Midget wrestling

Mascarita Sagrada on his way to the ring

Midget wrestling is professional wrestling involving dwarves or people of short stature. Its heyday was in the 1950s and 1960s, when wrestlers such as Little Beaver, Lord Littlebrook, and Fuzzy Cupid toured North America, and Sky Low Low was the first holder of the National Wrestling Alliance's World Midget Championship. In the following couple of decades, more wrestlers became prominent in North America, including foreign wrestlers like Japan's Little Tokyo.

The attraction was very popular in wrestling promotions from the 1950s into the 1970s. Many cards featured midget wrestlers and included tag team and women's midget wrestling. Television shows for promotions in various cities would frequently include midget matches.

Midget wrestling began to wane after World Wrestling Federation (WWF)'s WrestleMania III. Afterward, promotions continued to feature midget divisions, but its popularity was slowly declining. By the mid-1990s, midget wrestlers were mostly featured in comical matches and segments, rather than serious competitive wrestling-type matches. In Mexico, this was not the case, as wrestler Mascarita Sagrada continued to compete in prominent Mexican promotions such as AAA and Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. By the mid-2000s in the United States, midget divisions were once again being featured in major wrestling promotions, and wrestlers such as World Wrestling Entertainment (formerly the WWF)'s Hornswoggle were competing for and winning championships made for average-size male wrestlers.

The Little People of America (LPA) have criticized midget wrestling as reinforcing stereotypes that little people are no more than entertainment. The LPA also frowns on the use of the word midget in the name of the sport—claiming that it is as offensive as a racial slur.[1] Wrestlers do not always feel the same way. Many, including former WWE midget Hornswoggle, have said they take pride in the term due to its history in the industry and prefer its usage due to its marketability.[2]

United States and Canada

Early history

Midget professional wrestling had its early origins in the vaudeville shows of the United States.[3] In these shows, comedy was as important as athletics. The sport is also indebted to professional wrestling's carny origins, where a premium was placed on the visually unusual.

Heyday

In 1949, Sky Low Low won a thirty-man battle royal to become the winner of the first NWA World Midget Championship, a singles midget championship promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance.[4] Sky Low Low, one of the most prominent midget professional wrestlers, had a longtime feud with Farmer Brooks.[5]

The 1950s have been called the "golden age of midget wrestling."[6] During the decade, Sky Low Low, Little Beaver, Lord Littlebrook, and Fuzzy Cupid all toured the territories of Canada, wrestling in promotions such as Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling.[7][8] The dominant promoter and booker for midget wrestling at the time was Jack Britton, who was stationed in Montreal, Quebec.[9] In Ontario, Larry Kasaboski also promoted midget wrestling shows.[9] In Canada, Sky Low Low and Little Beaver earned up to 15% of the gate proceeds at their events.[8][10]

The midget professional wrestlers had many gimmicks to attract audiences and revenue. One of Sky Low Low's gimmicks was an open challenge to any other midget professional wrestlers to beat him in a two out of three falls match for $100.[11] He would also turn himself upside down and balance on his head.[8] The duo of Sky Low Low and Little Beaver even squared off in a match for Elizabeth II and King Farouk of Egypt.[11] Sky Low Low also frequently teamed with Fuzzy Cupid in tag team matches. Meanwhile, Lord Littlebrook was credited as being one of the first wrestlers of any height to use aerial maneuvers in his matches.[12] In addition to North America, Littlebrook wrestled in Australia, Japan and Thailand.[12] The midget wrestlers also performed in Cuba prior to the 1950s, South America, Central America, England, Ireland, Scotland, and the countries on the mainland European continent.[9]

In the 1960s, Littlebook trained other midget wrestlers, including Cowboy Lang.[13] Female wrestler The Fabulous Moolah also trained midget wrestlers at her home in South Carolina, including female midget wrestler Diamond Lil.[14]

Female midget wrestlers were popular in the 1960s and 1970s. Beginning in the mid-to-late 1960s, Diamond Lil wrestled Darling Dagmar, and in the 1970s, Lil mainly feuded with Princess Little Dove. Other prominent female competitors included Sheila Johnson, Cherrie Lamour, and Gypsey Rose. The women, as well as the men, competed regularly for promotions such as Georgia Championship Wrestling.[15]

