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| names = Lil'/Little Bastard<ref name="OWOW"/><br />'''Hornswoggle'''<ref name="OWOW"/><br />Hornswoggle McMahon<ref name="TV">{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/dylan-postl/person/447679/summary.html|title=Hornswoggle Profile|accessdate=2008-04-20|publisher=TV.com}} {{verify credibility|failed=y|date=June 2012}}</ref><br />Shortstack<ref name="OWOW"/>
| names = Lil'/Little Bastard<ref name="OWOW"/><br />'''Hornswoggle'''<ref name="OWOW"/><br />Hornswoggle McMahon<ref name="TV">{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/dylan-postl/person/447679/summary.html|title=Hornswoggle Profile|accessdate=2008-04-20|publisher=TV.com}} {{verify credibility|failed=y|date=June 2012}}</ref><br />Shortstack<ref name="OWOW"/>
| height = {{height|ft=4|in=4}}<ref name="wwemagoct07">{{cite journal|title=Tale Of The Tape|journal=WWE Magazine|issue=16|page=85| year=2007|month=October}}</ref><ref name="bio"/>
| height = {{height|ft=4|in=4}}<ref name="wwemagoct07">{{cite journal|title=Tale Of The Tape|journal=WWE Magazine|issue=16|page=85| year=2007|month=October}}</ref><ref name="bio"/>
| weight = {{convert|130|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}<ref name="bio"/>
| weight = {{convert|142|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}<ref name="bio"/>
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1986|5|29}}<ref name="OWOW"/>
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1986|5|29}}<ref name="OWOW"/>
| birth_place = [[Oshkosh, Wisconsin]], [[United States|U.S]]<ref name="TV"/>
| birth_place = [[Oshkosh, Wisconsin]], [[United States|U.S]]<ref name="TV"/>

Revision as of 20:14, 26 December 2012

"Little Bastard" redirects here. For the car in which James Dean was killed, see James Dean § Racing career and 'Little Bastard'.
Hornswoggle
Hornswoggle signing autographs at an event.
Born (1986-05-29) May 29, 1986 (age 38)[1]
Oshkosh, Wisconsin, U.S[2]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Lil'/Little Bastard[1]
Hornswoggle[1]
Hornswoggle McMahon[2]
Shortstack[1]
Billed height4 ft 4 in (1.32 m)[3][4]
Billed weight142 lb (64 kg)[4]
Billed fromThe End of the Rainbow
Ireland
Trained byFinlay
Debut2004[1]

Dylan Postl[1] (born May 29, 1986)[1][5] is an American midget professional wrestler signed to WWE, better known by his ring name Hornswoggle. In WWE, he was the last Cruiserweight Champion before the belt was retired. He also served as the General Manager of Raw, a position that he had ran anonymously from June 21, 2010 to July 18, 2011.

Professional wrestling career

Prior to joining World Wrestling Entertainment, Dylan appeared with NWA Wisconsin in 2005 as "The World's Sexiest Midget" $hortstack, where he won the NWA Wisconsin X Division Championship.[6][7]

He also would go on to capture the SSW Tag Team Championship with Devin Diamond from "The Pretty Hott Thangs" Ryan Kross and Josh Maxim on May 19, 2006 in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, but relinquished the belt due to having signed a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment.

World Wrestling Entertainment

Debut and the Little Bastard (2006–2007)

On May 26, Postl made his televised debut in Bakersfield, California on SmackDown! as the leprechaun partner of the fellow Irish wrestler, Finlay.[1] After Finlay’s victory over Paul Burchill, an extremely hyper, dirty, mysterious little man (Postl) in a leprechaun costume scurried out from under the ring and jumped on Burchill, laughing maniacally all the while.[1] Finlay pulled him off, only to slam him back down onto Burchill again and again.[8] For the next few weeks, Postl continued to appear from under the ring after matches and attack Finlay's opponents.[1] Eventually, SmackDown play-by-play commentator Michael Cole began referring to him as the Little Bastard. Little Bastard soon became more and more aggressive and started attacking Finlay's opponent during matches, much to Finlay's dismay.[1] On numerous occasions, Finlay either physically shoved Little Bastard back under the ring or was forced to tackle him before he could hit an opponent. At one point, Little Bastard attacked Finlay, biting him when Finlay tried to stop him from attacking Gunner Scott.[9] Little Bastard helped Finlay win the WWE United States Championship when he tossed him a shillelagh to knock out the United States Champion Bobby Lashley and pick up the win.[10]

