10. La Parkita
Billed weight: 60 kg (130 lb)
Small may not have been beautiful in the case of La Parkita (Spanish for “Little Death”) but it sure was tragic. After being trained by his elder brother Mario, who works as Espectrito (see below), Alberto Perez Jiménez was given the gimmick of being a mascota – that’s miniature version – of popular wrestler La Parka, complete with a skeleton mask and body suit. Like others, a mini but not necessarily a dwarf, La Parkita went on to compete in high profile multiple-mini matchups in the ring. Then in 2009, Alberto and his twin brother Alejandro, also a professional midget wrestler under the name Espectrito II, were found murdered in their hotel after a Sunday night show.
9. Espectrito II
Billed weight: Unknown
Another big name in the Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) – Mexico’s lucha libre pro-wrestling promotion – Alejandro Jiminez will, like his twin brother Alberto (La Parkita), alas be remembered as much for the circumstances of his death as for his life in wrestling. He too was killed after being spiked by two female hookers who were part of a group called La Filtracion. Still, as Especrito II, this little might-have-been-legend partook in some major rumbles, wrestling alongside his twin, teaming up with his older brother Mario (Espectrito), and making a string of appearances in the WWF where he was billed as Mini Mankind and later repackaged as Tarantula. Sadly missed.
8. Mini Psicosis
Billed weight: 75 kg (170 lb)
Though currently working as Mini Psicosis, pre-2008 this midget wrestler went by the name of Jerrito Estrada – both personas of larger-version wrestlers, as is the wont in Mexican wrestling. As Estrada, this mini-me won the National Mini-Estrella Championship belt in 1994, but his 26-day reign was the shortest ever. After disappearing from TV, he returned as Mini Psicosis, a horns-sporting enmascarado (masked wrestler) born after the character’s previous incarnation left the AAA for a rival promotion. Along with Mini Abismo Negro and Mini Histeria, Mini Psicosis then formed the Los Mini Vipers. His eight Luchas de Apuestas wins – bet fights where wrestlers wager their masks or hair – ain’t to be scoffed at.
7. Mini Histeria
Billed weight: 68 kg (150 lb)
Finishing move: La Casita (Arm wrench inside cradle)
No journeyman by any stretch, Mini Histeria is one badass diminutive dude, despite his relatively tender 28 years, but then that’s what you’d expect from the son of Rocco Marvin and the brother of Ricky Marvin, both famous luchadors in their own right. As for their protégé, the wrestler with the rather more prosaic real name of Rolando Fuentes Romero pinned Octagóncito in 2000 while wrestling as Rocky Marvin to take the Mexican National Mini-Estrella Championship belt, a title he defended and held for 274 days. After working as both a rúdo (bad guy) and a técnico (good guy), Mini Histeria was created in 2007, forming the bad-to-the bone Los Mini Vipers with Mini Psicosis and Mini Abismo Negro.
6. Mini Abismo Negro
Billed weight: 75 kg (170 lb)
Finishing moves: Martinete (Kneeling belly to belly piledriver), Frog splash
Another short stuff and Los Mini Viper who’s achieved big things, Mini Abismo Negro is a former two-time Mexican National Mini-Estrellas Champion and current AAA World Mini-Estrella Champion, the only wrestler to have held both titles. After a stint in the WWF, where he worked under the ring name Mini Goldust, Mini Abismo Negro came into his own, winning the National Mini-Estrella Championship in 1998, his first ever pro wrestling title – but not his last. Successful title defences and further championships followed, and in 2009 he was victorious in a nine-man Battle Royal to win the AAA World Mini-Estrellas Championship. Watch out for: his signature Belly to back suplex.
5. Tzuki
Billed weight: 42 kg (93 lb)
Finishing move: Springboard Tornillo (Corkscrew moonsault)
A midget even by mini pro wrestler standards – he really is a dwarf – Tzuki has punched well above his weight. After inglorious beginnings wrestling under the name Baby Rabbit while dressed in a full body rabbit suit, he went on to win the Mexican National Mini-Estrella Championship in 1996, defeating Espectrito I as Mascarita Sagrada, Jr. – a ring name that caused friction with the original Mascarita Sagrada who felt his character was being exploited. Tzuki’s four Luchas de Apuestas wins include a score-settling unmasking of Mascarita Sagrada (aka Mini Nova) while under the WWF name Max Mini, before he donned the lightning bolt-adorned mask and suit of his Tzuki persona.
4. Mascarita Dorada
Billed weight: 50 kg (110 lb)
Finishing move: Satellite Octopus Clutch
At 28, a youngster compared to some of his peers, Dorada has still achieved things as a Mexican mini luchador that some of his elders could only dream of. A former two-time Mexican National Mini-Estrella Champion, Dorada worked under the feted name of Mascarita Sagrada (2000) in the AAA for much of the noughties, taking over after the original left and enjoying a title reign of almost three years. After donning his customary gold and black outfit in 2007, Mascarita Dorada (“Little Golden Mask” in Spanish) rose to such popularity that a larger version of the character, Mascara Dorada, was created – the first time ever a regular sized wrestler was based on a mini and not vice-versa.
3. Octagóncito
Billed weight 62 kg (140 lb)
Finishing moves: La Cruceta (Figure Four Leglock), La Escalera (Russian legsweep into an armbar submission)
Although, like many Mexican Luchador enmascarados, his true identity is not publically known, this little wrestler has sure made a name for himself as Octagóncito. In his time he’s teamed up with other luminaries like Mini Nova and has won four major championships. Among his notable achievements: becoming the first wrestler to hold the coveted Mexican National Mini-Estrella Championship twice, and heated grudge matches with Mini Psicosis that saw Psicosis first unmasked and then have his head shaved by his vanquisher. An unblemished record in the Luchas de Apuestas has ensured Octagóncito has kept his own mask. Watch out for: his Springboard Moonsault plancha.
2. Espectrito
Billed weight: 65 kg (140 lb)
Finishing moves: Senton, Kick to the face
The pretender to the Mexican mini throne, Espectrito is known for his long-time feud with the legendary Mascarita Sagrada, a saga that’s spanned a decade and continues today. Espectrito (“Little Ghost”) may not have notched up as many victories head-to-head as his rival, but this mini maestro is still a fêted figure in the square circle. He was the first ever Mexican National Mini-Estrella champion, and with Mascarita Dorada and Octagóncito is one of only three wrestlers to have held the title twice. He was unmasked by Mascarita Sagrada in 1994 and has also worked in the WWF as Mini Vader and El Torito. Murdered twins Alejandro (Espectrito II) and Alberto Jiminez (La Parkita) were his brothers.
1. Mascarita Sagrada
Billed weight 42 kg (93 lb)
Finishing moves: Gorilla press slam, La Magistral
Often imitated but rarely bettered, Mascarita Sagrada is the undisputed king in the heady world of Mexican midget masked wrestling. Patterned after popular luchador Máscara Sagrada, with a ring name meaning “Little Sacred Mask”, this diminutive warrior has had a stranglehold on his sport for much of the modern era, where signature moves like the Asai Moonsault and Plancha Suicida have been the bane of many foes. Mascarita Sagrada has won no less 14 Luchas de Apuestas – and the hearts of a nation. He’s also triumphed in four major championships and worked north of the Rio Grande in the WWF as Mini Nova. Unmasked only once – by Max Mini in 1999 – his identity remains secret. A living legend.
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