The termMini-Estrella (Spanish for "Mini-Star") is used inlucha libre to describe a division of shortprofessional wrestlers orluchadors, some of whom havedwarfism. The MexicanMini-Estrellas are comparable tomidget wrestlers who compete internationally, but with the notable exception that some of theMini-Estrellas do not have dwarfism but are simply short. SomeMini-Estrellas have later on moved on to work as regular sized competitors. TheMini-Estrellas have been featured in several promotions outside Mexico, most notablyWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) andTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).
Originally the height limit for theMinis division as set by Mexican lucha commissions was 1.53 m (5 ft 0 in) but in recent years wrestlers such asPequeño Olímpico have worked theMinis division despite being as much as 1.59 m (5 ft2+1⁄2 in) tall.[1] In the formative years ofMini-Estrella wrestling, theMini-Estrellas were also referred to asMicro Luchadors, or "Micro Wrestlers".
The origins of theMini-Estrella division lies inmidget wrestling, which in Mexico was popularized in the 1970s when promoters used theAmerican concept and had a number of Mexicanlittle people perform as a "special attraction" on lucha libre shows. In the early days saw the popularity of wrestlers such as Gran Nikolai, Pequeno Goliath and Arturito (inspired byR2-D2), especially with the children.[2] By the 1980s midget wrestling was less popular in Mexico, especially since few new wrestlers had joined the division.[1]
In the early 1990sConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), Mexico's oldest wrestling promotion, created a new concept, theMini-Estrella division. The division was created byAntonio Peña who worked for CMLL at the time, who came up with the idea of using both little people and short wrestlers together and to have theMini-Estrellas work as smaller versions of popular wrestlers of the time. Peña and CMLL created theCMLL World Mini-Estrella Championship in 1992, which is considered the official birth of the division.[3] CMLL'sMini-Estrellas division featured a number of skilled, high flying wrestlers which helped make the concept an immediate success. OriginalMini-Estrellas division consisted ofMascarita Sagrada (the first CMLL Mini-Estrella champion),Aguilita Solitaria,Octagoncito,Espectrito, Mazakrito,Pierrothito, Pequeño Tritón,Mascarita Mágica,Ultimo Dragoncito,Cicloncito Ramírez, Pequeño Jaque Mate, Platita andGargolita.
In 1993 Peña decided to leave CMLL and create his own wrestling promotion,Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA), and in the process a number of theMini-Estrellas left with Peña. Among those that left CMLL were the division's two main stars, the champion Mascarita Sagrada and his rival Espectrito.[3] Peña later created theMexican National Mini-Estrella Championship as AAA'sMini-Estrella championship.[4] Due to the success of both the CMLL and AAAMini-Estrella division other promotions such as theUniversal Wrestling Association and theWorld Wrestling Association (WWA) briefly promotedMini-Estrella divisions, but neither promotion gained the success of CMLL and AAA. AAA would later promote two otherMini-Estrella championships, the IWC and the LLL Mini-Estrellas championships, but both were later abandoned. The success of theMini-Estrella division was evident as AAA put them in the main event ofTriplemanía III-A, one of AAA's biggest shows of the years. The match was a 13-MinisSteel Cage Elimination match,Lucha de Apuesta, "Mask vs. Mask" match. In the end Payasito Rojo was the last man in the cage after Bandita, Espectrito, Espectrito II,Jerrito Estrada,Fuercita Guerrera, Mascarita Sagrada, Mini Calo, Octagóncito,La Parkita, Payasito Azul,Super Muñequito, and Torerito had all left the cage. The Triplemanía match was one of the first everLuchas de Apuestas matches in theMini-Estrella division.[5] AAA would later create another "first" in theMini-Estrellas division as they createdLos Mini Vipers, a Mini version of theLos Vipers stable.[6]