On November 1, 2006, WWE.com ran an article titled "Little Bastard Exposed".[11] It was an email sent by an anonymous WWE fan, who said he spotted Little Bastard in a Green Bay, Wisconsin parking lot, in the back of a car with an unidentified woman.[11] Little Bastard then went berserk and drove off.[11] As part of the storyline, Bastard threatened to sue WWE for invasion of privacy when the picture was taken.[12] He also requested that he receive a public apology from commentator Michael Cole for giving him the name "Little Bastard."[13]

Hornswoggle; Cruiserweight Champion (2007)

Hornswoggle in 2007.

On February 23, 2007, the character's name was changed to Hornswoggle on WWE's website and all references to the name "Little Bastard" were removed. The meaning of Hornswoggle is to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.[14] The name change became official on the March 2 episode of SmackDown! when Hornswoggle attacked John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Michael Cole. Afterward, Finlay intimidated Cole, warning him to refer to Little Bastard as "Hornswoggle."[15] In spite of this, Cole continued to occasionally refer to him as "Little Bastard". On March 30, 2007, Hornswoggle helped Finlay beat Mr. Kennedy by performing a senton bomb off a stepladder onto Mr. Kennedy, essentially copying Kennedy's move, the Kenton Bomb.[1] SmackDown! announcers Michael Cole and JBL immediately referred to the move as the "Lepreton Bomb."[16] During the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 23, which Finlay was involved in, Mr. Kennedy hit Hornswoggle with a Green Bay Plunge off of a ladder when Hornswoggle tried to interfere.[17] On the following edition of SmackDown!, Finlay attacked Mr. Kennedy after his match and challenged him to a handicap match with Postl as Finlay's partner.[18] Before the match, Mr. Kennedy apologized for hurting Hornswoggle. Finlay accepted his apology and formed a team with Kennedy.[19]

Hornswoggle won the WWE Cruiserweight Championship after he pinned Jamie Noble in a Cruiserweight Open at The Great American Bash. The match stipulation declared that any and all people who qualified to compete in the division could enter this match. He briefly ran across the ring as the bell was rung before going back under the ring making him an official participant in the match. The other participants and commentators were unaware that he was a participant in the match until the referee counted the pin and awarded him the belt becoming a fan favorite in the process.[20] This made him the first little person wrestler to win a championship in WWE history. He also became the lightest, shortest, youngest (21 years, 51 days), and the final wrestler to ever win the Cruiserweight Championship before the title was retired. Hornswoggle then began a feud with Noble over the belt. The next week on SmackDown!, Hornswoggle retained the title when he defeated Noble by countout.[21] He attacked Noble in the following weeks by shoving a pie in his face,[22] spraying him with a fire extinguisher, pushing him into Kane and causing him to get chokeslammed, and locking him in a large box.[23]

Alliance with Finlay (2007–2008)

Vince McMahon and Hornswoggle.

On the September 10 edition of Raw, Hornswoggle was revealed to be Mr. McMahon's illegitimate son. Hornswoggle continued to appear on SmackDown!, as well. Although his partnership with Finlay was quietly phased out, Hornswoggle still continued to feud with Jamie Noble. His feud with Noble ended on the September 28 edition of SmackDown! when Acting General Manager Vickie Guerrero forced Hornswoggle to surrender the Cruiserweight Championship (which was later abandoned), citing that his status as Mr. McMahon's son and his diminutive stature would eventually jeopardize his well-being.[24] After the affair of finding out who the illegitimate son was, Mr. McMahon began giving Hornswoggle matches against competitors that were much larger than him. His reason for doing this, was that he was showing his son, "tough love." Hornswoggle was placed into a match against The Great Khali at Survivor Series. At the event, Khali defeated Hornswoggle by disqualification when Finlay attacked Khali on Hornswoggle's behalf.[25] This was the first time that Finlay appeared together with Hornswoggle since the beginning of the Hornswoggle and Mr. McMahon storyline. Finlay's attack on Khali started a feud between the two. At Armageddon, Finlay defeated Khali with the help of Hornswoggle. In addition, Hornswoggle also faced Khali on the 15th Anniversary of Raw, but Hulk Hogan made a surprise return in a one night appearance to come to Hornswoggle's aid.[26]