Peak and decline

Midget wrestling continued to be popular into the 1970s and 1980s, with foreign wrestlers coming to the United States to compete. Little Tokyo, a Japanese professional wrestler, made his way to the National Wrestling Alliance in the 1970s. British wrestler Lord Littlebrook continued to compete, but he became a manager for Jack Victory and Rip Morgan in World Championship Wrestling in the late-1980s.[12]

The World Wrestling Federation featured several midget wrestlers on their cards in the 1980s. At WrestleMania II in April 1986, The Haiti Kid appeared in the corner of actor Mr. T, who was in a match against wrestling Roddy Piper.[16] On March 12, 1987, at the WWF's WrestleMania III event—which had a record attendance of over 93,000 fans and is considered the pinnacle of the 1980s wrestling boom—featured a tag team match with midget wrestlers Haiti Kid and Little Beaver, with average sized wrestler Hillbilly Jim defeating Little Tokyo and Lord Littlebrook, with King Kong Bundy by disqualification.[17][18] During the match, Bundy slammed Little Beaver to the mat, which broke his back and forced him into early retirement.[3] Sky Low Low was also touring with the WWF in the 1980s.[11]

Promotions such as World Class Championship Wrestling and Windy City Wrestling also had midget divisions during this time. Grand Prix Wrestling in Canada employed midget wrestlers, including Farmer Brooks until it closed in 1992.[5] In late 1992, Canadian Claude Giroux signed on with the WWF and teamed with The Bushwhackers in their feud against The Beverly Brothers, both of which were teams of full-sized wrestlers.[19]

Competitive midget wrestling, declined sharply in the United States in the early 1990s. Midget wrestlers began to show up in more comedic roles, which has been criticized by the Little People of America as being "thoroughly degrading and puts little people out there as a sideshow and entertainment."[20] In these comedic roles, the wrestlers appeared as miniature versions of existing full-size wrestling stars. For example, Claude Giroux continued his tenure in the WWF by dressing up as a smaller version of larger wrestlers, most prominent was his Dink the Clown character, who was the "mini" of Doink the Clown. As Dink, Giroux appeared at 1994's WrestleMania X in a match where he teamed with Doink against Bam Bam Bigelow and Luna Vachon.[21] He made another appearance at that year's Survivor Series teaming with Doink and two other midget wrestlers (Pink and Wink) in a match against Jerry Lawler and Lawler's "minis" (Sleazy, Queasy and Cheesy).[22][23] In response to the growing popularity of using midget wrestlers as comedy, Lord Littlebrook, who was popular in the 1950s, stated "I'm disgusted, I really am...I want midget wrestling, I don't want midget comedy."[24]

Resurgence

In the late 1990s, the WWF and Mexico's AA had a talent sharing program that allowed several lucha libre midget wrestlers to compete on WWF television.[25] These wrestlers included Max Mini, El Torito, Mascarita Sagrada, Mini Vader, and La Parkita.[25] Like in the United States, these midget wrestlers played "mini" versions of WWF and AAA's full-size wrestlers. Sagrada, repackaged as a character named Nova, made his in ring debut in a midget wrestling match at Bad Blood in 1997 where he teamed with Max Mini against Tarantula and Mosaic. The midget wrestlers appeared on WWF Shotgun Saturday Night and WWF Monday Night Raw. The WWF's midget wrestlers also appeared in matches at the Royal Rumble in 1997 and the Royal Rumble in 1998.[26]

World Championship Wrestling (WCW) also had an influx of Mexican midget wrestlers. In late 1996, full-size wrestler Máscara Sagrada wrestled in a dark match before Starrcade in 1996 where he teamed with Octagóncito (mini version of Octagón) and defeated Jerrito Estrada and Piratita Morgan, the latter of which was also a little person.[27] The next day, the teams faced again, this time on WCW Monday Nitro.[28]

