Line #22 Wrestling/Hornswoggle


1	[[quoteright:189:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hornswoggle_6868.jpg]]
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3	Dylan Mark Postl (born on May 29, 1986) is an American {{professional wrestl\|ing}}er best known for his time in Wrestling/{{WWE}} under his ring name Hornswoggle. He debuted in WWE in 2006 as a leprechaun character known as Little Bastard allied with Finlay. In 2007, ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' named him "Rookie of the Year,'' despite the fact that he actually began his career in 2004. He was released from WWE on May 2016, and debuted for Wrestling/{{CHIKARA}} several months later as the Big Deal before signing with Wrestling/ImpactWrestling for a time as Swoggle, the name he adopted on the indies outside CHIKARA.
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5	!! Hornswoggle Tropes:
6	* ArchEnemy: [[Wrestling/{{Boogeyman}} The Boogeyman]] and Little Boogeyman, Jamie Noble, Vince [=McMahon=] (teased to be [[LukeIAmYourFather his father]]), Wrestling/DGenerationX, Wrestling/ChavoGuerreroJr. Most recently, El Torito.
7	* AscendedExtra: Probably not the original intention but Bradshaw did have an offhand mention about an "Irish toad" named Hornswoggle in one of his promos. He even has a frog themed finishing move.
8	* BadBoss: [[spoiler: He was the anonymous Raw general manager. And while he was, he was an asshole to everyone not named Michael Cole. And sometimes, not even Cole was spared.]]
9	* BeardOfEvil: Really grew it out during his feud with Boogeyman's Little Boogeyman.
10	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: As The Big Deal in Wrestling/{{CHIKARA}}. He vanished without explanation after the season 16 finale, presumably due to being signed by Wrestling/ImpactWrestling. The Closers occasionally referenced him after that but he was quietly removed from the roster after season 18.
11	* FaceHeelTurn: Just to cement it, he's sided with Wrestling/ThreeMB against the more popular El Torito.
12	* FacialMarkings: Put them on to show he was no longer scared of the Boogeyman. He still was scared as ever but had gotten over his fear of ''Little Boogeyman'', so there's that.
13	* FastBallSpecial: This was originally his entire purpose for being on TV, as the thought was having Finlay throw him at people would make Finlay less likeable. [[{{Irony}} It did not work, not at first anyway.]]
14	* FightingIrish: Eventually, he started out more as projectile Finlay used but eventually became one, [[FakeNationality even though he's actually American]].
15	* FinishingMove: Tadpole Splash (a frog splash).
16	* FlippingTheBird: John Cena ducked when Finlay threw the little bastard, so he instead collided with Michael Cole and started biting him. After this Cole received an [[SophisticatedAsHell elegantly worded, profanity filled email]] from "Hornswoggle" detailing why he hated Michael Cole and put a drawing of two raised middle fingers at the end. The message was reproduced on WWE.com, but is no longer up, sadly.
17	* HateSink: As The Big Deal in CHIKARA, enough that it actually got resident [[TheChewToy chew toy]] Juan Francisco De Coronado chanted for.
18	* KarmaHoudini: His penchant for mischief often goes unpunished. This was especially bad when he made an idiot out of Chavo Guerrero.
19	* KidAppealCharacter: And it worked incredibly well, in the face of all the backlash fans of the cruiserweight division, fans of Jamie Noble and those of Chavo Guerrero had for his antics. When D-Generation X announced he had the night off, they got booed!
20	* {{Leprechaun}}: What he was implied to be at first, because he was small, dressed like a leprechaun and palled around Finlay. Wrestling/{{Melina}} said this was the proper term when Wrestling/JillianHall called him a midget.
21	* LittleGuyBigBuddy[=/=]VitriolicBestBuds: Had this relationship with Finlay.
22	* LovableSexManiac: During his "feud" with Melina. He was an unashamed pervert who upon being introduced to her by Vince [=McMahon=] pounced on and started kissing her. Hornswoggle would go on to strip Melina naked, twice. On the other hand, she was only "dating" him for a shot at the Women's Championship, which helped on the "Lovable" part.
23	* {{Mascot}}: For the ''[=SmackDown!=]'' team at ''Bragging Rights 2010''.
24	* MisterBig: As The Big Deal, the manager of The Closers (Rick Roland and Sloan Caprice) in CHIKARA.
25	* OddFriendship:
26	** His best known ones are with Finlay, [[Wrestling/DGenerationX DX]] and The Great Khali.
27	** His group of riding buddies used to include The Great Khali and Wrestling/MarkHenry, two of the biggest guys in sports entertainment (and the world, for that matter).
28	* PartsUnknown: "The End of the Rainbow"
29	* PintSizedPowerhouse
30	** He hit Wrestling/JohnCena's Attitude Adjustment on Tyson Kidd, who is over a foot taller and some 50 pounds heavier than he is.
31	** During his feud with Chavo Guerrero, he interfered on Wrestling/EvanBourne's behalf while he wrestled Chavo at a live event at the Perani Arena in Flint Michigan, then ''carried'' Bourne around on his shoulders to celebrate the victory.
32	* PowerCopying: He often copied other wrestlers's finishing moves, like Mr. Kennedy's Kenton Bomb (calling it the Lepreton Bomb) or Shawn Michaels's Sweet Chin Music.
33	* PowerStable: [[Wrestling/BookerT King Booker's Court]]
34	* RedBaron: (as Shortstack in the Wisconsin scene): "The World's Sexiest Midget"
35	* ShoutOut: To ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' during his "Cruiserweight Champion" and "Bastard Son" phase. Jamie Noble set "traps" for him. Hornswoggle even had a bit where he "painted" a door on a wall and "ran" through it to escape Wrestling/{{Carlito\|Colon}}, who couldn't follow. Hornswoggle also attempted to blow up Johnathan Coachman with explosives.
36	* SpotlightStealingSquad: This more than anything else is why Hornswoggle started to get on some viewer's nerves. First Finlay's theme became Hornswoggle's theme. Then Hornswoggle became Vince [=McMahon=]'s bastard son. Later the cruiserweight division died with Hornswoggle. Afterwards Hornswoggle segments became an integral part of celebrity guest host stint Raw went through. In an occasion, Hornswoggle joined Degeneration X. In general, there were much less complaints when he was just Finlay's weaponized sidekick.
37	* StockSoundEffect: [[spoiler: When sending Michael Cole emails, the arena lights would flash to a general prompt. Christian mocked this reproducing the sound on his phone and declaring it must be an email from Raw's general manager.]]
38	* SuperSpit: He has made use of the green mist.
39	* TheUnintelligible: He "spoke" in grunts and growls. Then he was granted a [[ItMakesSenseInContext wish by Santa Claus so he could talk normally.]][[note]]He was the winner of a battle royal, where the winner would get a wish granted by Santa, aka Mick Foley.[[/note]]
40	* UnrelatedBrothers: More like "Unrelated Fathers"; on the September 10, 2007 ''Raw,'' he was revealed to be Wrestling/VinceMcMahon's "illegitimate son." Then it was changed to his being Finlay's son before the whole thing was dropped altogether.
41	* UrExample: As Shortstack, he was the inaugural [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/wi/acw/acw-x.html NWA Wisconsin X-Division Champion]].
42	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: His debut (in which Finlay pulled him out from under the ring, threw him on his opponent, and put him back under) was originally intended to be this; a leprechaun appearing and suddenly leaving as quickly as he came. However, it was decided that he should make further appearances.

Context Wrestling / Hornswoggle