Could A Serious Midget Division Actually Work In WWE?

[The Brain]

Regardless of how some feel about the Diva Revolution it is indisputable that WWE is giving more attention to the women's division now than anytime in the past ten years, or maybe ever. For years the fans did not take the division seriously because the people in charge didn't take it seriously. It's only been a couple months so it's way too soon to tell if this revolution will last but I think they're off to a good start with this revolution. It makes me wonder if another group that's been laughed at for so long could have a chance at success if given the opportunity. I'm talking about midget wrestlers.

Maybe you're laughing or maybe you're rolling your eyes, and I wouldn't blame you for doing either. Every once in a while WWE likes to incorporate midgets into their program but they are never used as anything other than comic relief. Often they are portrayed as childlike despite being adults. In the mid 80s the WWE had a small (no pun intended) midget division. It was mostly filler and not meant to be taken too seriously but it wasn't nearly the joke it would become in the future. Despite that the midgets were still mostly a laughing stock. Little Beaver looked pretty silly bouncing on Hillbilly Jim's knee and tugging on his beard considering Beaver was over 50 years old at the time. That wasn't as bad as Doink and Jerry Lawler's midget pals at the 1994 Survivor Series. Don't get me wrong, when I see three midget clowns vs. three midget kings I'm not expecting a good old fashioned wrestling match. However, silly costumes aside, WWE usually turns a midget match into a Benny Hill routine. That was just a one time showing but three years later WWE actually tried to introduce an actual midget division. Of course it was short lived (again, no pun intended) but they actually got matches on Raw regularly and even got a few PPV matches. Still though they could not be taken seriously when they took time out of their matches to sit on Jerry Lawler's lap or chase Sunny around grabbing her ass. By the way, Sunny was always the ring announcer for the midget matches for the sole purpose of them chasing her around and grabbing her ass. Oh the hilarity. After a few months the midgets were gone again but in 2005 Vince got that urge to laugh at some little people again and good old Palmer Cannon (who?) introduced us to the Junior Division. You remember the Junior Division, right?

[YOUTUBE]Ko3Hy6pqXKE[/YOUTUBE]

Just the graphic alone tells me I should not care about this at all. I know many people had high hopes for Super Porky to become the next breakout superstar but despite such memorably hilarious moments (I hope you're picking up on my sarcasm) as biting the referee's ass the Junior Division was abandoned after only a couple months. Shortly after that (seriously, not pun intended) Hornswoggle showed up in WWE. Can you believe it's been almost ten years since his debut? It's pretty remarkable he's lasted so long. Throughout most of his tenure Hornswoggle has been the only midget on the roster. He's been in memorable (although we're trying to forget) angles with Khali, Chavo Guerrero, and Vince McMahon himself. Despite being in his 20s during his time in WWE Hornswoggle was usually booked as if he was eight years old. Eventually WWE would bring in another midget that would become a rival of Hornswoggle. Of course El Torito came in dressed as a bull because midgets dressed like animals is always funny, but unlike other wrestlers with animal nicknames, like the Viper or the Silverback, the announcers always jokingly act like El Torito is actually a bull.

So that's where we currently stand with midget wrestling in WWE. We have a recently suspended Hornswoggle and El Torito. Now to be fair WWE has always clearly told us midgets are not meant to be taken seriously. It's not like they tried to push them but didn't know how to do it. They came in as comic relief, served that purpose, and were quickly gone (except for Hornswoggle who somehow has lasted a decade). The question is, if WWE actually gave it a real effort could a midget division actually work in WWE. Please understand when I say could it work I don't mean will ratings soar through the roof and Network subscriptions see a spike. I'm not looking for them to start a new boom. Hell, I'm not even saying I want to see it happen. I'm just asking a question to start a discussion. There are three hours of Raw and two hours of Smackdown to fill every week and it's safe to say some of the talent is overexposed. Let's say WWE decided to create a midget division and was actually able to resist the temptation to turn it into a terrible comedy act. Let's say there were a decent amount of wrestlers and they actually got storylines and didn't just run around like fools. Is this something you would give a chance or will midgets never be anything but a punchline in wrestling?

 

[enviousdominous]

The only way I could see a serious Midget division happening is if the WWE dedicated an entire show to it, and left broadcasts of it on the Network. With all the garbage they're flooding onto the Network, I doubt they would ever find the time to make this idea a reality.

I could see this being on Raw or Smackdown or NXT if it's just a silly stupid segment for comic relief, as it's always been with the WWE. If you're doing things that way, you have to persuade serious Midget athletes to look stupid while they wrestle in an effort to achieve absolutely nothing.

