See also: Luchas de Apuestas
Winner (wager) Loser (wager) Location Event Date Notes
Gil LaCross and Paul Orth (hair)Mr. X (mask) and Tex HagarLima, OhioLive eventApril 9, 1940[Note 2]

Footnotes
  1. Not the modern day wrestler known as Dutch Mantel.
  2. Only Mr. X's mask was on the line in the match.

References
  1. "Outstanding pair to grapple here". Owosso Argus-Press. January 26, 1934. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  2. Klewer, Lou (March 22, 1940). "Cyclone Mackey Defeats Buck in straight falls". Toledo Blade. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  3. Klewer, Lou (April 4, 1940). "Cyclone Mackey defeats Hart in straight falls". Toledo Blade. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  4. "Cyclone and Wildcat will tangle in Fairgrounds Ring". Eugene Register-Guard. July 29, 1932. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  5. "Yaqui Joe wins Mackey Tussle". Prescott Evening Courier. June 21, 1933. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  6. "EMLL Debut show". ProWrestlingHistory.com. September 21, 1933. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  7. Madigan, Dan (2007). "Okay... what is Lucha Libre?". Mondo Lucha Libre: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperColins Publisher. pp. 29–40. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
  8. "1st Anniversary Show". Pro Wrestling History. September 21, 1934. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  9. "Historia de Los Aniversarios del CMLL". The Gladiatores Magazine (in Spanish). September 2, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
  10. "Historia de Los Aniversarios" (in Spanish). Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
  11. Ruiz Glez, Alex (September 7, 2010). "CMLL: 79 historias, 79 Aniversario, las 79 luchas estelares". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved October 20, 2012.
  12. "3rd Anniversary Show". Pro Wrestling History. September 27, 1936. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  13. Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "National Wrestling Association Light Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  14. "Gray Mask puts title on block Saturday". Eugene Register-Guard. March 19, 1947. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  15. Collins, Ray (October 16, 1944). "Parks loses split mat decision to 'Gray Mask'". Eugene Register-Guard. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  16. Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Pacific Coast Wrestling: Pacific Coast Light Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
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