Hornswoggle appeared in the Royal Rumble match, hiding under the ring upon entering until he came out and eliminated The Miz; Finlay appeared to protect Hornswoggle and took himself out of the match.[27] Finlay became the only person in WWE history to be disqualified in the Royal Rumble match. On the February 18 edition of Raw, Hornswoggle had a scheduled steel cage match against his father, Mr. McMahon.[28] During this match, Hornswoggle was whipped with a leather belt by Mr. McMahon. Finlay tried to get involved, but was attacked and handcuffed to the ring ropes by JBL.[28] Mr. McMahon left the ring and allowed JBL to beat up Hornswoggle while an enraged Finlay watched.[28] Following this, WWE.com announced that Hornswoggle had suffered internal injuries, including bleeding of the brain and spinal trauma.[29] On February 25, JBL claimed that Hornswoggle is not Mr. McMahon's son, but "in reality is the son of Finlay".[30] The next week on Raw, Finlay confirmed Hornswoggle was indeed his son, then was forced to watch helplessly as JBL assaulted Hornswoggle in his hospital bed.[31] Postl returned to live television at WrestleMania XXIV, accompanying Finlay to the ring for his Belfast Brawl with JBL, once interfering by hitting JBL with a kendo stick, allowing Finlay to get the shot in with the shillelagh.[32] JBL won the match by hitting Finlay with the kendo stick in the shins and following up with the Clothesline from Hell.[32]

He made his in-ring return on the April 18 episode of SmackDown, defeating Matt Striker after a Tadpole Splash.[33] On the April 21 edition of Raw, Hornswoggle was entered in the 2008 King of the Ring, but he was unsuccessful as he lost to William Regal in the first round after submitting to the Regal Stretch in 19 seconds. As part of the 2008 WWE Supplemental Draft, Hornswoggle was drafted to the ECW brand along with Finlay.[34] At Night of Champions, Hornswoggle and Finlay challenged John Morrison and The Miz for the WWE Tag Team Championship, but failed to win.

Association with DX (2009–2010)

Main article: D-Generation X
Hornswoggle during his feud with Chavo Guerrero.

On April 13, 2009, Hornswoggle was drafted to the Raw brand, without Finlay, as part of the 2009 Supplemental Draft.[35]

Hornswoggle then entered into a feud with Chavo Guerrero, in which they competed in a series of comedy gimmick matches each week determined by the weekly Guest Host for Raw (Texas Bullrope Match, Blindfold Match, Falls Count Anywhere, etc.). The program began on July 7, 2009 on WWE Superstars and continued on to Raw. Hornswoggle would emerge victorious in every match in this feud.

On the October 26 episode of Raw, after several weeks of wearing D-Generation X clothing, Hornswoggle received legal notification that he was no longer allowed to wear any DX clothing. Later on in the night, he got his revenge by helping the Raw guest hosts, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano, put DX against each other and John Cena for the WWE Championship at Survivor Series. On the December 21 episode of Raw, Hornswoggle tried pressing charges against DX for assault on him, but later dropped them when DX agreed to make him DX's official mascot. On the January 18, 2010 episode of Raw backstage, Hornswoggle and Triple H confronted Big Show, The Miz and Jon Heder. Triple H made the match a six man tag team match: DX and Hornswoggle against The Big Show, The Miz and Jon Heder which ended after Hornswoggle pinned Heder. Hornswoggle appeared on the April 12 episode of Raw in the 'Baywatch Triple Threat Diva Tag', performing a frog splash life saving maneuver on Santino Marella. On the next Raw, he won a draft pick against Dolph Ziggler by count out after throwing his shoes at him, Ziggler attacked him after the match with the sleeper hold.

