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. As the champion he toured the West Coast defending the championship several times, including a successful defense against Frankie Hart in Eugene, Oregon. He later lost the championship to Gorilla Ramos on March 13, but regained it two weeks later. His second run as the champion was ended by Wild Red Berry on April 24. 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. 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. He would later do double duty in PNW as well, working as Cyclone Mackey once more while also making appearances as the Gray Mask.
