Midget wrestling
Part of a series on |
Professional wrestling |
---|
Midget wrestling is
The attraction was very popular in wrestling promotions from the 1950s into the 1970s. Many cards included midget wrestlers and included tag team and women's midget wrestling. Television shows for promotions in various cities frequently included midget matches.
Midget wrestling began to wane after
The Little People of America (LPA) have criticized midget wrestling as reinforcing stereotypes that little people are no more than entertainment, and the use of the word "midget", stating that it is as offensive as a slur.[1] Opinions on the term from performers competing in the events is mixed; some consider the term merely descriptive of their small size, and others considering it outdated or offensive.[2]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,
The 1950s have been called the "golden age of midget wrestling".
The midget professional wrestlers had many
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.
The
Promotions such as
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
Resurgence
In the late 1990s, the WWF and Mexico's AAA 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]
On the
In 2005,
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, considering it to be 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, Texas-based organization Extreme Dwarfanators Wrestling, which has toured across the US 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 and began to eliminate the word "midget" from all UK marketing material. At launch, the word Dwarfanators was substituted on social media, posters, advertisements, and banners. The Restricted Growth Association (RGA) opposed the event and describing it as a "freak show". The RGA's statement offended many in the wrestling community. Such notables in the Dwarf community such as James Luster (actor, former dwarf games participant, and councilor) spoke out against the organization, including former relatives of the founders of the RGA. Once three venues in England banned the dwarfs from appearing, a legal case for discrimination was started, quoting the Equality Act 2010. Coyote Ugly Saloons in the UK briefly suspended ticket sales while they took counsel on the matter, then gave the events their support.
In 2022, Major League Wrestling announced the creation of a midget division.
Mexico
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
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
The
Notable midget wrestlers
- Cowboy Lang (Harry Lang)
- Diamond Lil (Katie Glass)
- Espectrito (Mario Jiménez) wrestled as Mini Vader in WWF
- Espectrito II (Alejandro Jiménez) wrestled as Mini Mankind and Tarantula in WWF
- Farmer Brooks (Clifford Fraser)
- Fuzzy Cupid (Leon Stap)
- Haiti Kid(Raymond Kessler)
- Hornswoggle (Dylan Postl)
- KeMonito (unknown)
- La Parkita (Alberto Jiménez) wrestled as Mini Nova in WWF
- Little Beaver (Lionel Giroux)
- Little Tokyo (Shigeri Akabane)
- Lord Littlebrook (Eric Tovey)
- Mascarita Dorada a.k.a. El Torito in WWE
- Mascarita Sagrada (real name unknown)
- Meatball (Richard Ellinger)
- Microman
- Mije (real name unknown)
- Mini Abismo Negro wrestled as Mini Goldust in WWF
- Mini Psicosis (Enrique Del Rio)
- Octagoncito (unknown) wrestled as Mosiac in WWF
- El Gallito
- Octagoncito (AAA)
- Piratita Morgan (Raymundo Rodríguez) wrestled as the Battalion in WWF
- Tiger Jackson (Claude Giroux) a.k.a. Dink the Clown in WWF
- Tzuki (real name unknown) a.k.a. Max Mini in WWF
- Shockercito (Javier Cortes Sánchez)
- Short Sleeve Sampson (Dan DiLucchio)
- Sky Low Low (Marcel Gauthier)
- Tiny the Terrible (Douglas Tunstall Jr.)
- Ultratumbita (real name unknown)
See also
- Dwarf tossing
- Midgets' World Championship
- NWL Midget Championship
- WCPW Midget Championship
References
- ^ "Ban 'Midget' From TV, Little People Group Says". Huffington Post. July 5, 2009. Archived from the original on August 2, 2009.
- ISBN 9780813535487. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
- ^ a b c d e 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.
- ^ ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ a b "Canadian Hall of Fame: Farmer Brooks". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on August 2, 2012. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Shilcutt Gleave, Katharine (2009-01-15). "Midget Wrestling: Don't Act Like You Aren't Interested". Houstonist. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
- ^ Howard, Gary (2005-06-01). "Northland Wrestling: The Golden Decade". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on July 24, 2012. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ ISBN 0-9736719-8-X.
- ^ a b c Howard, Gary (2009-02-11). "Midget Little Brutus shares his remarkable story". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Little Beaver". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b c Oliver, Greg. "Canadian Hall of Fame: Sky Low Low". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b c Oliver, Greg. "SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: Lord Littlebrook". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on January 10, 2013. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Oliver, Greg (January 9, 2007). "Midget star Cowboy Lang dies". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ISBN 978-0-06-001258-8.
- ^ "Who's Who: Lord Littlebrook". Georgia Wrestling History. Archived from the original on 2007-10-31. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
- World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the originalon 2005-10-29. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
- ISBN 1-4165-3257-9.
- ^ Powell, John. "Steamboat - Savage rule WrestleMania 3". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2012-06-29. Retrieved 2007-10-14.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ History of WWE (1992-12-26). "WWF Show Results 1992".
- ^ ISBN 1-4129-5692-7.
- ^ Powell, John. "Hart elevated at WrestleMania 10". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Survivor Series: November 23, 1994". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on February 17, 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
- ^ Gutschmidt, Adam. "Survivor Series 1994 Re-Revued". Online Onslaught. Archived from the original on 2008-12-07. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
- ISBN 0-8135-3548-4.
- ^ a b c Waldman, Jon (October 16, 2005). "New division added to Smackdown". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Powell, John (1998-01-19). "Austin wins predictable Rumble". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Cawthon, Graham (1996-12-29). "WCW Ring Results: 1996". History of WWE. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
- ^ Cawthon, Graham (1996-12-30). "WCW Ring Results: 1996". History of WWE. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
- )
- World Wrestling Entertainment. 2006-03-09. Archived from the originalon 2008-12-19. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
- ^ "Hornswoggle's profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
- World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the originalon 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
- ^ Bishop, Matt (June 30, 2008). "Big names still on top after Night of Champions". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the originalon June 30, 2008. Retrieved June 29, 2008.
- ^ a b "About the MWF". Micro Wrestling Federation. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- ^ Elmore, Ruthie (April 14, 2009). "Six midgets fight during micro wrestling shows". The Red & Black. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
- ^ a b "Fraternity Faces Disciplinary Action After Midget Entertainment Group Performs at Rush Event". Fox News. January 17, 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
- ^ Rothert, Brenda (August 27, 2008). "Canton officials receive complaints about nudity at local bar". Journal Star. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
- ISBN 968-6842-48-9.
- ^ "WWC Anniversary Shows: #17". ProWrestlingHistory.com. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
- ^ ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ "Comision de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F. National Mini-Estrella Title". Wrestling Titles. 2006-04-24. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
- ^ "Historical Cards". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanac and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 160. 2007 Edition.
- ^ a b "Asistencia Asesoria y Administracion Mascota Tag Team Title". Wrestling Titles. 2007-12-12. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
- D.F.: Editorial Ovaciones, S. A. de C.V. p. 18. Número 21550 Año LXII. Archived from the originalon 2009-06-21. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
- ^ 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.
External links
- Micro Wrestling Federation website for The Micro Wrestling Federation
- Midget Wrestling Videos Real life midget wrestling matches
- Micro Championship Wrestling website for The Micro Championship Wrestling
- House of Deception Many photos of Golden Age midget wrestlers
- Wrestling Museum Some pictures and brief biographies of famous midget