SmackDown and NXT (2010–present)

As part of the 2010 WWE Supplemental Draft on WWE.com, Hornswoggle was drafted back to the SmackDown brand. On the October 8 episode of SmackDown, Hornswoggle was named the official mascot for the SmackDown team at Bragging Rights. On the December 10 episode of SmackDown, Hornswoggle defeated Jack Swagger's Soaring Eagle mascot with a Tadpole Splash On January 30, 2011, Hornswoggle entered the 2011 Royal Rumble match, helping John Cena and Kofi Kingston eliminate a few superstars, only for him to get eliminated by King Sheamus.

On the season premiere of NXT Redemption, Hornswoggle was revealed as the pro for Titus O'Neil.[36] After his tag team victory over Darren Young and Chavo Guerrero, Young attacked O'Neil thus making him a heel. They later had a match against each other which Hornswoggle won. Hornswoggle would later be confronted by O'Neil's previous NXT mentor, Zack Ryder. Ryder lured Titus out of the ring by pretending to attack Hornswoggle, but he quickly re-entered the ring and ambushed Titus as he climbed back in, cementing the victory. Weeks after this, Hornswoggle was sent gifts each week, apparently from a secret admirer, Hornswoggle thought this was Maryse and so responded by giving her gifts, only to be shot down every time. On the July 26, 2011 edition of NXT, Hornswoggle found his admirer in the form of AJ who revealed herself by kissing Hornswoggle, Maryse would come to AJ and say that Hornswoggle has finally got a lady of his own size, only for AJ to slap her with a bouquet. AJ would then accompany Hornswoggle on both NXT and Smackdown. Some time later, Hornswoggle began to get jealous of Titus O'Neil hugging AJ and eventually Hornswoggle decided to send a letter to AJ ending their relationship as he no longer wanted to be on NXT and would prefer to stay on SmackDown.

Hornswoggle dancing in front of Brodus Clay, Cameron and Naomi.

On the November 29, 2011 Live Holiday Edition of SmackDown, Hornswoggle won a battle royal eliminating Sheamus to receive a wish from Santa Claus (Mick Foley). With help from Sheamus, Hornswoggle wished for the ability to verbally communicate. For the first time since early 2008 Hornswoggle spoke, ending the segment with Hornswoggle calling Vickie Guerrero "grandma". The following week's Friday, with this ability, Hornswoggle became the special guest ring announcer for the David Otunga vs. Sheamus match. On the January 6 edition of Smackdown he defeated Heath Slater in an Over the Top Rope Challenge. In January 2012, Hornswoggle formed an alliance of sorts with Justin Gabriel, feuding with the former Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes and Heath Slater, he also accompanied Gabriel to the ring at the 2012 Elimination Chamber PPV in a losing effort against WWE United States Champion Jack Swagger.On the March 23 edition of SmackDown, Hornswoggle was added to Theodore Long´s WrestleMania XXVIII team as the team's personal mascot.[37]

On the July 9 episode of Raw, Hornswoggle was revealed to have been the anonymous Raw General Manager, who previously ran the brand from June 2010 to July 2011 and had returned as that night's guest general manager. He made a return on October 12, when he was found with a Randy Orton brawling buddy. Ricardo Rodriguez would come in to wreck it and continued looking for the real Orton.

After a period of inactivity, he returned to Raw in November, recently associating himself with The Great Khali and pranking Rosa Mendes.

Other media

File:LeprechaunOrigins.jpg
Leprechaun: Origins poster featuring Postl.

March 15, 2012, it was announced that WWE Studios would be producing a Leprechaun reboot in conjunction with Lionsgate, who also worked with them on See No Evil and The Condemned.[38]

On March 29, WWE.com unveiled a new video depicting Postl in the new film, titled Leprechaun: Origins.[39] He announced via Twitter that it would come out in March 2013.[40]

Muppets

Hornswoggle was shown to be a fan of The Muppets, first seen when The Muppets were guest hosts of the Halloween Special of Raw. As shown in YouTube videos in which he has appeared, he owns much Muppets merchandise and has tattoos of Muppet characters.

