Wrestlers don't really have gimmicks anymore. At least, not in the same sense they did back in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Nowadays, the closest thing to a Rock and Wrestling-era gimmick is Brodus Clay and he is single-handedly making Raw the greatest show on television right now. Okay, that's a bit of an overexaggeration but "Funkasaurus" is so much fun.

Some of my favorite gimmicks back in the day were those based on real life jobs. It was a weird suspension of belief. Were they still working as whatever their gimmicks were during the day and then moonlighting as a wrestler at night? Was the commute between their office and the arena too long so they just had to wrestle in their civilian clothes?

Or did they figure, "I've already got clothes I can wrestle in, why would I have to buy some spandex?"

As you can tell, I had a lot running through my head as a kid.

The list is after the jump!

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I love submission holds in wrestling.

They provide an altogether different aspect to a wrestling match. They're not as devastating as a slam and they're not as flashy as a top rope move or a splash to the outside. To me, submissions harken back to the early days of wrestling where catch as catch can was king and men proved their mettle by how long they could survive in their opponent's signature submission without giving up.

When applied, they can add a layer of tension and drama to a match that no other move can.

Here's a list of five of my favorites.

Oh, and there's no Sharpshooter to be seen so go ahead and start rev up the hate comments now...

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After last Sunday's WWE TLC pay-per-view (PPV), I got to thinking about how backwards it was for WWE to center entire events around gimmick matches. They do the same thing with the Hell in a Cell show and down in Florida TNA is just as guilty every year when they put on Lockdown.

Gimmick matches were supposed to be part of the natural evolution of a feud. Trying to get the belt off a cowardly rulebreaker whose friends keep running in and interfering? It's time for a cage match. Have a bitter feud that is tearing the promotion apart? A Loser Leaves Town match would certainly seem fitting.

But now guys step inside a Hell in a Cell simply because they happen to be feuding when that PPV comes up. No evolution, no natural progression, nothing.

So to celebrate -- or mourn, maybe -- the gimmick match, here's my top five in pro wrestling.

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Although not technically a mask, The Great Muta's face paint pretty much made me a fan of all things mysterious in wrestling. As much as I dislike lucha libre, I like its masks just as much.

Luckily, I can enjoy the masks without having to watch the match and a ton of Japanese wrestlers wear masks too.

My collection of masks is probably around 10 right now and will only continue to grow. I need to find Al Snow's number so I can get some of those plastic heads so I can properly display them in my home.

Honorable mentions go to Ultimo Dragon, Hayabusa, Mankind, Super Dragon and Mr. America (just kidding).

Without further adieu...

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Welcome to a new column here at Cageside that was inspired by KING BOOKAH himself ...

FAVE FIVE!

I'm not going to lie to you. This is just a gussied up top five whatever but who doesn't like lists? Communists, that's who. And puppy punchers. I don't want to be associated with either.

We kick off Fave Five with quite a topic ... wrestler's theme songs. I don't know who it was but whoever thought, "Hey, we should play a song -- the same song -- whenever a wrestler comes out!" deserves a free drink or two. That guy knew what was up.

I had to make a rule up for this one, though. The song itself had to be essentially only a wrestler's theme song. Yeah, "Walk" by Pantera is probably the most bad ass song ever but it would be so even if it was Rob Van Dam's theme. Same for stuff like CM Punk's old Killswitch Engage song which you can also find on one of the band's CDs. We're looking for great wrestling theme songs, not just songs that wrestlers walk out to.

Honorable mentions go to Demolition, The Ultimate Warrior, and the newest theme on the list, Cody Rhodes. Aside from the vocals, it almost sounds like a Nine Inch Nails song and that's alright by me.

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