Early history Midget professional wrestling had its early origins in the
vaudeville shows of the United States. The 1950s have been called the "golden age of midget wrestling". 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. In
Ontario, Larry Kasaboski also promoted midget wrestling shows. 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. 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. In addition to North America, Littlebrook wrestled in
Australia,
Japan, and
Thailand. Female wrestler the
Fabulous Moolah also trained midget wrestlers at her home in South Carolina, including female midget wrestler
Diamond Lil. 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.
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. On March 12, 1987, the WWF's
WrestleMania III event — which is considered the pinnacle of the
1980s wrestling boom — included 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. During the match, Bundy slammed Little Beaver to the mat, which broke his back and forced him into early retirement. 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". 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. 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). 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."
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.
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. The next day, the teams faced again, this time on
WCW Monday Nitro. 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. 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 it was discontinued in March 2006. 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 Northern Irish wrestler
Fit Finlay to the ring. At the
Great American Bash in July 2007, he won the
WWE Cruiserweight Championship, a title normally held by full size male wrestlers. Finlay and Hornswoggle also challenged for the
WWE Tag Team Championship at
Night of Champions in June 2008. 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. The promotion featured both serious wrestling matches and more comedic aspects. 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. The event caused the fraternity to face disciplinary actions. In addition, the Little People of America began to frown upon the use of the word "midget" in 2007, considering it to be degrading. 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. 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==