In wrestling

Hornswoggle performing a Tadpole Splash

Championships and accomplishments

Hornswoggle was the final Cruiserweight Champion.
  • NWA Wisconsin
    • NWA Wisconsin X Division Championship (1 time)[6]
  • South Shore Wrestling
    • SSW Tag Team Championship – with Devin Diamond (1 time)[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Hornswoggle Profile". Online World Of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
  2. ^ a b "Hornswoggle Profile". TV.com. Retrieved 2008-04-20. [unreliable source]
  3. ^ "Tale Of The Tape". WWE Magazine (16): 85. 2007. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  4. ^ a b c d "Bio". WWE. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
  5. ^ Intelius search
  6. ^ a b "Hornswoggle Profile". Lords of Pain. Archived from the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved 2008-04-20. [unreliable source]
  7. ^ "Hornswoggle". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
  8. ^ Louie Dee (2006-05-26). "Kiss Him Goodbye". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2006-05-26.
  9. ^ "WWE Friday Night SmackDown! – June 23, 2006 results". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-09-04.
  10. ^ Brett Hoffman (2006-07-14). "Rey's Revenge". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2006-07-14.
  11. ^ a b c "Hornswoggle exposed". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2006-11-01.
  12. ^ "Hornswoggle's complaint". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2006-12-21.
  13. ^ "Hornswoggle's letter to WWE.com". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-01-26.
  14. ^ "Meaning of Hornswoggle". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 2007-09-04.
  15. ^ "WWE Friday Night SmackDown! – March 2, 2007 results". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-09-04.
  16. ^ Lennie DiFino. "Next stop: Detroit". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-03-30.
  17. ^ Mike McAvennie. "'Bank' on Kennedy! Kennedy!". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-04-01.
  18. ^ Lennie DiFino. "Deadman rising". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-04-06.
  19. ^ Lennie DiFino. "Polar opposites". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-04-13.
  20. ^ "Hornswoggle wins a Cruiserweight Open (new champion)". World Wrestling Entertainment. July 22, 2007. Retrieved June 10, 2012.
  21. ^ Louie Dee. "Irish eyes smile on Hornswoggle again". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
  22. ^ Alissa Fuhrman. "Handing notice". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
  23. ^ Alissa Fuhrman. "Hand-slotted reprisal". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  24. ^ "All things big and small". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-11-19.
  25. ^ "Friends in low places?". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-11-19.
  26. ^ Lennie DiFino (2007-12-16). "Protective endeavors". World Wrestling Entertainment.
  27. ^ "Royal Rumble match statistics". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2008-02-03.
  28. ^ a b c Greg Adkins (2008-02-18). "Outrage in a Cage". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
  29. ^ "Hornswoggle Back Trauma Feared, But Improvement Shown". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2008-02-21. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
  30. ^ Clayton, Corey (2008-02-25). "The Truth about Hornswoggle, According to JBL". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
  31. ^ Adkins, Greg (2008-03-03). "Family Outrage". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
  32. ^ a b "Results: JBL picks up brutal win in Belfast Brawl". WWE. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
  33. ^ "Results: Anarchy in the U.K." WWE. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
  34. ^ "Official 2008 WWE Supplemental Draft Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
  35. ^ "2009 WWE Supplemental Draft results". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2009-04-15. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  36. ^ Raw February 14, 2011 [http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/photos/17009778/17010428/ WWE Raw February 14, Valentine's Day Kiss Cam, pictures 12-15
  37. ^ a b "Zack def Swagger". WWE. 2012-03-23. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  38. ^ Variety: Lionsgate pacts with WWE on film deal: "First pic will be a reboot of horror fave 'Leprechaun'" by Stuart Levine, 03/15/2012
  39. ^ Zach Linder. "Hornswoggle Big Screen Debut". WWE. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  40. ^ Hornswoggle's tweet
  41. ^ Lennie DiFino. "Next stop: Detroit". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-03-30.
  42. ^ "WWE The Music, Vol. 8 at Wal-Mart".
  43. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Award Winners – Rookie of the Year". Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
  44. ^ "Hornswoggle's title reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
  45. ^ a b Meltzer, Dave (2011-01-26). "Biggest issue of the year: The 2011 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards Issue". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, CA: 1–40. ISSN 1083-9593.
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