Brian Damage
A gimmick is something that is intended to hook the attention of fans to a wrestler. They may be outrageous or steeped more in reality, whatever the case may be…some have succeeded and many others have failed. The Gimmick Table takes a look at the origins of some of your favorite and not so favorite gimmicks of professional wrestlers.
Today we browse the gimmick of Hornswoggle
The idea behind the leprechaun gimmick came from Fit Finlay himself. According to Finlay, he originally thought up the idea while still wrestling for WCW. Finlay pitched the gimmick of having a leprechaun accompany him to the ring ,interfere in his matches and get into all sorts of trouble. Finlay said he pitched the gimmick to WCW management several times, but his idea never went anywhere.
When Fit Finlay joined WWE in 2006, he told the idea to Vince McMahon who loved it. McMahon, Finlay, Kevin Dunn and a couple of writers held open auditions to “cast” the role of Finlay’s leprechaun. The wrestler who really caught the attention of the committee was an independent wrestler nicknamed ‘Shortstack’ Dylan Postl. WWE creative had him fitted for a green suit and made him look dirty and disheveled and overall a lunatic that hid underneath the ring. Postl believed that it was announcer Michael Cole who came up with the character’s original name of ‘Little Bastard.’
After a few weeks being mentioned on WWE television as Little Bastard, the character began to get over with fans. At that point, Vince decided that if they wanted to market the character to kids, they needed a new name. The name they chose for Postl’s character was ‘Hornswoggle.’ The name’s definition meant cheating of being deceptive and that was what Finlay’s leprechaun was because he always cheated and interfered in Finlay’s matches ala hornswoggling his opponents. Hornswoggle cleaned up and became a more fun loving character once he and Finlay turned babyfaces. The gimmick lasted for 10 years until Postl was released from WWE in 2016.
To browse other Gimmick Table entries…Please Click Here