I have nothing against Little People, I just really don't trust the WWE to be capable of utilizing shorter athletes in ways that don't send the human race back two hundred years.

 

[GameOver]

Serious and Midgets don't go in the same sentence. They will always be purely comic relief, not trying to sound racist but they look and move in a funny way, i don't see anyone ever taking them seriously no matter how bad or evil they make them act/look, sure in a movie they could be frightening and i have no doubt some could hold there own against a smaller guy however.

Midgets need there own show if it was to ever work and i don't see WWE ever devoting anytime to something that would only appeal to a limited crowd.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

Sadly, I don't believe a serious division filled with little people could ever work. Not in wrestling, where fans come to be entertained, and unfortunately the most talented of men and women are going to fall under the great socially-impaired umbrella of "Oh my God, he's little and running around! Hilarious!!!". It is hard enough for them to get a decent break in movies and television. Even Peter Dinklage started as a goofy caged midget in No Holds Barred.

What I'm saying it it must be damn near impossible for little people to get a serious role on television- let alone one that loves their low brow comedy like WWE does.

 

[Navi]

Personally I can't see it happening. They have two midget wrestler's on the payroll and one is a Leprechaun and the other is a bull. Hornswoggle has even taken time out to don a furry Alligator costume when it's suits the storyline.

With that recent history doubtful whether the creative department or McMahon himself would put midgets into serious matches. I'm even more skeptical about the fans themselves these days. I can just imagine a 8 year old kid chanting "I'm bigger than you are" or something equally as stupid. Besides is there a glut of unemployed midget wrestlers looking for work. You just don't see them anymore.

 

[MC_Live]

No. WWE would never take it seriously. And the audience would't either. Sure, it sounds cruel, but midgets will never be taken seriously.

As a smaller guy, I really shouldn't be saying that. But, there is still a noticeable difference between someone who's 5'4 or 5'6, and someone who is 3'8 or 4'0. There's just a societal perception of midgets that will prevent them from being taken seriously in American wrestling. Sure, it's maybe a little prejudice. But the truth isn't always nice.

 

[stingray11214]

Yeah, that is all WWE needs: Another reason for Social media to go apeshit all over them. If they introduce a "Minis" division, the poo-bahs of the Polittically Correct will be screaming that WWE humiliates and degrades the "vertically challenged" by making them look like fools and idiots. Never mind that the Midgets understand what they are getting into, the Politically Correct Poo-Bahs do not care about how the Midgets feel, only how it looks for the "Vertically Challenged".

 

[John McCass]

Midget division is for comedic purposes solely, for what WWE has shown us and what it wants us to think. A lot of people around me that watch WWE laugh while they’re shown clips of El Torito and Hornswoggle. WWE has never made people care about little people. It can’t happen, all of sudden.

If really done properly, midget division could be awesome. The WeeLC match at Extreme Rules 2014 pre show is an example.

 

[the_peoples_adam]

Midget division HELL NO...
That would be a disaster..
Maybe a lightweight championship will be good but not what you mentioned..

And if anything entertaining and funny needs to be done then its bringing back the HARDCORE CHAMPIONSHIP..
I mean if they do that even Hornswoggle and El Torito can be the champions anywhere anytime they want..Its unpredictable and always have a surprise surprise element hooked onto it. They can do a million stories with that title..

 

[OYDK]

Not in WWE. It's obvious that Vince will never, ever look at little people as anything but comic relief or a cheap way to get heat/over. When I started watching Lucha Underground, I rolled my eyes at the fact that they had a little person competing with the bigger guys, but they actually present it really well, and also, Mascarita Sagrada (little person) can really wrestle with the best of them. This kind of changed my opinion on little people wrestlers in the sense that, I now believe that if WWE actually rounded up the 10 best little wrestlers in the world, gave them a belt, and actually let them wrestle, people would get into it. No matter what, whether you're a little person, a woman, an old man, if you can wrestle, the fans will eventually embrace you. But like I said, that will never happen because Vince obviously isn't mature enough to look at a little person without breaking into a fit of hysterical laughter.

The sad thing is, the fans that strictly watch WWE will never be exposed to the hundreds of alternatives that are out there in wrestling and that's why we get comments like, "midgets aren't good for anything but comedic relief." There are literally dozens of indie promotions out there that offer a unique alternative to the WWE. There are indie promotions that are based on brutality like CZW if that's your cup of tea... some are based on pure wrestling ability like ROH...others offer matches that include men vs women, little people vs men/women, exotics vs men/women, etc. like LU... while others are based on a strict kayfabe rule like the Mexican promotions. Basically what I'm trying to get at is that, yes Vince is the big problem in this scenario, but the fans also play a vital role. With perceptions like "midgets are only supposed to be funny" and "who can take them seriously?" it's no wonder that these types of things are shot down before they're even considered.