Hornswoggle in World Wrestling Entertainment in 2007

On the independent circuit, there was an increased interest in midget hardcore wrestling matches, and groups such as the Half Pint Brawlers began selling DVDs and opening for musical acts such as Kid Rock.[3] World Wrestling All-Stars also featured the hardcore matches in 2002 through 2003, with performers such as Meatball, Teo, and Puppet competing in matches where they hit each other with trashcans and other foreign objects. In the early days of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (NWA:TNA) in 2002, where the promotion featured a hardcore midget wrestling division. Although the division was later abandoned, at Victory Road in 2004—the company's first monthly pay-per-view event—Mascarita Sagrada defeated Piratita Morgan.[29]

In 2005, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) announced the creation of a "juniors" division within their SmackDown! brand, which consisted of wrestlers at or below five feet tall but was discontinued in March 2006.[20][25][30] Despite releasing many of the "junior" talent, they hired Dylan Postl in May 2006, who played a leprechaun character (named Little Bastard and later Hornswoggle), who accompanied Irish wrestler Fit Finlay to the ring.[31] At The Great American Bash in July 2007, he won the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, a title normally held by full size male wrestlers.[32] Finlay and Hornswoggle also challenged for the WWE Tag Team Championship at Night of Champions in June 2008.[33][34] During his tenure with the company, midget wrestlers employed in the independent circuit, including Short Sleeve Sampson, were brought in to portray the mini versions of larger wrestlers with whom Finlay was feuding.

In February 2000, the Micro Wrestling Federation (MWF), a wrestling promotion made up entirely of little people, was established.[35] The promotion featured both serious wrestling matches and more comedic aspects.[35] In early 2008, the Entertainment Shack booking agency acquired the MWF. After the acquisition, the entertainment agency hired many new midget wrestlers making the organization the largest midget wrestling show in the US. This show can be seen nationwide with a tour schedule that encompasses the entire US, Canada, and South America. The promotion usually books between 150 and 180 shows a year.[36]

In the 21st century, there has been substantial controversy surrounding the sport. The hardcore wrestling troupe the Half Pint Brawlers simulated sex, used staple guns as weapons, and performed using other hardcore antics in January 2008 during a Delta Upsilon fraternity event at Northwestern University.[37] The event caused the fraternity to face disciplinary actions.[37] In August 2008, the female performers in the MWF caused a disturbance when they appeared topless in a bar in Canton, Illinois.[38] In addition, the Little People of America began to frown upon the use of the word "midget" in 2007, as they considered it degrading.[3] The wrestlers involved in the sport do not always agree with this assessment, citing the longevity of the sport and the appeal of the term to audiences.[3]

In 2018 a Texas-based organisation "Extreme Dwarfanators Wrestling" who has toured across the USA for many years decided to tour England and Wales in the UK due to the explosion of interest in the UK wrestling scene. They instructed Wales based agency Degu Media to assist with the language, tone and translational issues which they began to eliminate the word Midget from all UK marketing material. So at launch, the word "Dwarfanators" was used instead on social media, posters, adverts and banners.

However, the Restricted Growth Association (RGA) decided this was a great opportunity to collate donations by opposing the event and describing it as a Freak Show and both Horrific and Grotesque. This outraged many in the wrestling community, public and notable people in the Dwarf community spoke out against the RGA such as James Luster (actor, former dwarf games participant and councillor) and even former relatives of the founders of the RGA.

Once three venues in England banned the dwarfs from appearing, a legal case for discrimination has been started quoting the Equality Act 2010. Coyote Ugly Saloons in the UK, breifly suspended ticket sales whilst they took counsel on the matter before giving the events their support. The Extreme Dwarfanators Wrestling event is due in the UK in October 2018.

