Discovery's Big Little Brawlers takes viewers behind the curtain of one of professional wrestling's most successful organizations for little people, the Micro Wrestling Federation. Through hard work and viral TikTok success, its wrestlers have put a national spotlight on little people in wrestling at a time when major organizations like AEW and WWE are not. CinemaBlend had a chance to speak to reality stars Pinky Shortcake and Syko and get their thoughts on whether large pro-wrestling organizations should have more representation for little people. And they both had some interesting perspectives to share.
Let's be honest. You can look at the list of upcoming WWE events, and while there may be plenty of great pay-per-views available to stream with a Peacock Premium subscription, it's doubtful there will be any little people participating. I was honored to speak to Pinky Shortcake, MWF wrestler and daughter of former WWE wrestler "Little Louie," and get her take as a legacy performer on whether larger pro-wrestling organizations should highlight little people more:
I think they should. It would definitely put more of a perspective in people's eyes that little people can do anything that an average-sized person can do. And as to where if we, when we have our own like companies as Micro, they wanna say that we're degrading ourselves, but we're really not. So if we were on that bigger platform, I feel like we could actually show more and be able to show people that we're really not degrading ourselves. We're doing things to support our family. This is what I do for my family. This is how my family gets money.
Pinky Shortcake and Syko, who are a couple and have a daughter together, agree that little people should be better represented in current WWE and AEW events. Doing so would allow them to show a wider audience the same feats they do on Big Little Brawlers as well as how little people at large can be far more athletic than some may believe.
Over the past few decades, the WWE has featured notable wrestlers who are little people wrestlers, like Hornswoggle, El Torito and Dink The Clown (also portrayed by Pinky Shortcake's father). However, those opportunities have not always yielded lengthy careers that would be considered equal to those of average-sized people on a roster. Syko mentioned that amid this modern era, there might be some apprehension by companies to include little people, saying:
I think the bigger platforms such as AEW and WWE are afraid of that backlash because a lot of people have a misconception of how athletic we are, and I know they got backlash in the past. So I think they're just more afraid of that backlash, but hopefully, with this show coming out, we can show people that we're just like the average wrestler, if not better.
If pro wrestling organizations were to give little people a platform to display their skills, audiences might remember more dominant stretches for performers rather than the Christmas episode Hornswoggle learned to speak. Excluding performers entirely doesn't do much to buck stereotypes and denies hardworking little people pro wrestlers a seat at the table within the big leagues.
Syko's thoughts are echoed by many little people who work in the entertainment industry -- and not just pro wrestling. Disney stirred up controversy with many when it made the decision to cast average-sized actors as the Seven Dwarves for its live-action Snow White adaptation. Jackass star Wee Man laid into the House of Mouse after hearing the news, and Hornswoggle, whose real name Dylan Postl, had many thoughts about how the Snow White castings impacted actors like him.
Time will tell if WWE and AEW decide to make strides in inclusivity by incorporating little people, as the success of the MWF is hard to ignore. I'm also sure a few future potential champions are itching to showcase their abilities on a grand stage and delight audiences with their skills.
Big Little Brawlers airs on Discovery on Tuesdays at 10:00 p.m. ET as part of the 2024 TV schedule. Tune in to see the wrestlers continue to prepare for the huge Microfest event. You'll also get a nuanced perspective of what it's really like when little people gets the chance to wrestle and aren't bound by creative decisions by other companies.
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