 

[Agent_of_Anarchy]

Of course it could work, hypothetically at least, but it has far more to do with the actual little people themselves as opposed to the WWE. There would have to be, at the very least, 6 or 7 good, talented wrestlers. Guys who can move fluidly, know how to work holds, take bumps and above all else can tell a story. That's the basic formula to any good division, and it really shouldn't matter how tall the wrestlers are if they are good wrestlers.

Even if the crowd and announcers shit all over them in the beginning, if they can get in the ring and work a solid match with a story and with something at stake, I see no reason why it couldn't work, if for nothing other than pre-show and lower card matches. But with the right workers, you'd have "THIS IS AWESOME" chants in no time. But most of the midgets we've seen in WWE haven't exactly been the best workers, relying mostly on comedy.

El Torito is crazy talented. If you could somehow have like 10 clones of Torito that would be your whole show right there.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I just don't see it, and the term "midget" is considered offensive by people with dwarfism though I'm not entirely sure what the acceptable term is.

For centuries, the use of people with dwarfism for entertainment purposes has been for comedic purposes. In ancient times, they were essentially clowns, jesters and living props used to entertain nobility and that's not really something that's changed. Sure, there've been a couple of hit reality shows here & there, a few successful actors with dwarfism who've been taken seriously but, as a whole, they're not taken seriously as entertainers.

Even if WWE used a mini division to portray the wrestlers in some sort of positive light, somebody's gonna be offended somehow. It takes nothing to offend some people these days, or at least people to claim to be offended who're really just trying to cause a stink just for the sake of doing it, and it wouldn't be long before some organization or another accused WWE of exploiting "little people" in some way.

I also have zero faith that such a thing would be portrayed seriously by Vince McMahon, nor do I believe most fans would remotely invest in it, because look at how much Vince relies on old fashioned stereotypes. Even right now, while the Divas Revolution is making positive strides as a whole, there's still a good deal of cattiness and high school tactics going on in the feuds and I think that's partially because either Vince doesn't know how to book women as strongly as they could be, isn't interested in it or has an outdated view of women's wrestling as a whole; hell, it could be a mixture of all of the above. My point is that Vince wouldn't know how to or probably wouldn't be at all interested in booking minis with dignity and respect. The only two minis in WWE for years include one guy who's used as a mascot that's dressed like a bull and the other one was either a leprechaun or generally used to be bullied by bigger wrestlers.

Truth be told, even if it wasn't used as a joke, I wouldn't have any real interest in it.

 

[MWRedskins]

NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!!!! i can't say it enough. Sorry to anyone who's that small, but i just dont want to see a Midget/little person/dwarfism division. honestly, i dont even want to see Hornswoggle or El Torito on WWE again. sure they have talent, but in my opinion, seeing little people wrestle is not that entertaining...now Cruiserweight division, sure, Light-Heavyweight Division, sure, but a Midget division wouldn't be that entertaining to me, even if they try to make it serious and the reason is because i just can't enjoy watching little men wrestle. i dont mind small wrestlers like a Daniel Bryan, but i just dont like watching guys like Torito get in the ring with Hornswoggle....plus there's always that chance where the Midget meets up with the taller wrestler and WWE has the Midget get the better of him and that always looks so dumb. if WWE wants to make another division (which i dont think they should by the way), it should be either Cruiserweight (for guys like Neville) or a Hardcore Division (no 24/7 rule though, it's played out now).

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

I read this and can't even imagine ever watching a division that wouldn't be taken seriously at all. King Kong Bundy body slams this idea.

 

[whoopin' ass]

Not a chance. wwe might take it seriously at first but it won't be long before someone has the idea of a pole match with the big joke being they can't reach whatever the object is. They have 2 midgets on the roster right now and they are always a joke, why would that change?

 

[N!CKALAS CAGE]

No, it will never work and the only people who would enjoy something like that has an IQ in the single digits.

The crowd would never get into it and WWE would never push that idea. I mean the general audience liked cruiserweights, but WWE still wouldn't take them seriously, so why the hell would they take legitimately small people like dwarves seriously?

I'm surprised Hornswoggle and El Torito are still employed.

 

[LuckyLouie]

I didnt really like any matches on Smackdown when they had it. I dont think it will work. Its just not as good. Nothing against the midget wrestler, but they cant compete with the stuff normal guys do. So its not really all that enjoyable to watch all the time.
But not to say there are no good midget wrestlers. Its kinda like the Divas division couple of years ago when non wrestler females held the title. While its not bad, compared to everything else it looks absolutely horrible.

But a role of comedy sidekick or a manager would be fine.