Mexico

Mascarita Sagrada is the most popular midget wrestler in Mexico and has also been featured in World Wrestling Entertainment and World Championship Wrestling in the United States.[39] In Mexico, he has competed in AAA, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), and a long list of independent promoters over the years. He debuted in CMLL, where he was patterned after popular luchador Máscara Sagrada and given his ring name which is Spanish for "Little Sacred Mask".[40] During his first year working as Mascarita Sagrada he made guest appearances in Puerto Rico working for the World Wrestling Council (WWC) at their 17th Anniversary show teaming with Aguilita Solitaria in a losing effort against the team of Piratita Morgan and Espectrito.[41] This match was one of the early pairings of Mascarita Sagrada and Espectrito, a rivalry that would last for a decade and span several promotions.

In the 1990s, when midget wrestling in the United States began to decline in popularity, it remained popular in Mexico. In fact, prominent Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) created their midget division the year before in 1989. In 1992, the promotion established its primary championship for midget wrestlers, the CMLL World Mini-Estrella Championship.[42] Mascarita Sagrada was the first champion.[42]

Mascarita Sagrada and Espectrito continued their feud in AAA, now with the newly created Mexican National Mini-Estrella Championship in the 1990s. In January 1994, Espectrito became the first champion after winning a tournament final.[43] On November 1994 Sagrada and Octagoncito teamed up to defeat Espectrito and Jerrito Estrada on AAA's first ever pay-per-view event When Worlds Collide.[44] In 2002, AAA established the AAA Mascot Tag Team Championship, which was a tag team championship that was held by a full-size wrestler and his "mini".[45] The initial champions were Mascara Sagrada and Mascarita Sagrada, who held the title for approximately two years before losing it to El Alebrije and Cuije.[45] The latter team held the championship until April 7, 2009 when they left the promotion and the title was vacated.[46]

Championships and accomplishments

Sky Low Low (Marcel Gauthier) who was the National Wrestling Alliance's first World Midget Champion, Little Beaver (Lionel Giroux), Lord Littlebrook, and Fuzzy Cupid all have been inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. In addition, other awards were developed for the midget professional wrestlers. For example, Pro Wrestling Illustrated presented a Midget Wrestler of the Year award annually from 1972 to 1976.

The National Wrestling Alliance promoted the NWA World Midget's Championship from 1949 until 1999. Little Tokyo held the title more than any other wrestler, with a total of three reigns.[4] There was also a World Midget Tag Team Championship, which was held by wrestlers such as Little Tokyo and Lord Littlebrook.[47] There are also several Mexican midget titles, including AAA World Mini-Estrellas Championship and Mascot Tag Team Championship, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre's World Mini-Estrella Championship, Mexican National Mini-Estrella Championship, and the World Wrestling Association's Minis Championship.

