Little town, little wrasslers, BIG fun
Photos by CALEB MCDONALD/ Octagoncito wraps a baking sheet around Tsuky’s head during the legendary performers’ matchup at The Bedroom Goldmine’s Extreme Midget Wrestling event last weekend.
Lil’ Pecker chokes out Outlaw during a ringside brawl.
Outlaw goes off the top rope for a tadpole splash.
The crowd around the ring at Bedroom Goldmine. Nearly 100 pizzas fed the roughly 300 spectators at the event.
MURRAY – “It’s not everyday you see something like this.”
That is what around 300 people must have been thinking on Saturday when they made the backwoods trip to Murray, Idaho to witness Extreme Midget Wrestling.
Held at the Bedroom Goldmine on July 7, the spectacle that is midget wrestling and the thrills that are associated with it came in short order.
In front of a crowd that the small Idaho town has not seen in years, grapplers Little Outlaw, Lil’ Pecker, Lumberjack, Octagoncito, and Tsuky put on a two hour clinic in hardcore wrestling.
The diminutive daredevils thrashed their way around the ring (set up just outside of the Bedroom Goldmine) showing off vintage wrestling moves and taking appropriately sized objects to each other’s heads (such as wet floor signs and small trashcans).
The conclusion of each round was met by thunderous applause by the throughly entertained audience, who ordered and consumed close to 100 pizzas in five hours.
The event was organized by Bedroom Goldmine owner Chris Littlejohn and co-owner Tammie Gleason. This is the first year that they have held this type of event and Littlejohn could not have been happier with its inaugural run.
"Things went awesome. We had plenty of good help and everything went off just like we wanted it to,” he said.
For some people, the allure of professional wrestling was enough to draw them to Murray, but Littlejohn also believes that there was a novelty factor as well.
"It was just crazy,” he said. “It was a great thing to see that kind of commitment to come see an event. It was a huge success." The extreme midget wrestlers are used to putting on shows in larger venues, but the atmosphere in Murray really made it feel like a miniature Wild West. "The performers talked to me afterwards and they felt it went great,” Littlejohn explained. “They thought it was really cool to be in Murray. They don't usually perform in towns like that."
The petite performers themselves brought some historic and global recognition with them too, as Octagoncito is a current champion in Mexico’s Universal Wrestling Association (UWA). Both Octagoncito and Tsuky have worked in some of the biggest wrestling companies in the world, including World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA).
With this year’s match in the books, Littlejohn is already looking to the future.
"I was happy that we had a great crowd and we're looking forward to doing it next year."