Notable midget wrestlers

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Ban 'Midget' From TV, Little People Group Says". Huffington Post. 2009-07-05.
  2. ↑ "Hornswoggle Reveals Two WWE Angles He Didn't Want To Do, How Long He Was Under Ring For Vince Angle – Wrestling Central". 15 September 2016. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Mooneyham, Mike (January 19, 2007). "Big Controversy Surrounds Smallest Wrestlers". The Wrestling Gospel. Archived from the original on June 21, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  4. 1 2 Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  5. 1 2 "Canadian Hall of Fame: Farmer Brooks". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
  6. ↑ Shilcutt Gleave, Katharine (2009-01-15). "Midget Wrestling: Don't Act Like You Aren't Interested". Houstonist. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
  7. ↑ Howard, Gary (2005-06-01). "Northland Wrestling: The Golden Decade". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
  8. 1 2 3 McCoy, Heath (2005). Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling. CanWest Books. p. 90. ISBN 0-9736719-8-X.
  9. 1 2 3 Howard, Gary (2009-02-11). "Midget Little Brutus shares his remarkable story". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  10. ↑ "Little Beaver". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  11. 1 2 3 Oliver, Greg. "Canadian Hall of Fame: Sky Low Low". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  12. 1 2 3 Oliver, Greg. "SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: Lord Littlebrook". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  13. ↑ Oliver, Greg (January 9, 2007). "Midget star Cowboy Lang dies". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  14. ↑ Ellison, Lillian (2003). The Fabulous Moolah: First Goddess of the Squared Circle. ReaganBooks. pp. 108–112. ISBN 978-0-06-001258-8.
  15. ↑ "Who's Who: Lord Littlebrook". Georgia Wrestling History. Archived from the original on 2007-10-31. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  16. ↑ "WrestleMania II: Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2005-10-29. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  17. ↑ Shields, Brian (2006). Main Event: WWE in the Raging 80s. Simon and Schuster. p. 26. ISBN 1-4165-3257-9.
  18. ↑ Powell, John. "Steamboat - Savage rule WrestleMania 3". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-10-14.
  19. ↑ History of WWE (1992-12-26). "WWF Show Results 1992".
  20. 1 2 Brummett, Brian (2007). Uncovering Hidden Rhetorics: Social Issues in Disguise. SAGE. p. 43. ISBN 1-4129-5692-7.
  21. ↑ Powell, John. "Hart elevated at WrestleMania 10". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
  22. ↑ "Survivor Series: November 23, 1994". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on February 17, 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  23. ↑ Gutschmidt, Adam. "Survivor Series 1994 Re-Revued". Online Onslaught. Archived from the original on 2008-12-07. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  24. ↑ Adelson, Betty M. and Julie Rotta (2005). The Lives of Dwarfs: Their Journey from Public Curiosity Toward Social Liberation. Rutgers University Press. p. 361. ISBN 0-8135-3548-4.
  25. 1 2 3 Waldman, Jon (October 16, 2005). "New division added to Smackdown". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  26. ↑ Powell, John (1998-01-19). "Austin wins predictable Rumble". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  27. ↑ Cawthon, Graham (1996-12-29). "WCW Ring Results: 1996". History of WWE. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  28. ↑ Cawthon, Graham (1996-12-30). "WCW Ring Results: 1996". History of WWE. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  29. ↑ Clevett, Jason (2008-11-08). "Victory Road bombs". Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
  30. ↑ "Juniors released". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2006-03-09. Archived from the original on 2008-12-19. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
  31. ↑ "Hornswoggle's profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
  32. ↑ "Hornswoggle's title reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
  33. ↑ Bishop, Matt (June 30, 2008). "Big names still on top after Night of Champions". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  34. ↑ Passero, Mitch (June 29, 2008). "Results: Dirty Deeds". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on June 30, 2008. Retrieved June 29, 2008.
  35. 1 2 "About the MWF". Micro Wrestling Federation. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  36. ↑ Elmore, Ruthie (April 14, 2009). "Six midgets fight during micro wrestling shows". The Red & Black. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
  37. 1 2 "Fraternity Faces Disciplinary Action After Midget Entertainment Group Performs at Rush Event". Fox News. January 17, 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
  38. ↑ Rothert, Brenda (August 27, 2008). "Canton officials receive complaints about nudity at local bar". Journal Star. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  39. ↑ Madigan, Dan (2007). Mondo Lucha A Go-Go: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperColins Publisher. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
  40. ↑ Lucha Libre: Masked Superstars of Mexican Wrestling. Distributed Art Publishers, Inc. 2005. ISBN 968-6842-48-9.
  41. ↑ "WWC Anniversary Shows: #17". ProWrestlingHistory.com. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  42. 1 2 Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "MEXICO: EMLL CMLL Midget (miniestrella) Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 396. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  43. ↑ "Comision de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F. National Mini-Estrella Title". Wrestling Titles. 2006-04-24. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  44. ↑ "Historical Cards". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanac and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 160. 2007 Edition.
  45. 1 2 "Asistencia Asesoria y Administracion Mascota Tag Team Title". Wrestling Titles. 2007-12-12. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  46. ↑ Arturo Rosas Plata (2009-04-07). "Alebrije fuera de Triple A". Ovaciones (in Spanish). Mexico, D.F.: Editorial Ovaciones, S. A. de C.V. p. 18. Número 21550 Año LXII. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
  47. ↑ Martinez, Ryan (April 14, 2009). "THIS DAY IN HISTORY: WCW'S FIRST-EVER EVENTS AT MSG (SORT OF) AND THE SPECTRUM, LAWLER BECOMES UNIFIED WORLD CHAMP AND MORE". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
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