In 2002 AAA created theAAA Mascot Tag Team Championship, the first and so far only tag team championship for teams consisting of aMini-Estrella and the regular sized wrestler he is based on.[7] In 2007, then reigning Mexican National Mini-Estrellas Champion,Mascarita Sagrada 2000 left AAA while still holding the championship; he later appeared in CMLL, repackaged as "Mascarita Dorada" but the announcers still mentioned the fact that he was the Mexican National Mini-Estrella Champion. Since his initial appearance as Mascarita Dorada the Mexican National Mini-Estrellas Championship has not been mentioned and is considered inactive.[8] Following the loss of the Mexican National title AAA decided to create a new title, theAAA World Mini-Estrellas Championship as the centerpiece of theirMini-Estrellas division, won byMini Charly Manson.[9] On January 11, 2009, CMLL promoted their firstpay-per-view (PPV) show with theMinis division in the main event. AtLa Hora Cero 13minis competed in CMLL's first everInfierno en el Ring forMini-Estrellas. The match sawPierrothito defeat and unmaskShockercito afterCosmico,Eléctrico,Niño de Acero,Fantasy,Mascarita Dorada, Pequeño Ninja,Pequeno Olimpico,Pequeño Warrior,Tzuki,Ultimo Dragoncito andPequeño Universo 2000 all had escaped the cage.[10] Later on in 2009 CMLL would hold another "allMinis" cage match as well as a match that sawMinis and regular sized wrestlers compete against each other.[11] AAA's Mascota tag team title was abandoned in 2009 when the then reigning championsEl Alebrije andCuije left AAA.[12]
TheMini-Estrellas have not been restricted to working outside Mexico, although Mexico is the only country to regularly promote theMini-Estrellas as a specific division. Often theMini-Estrellas are brought in for a "special attraction" match such theWorld Wrestling Council's 19th and 22nd anniversary shows that featured Mascarita Sagrada and otherMinis.[13][14]World Championship Wrestling (WCW) also invited theMini-Estrellas to appear on one of their shows, a pre-PPV match at the1996 Starrcade where Mascarita Sagrada and Octagóncito defeated Jerrito Estrada andPiratita Morgan.[15] Northern California based Pro Wrestling Revolution (PWR) is the only US based promotion to have created a specificMini-Estrella championship, created in 2009.
In 1997 theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, later WWE) and AAA began a talent sharing program, which allowed severalMini-Estrellas wrestlers to compete on WWF television.[16] These wrestlers included Mascarita Sagrada, La Parkita and several AAAMini-Estrellas that were given new gimmicks for their WWF appearances includingMax Mini (formerly Máscarita Sagrada Jr.), El Torito (Espectrito),Mini Goldust (Mini Karis La Momia) and Mini Vader (Piratita Morgan).[16] Mascarita Sagrada originally wrestled under his normal name but was soon repackaged as "Mini Nova", a mini version ofSuper Nova, aluchador that worked for the WWF at the time. Mini Nova made his in-ring debut in a match atBad Blood in 1997 where he teamed with Max Mini againstTarantula andMosaic. TheMinis appeared onWWF Shotgun Saturday Night andWWF Monday Night Raw as well as in matches at theRoyal Rumble in 1997 and theRoyal Rumble in 1998.[17] In 1999 the WWF/AAA talent sharing agreement ended and allMini-Estrellas stopped working in the United States. In October 2005 WWE created a "Juniors division" exclusive to theirSmackDown! brand. The division featured a number ofMinis from Mexico that mainly appeared in backstage skits of a comedic nature but would also occasionally wrestle. The Juniors division included Mascarita Sagrada, Tsuki, Octagoncito andPequeño Violencia; the division also includedSuper Porky, who had never worked in theMini-Estrella division in Mexico. Super Porky only appeared in backstage skits but did not wrestle.[18] By March 2006 WWE gave up on the Juniors division and released all theMinis.[19]
The US-basedLucha Libre USA began promoting in 2010 and featured severalMini-Estrellas, unlike in Mexican promotions,Mini-Estrellas such asMascarita Dorada andPequeño Halloween compete against regular sized competitors instead of in a separate division.
Since theMini-Estrella division is not restricted only to people with Dwarfism some wrestlers have moved on from theMini-Estrellas division to the regular sized division, especially some of the competitors over the 1.53 m (5 ft 0 in) height limit the division originally had.Mike Segura originally worked as Orito (a mini version ofOro) in CMLL, but when he began working for AAA he began working in the regular sized division as Super Nova.[1] Similarly Felinito wrestled in CMLL as a mini but when jumped to AAA he began wrestling in the regular sized division as Mach 1. Freelance became a regular sized wrestler after losing his mask as Panterita.
In late 1997 CMLL booked an eight-mantorneo cibernetico elimination match where the winner would earn the right to work in the "regular sized" division.Damiancito El Guerrero defeated Cicloncito Ramírez, Tritoncito, Pequeño Cochisse, Platita,Guerrerito del Future, Pequeño Sayama andFierito to earn the right to work with "regular sized" wrestlers.[20] In early 1998 he made his debut as part of the regular sized division under the name "Virus", no mention was made that Virus used to work as Damiancito El Guerrero or the fact that he still held the CMLL World Mini-Estrella Championship. By 1999 CMLL decided that it was time to crown a new CMLL World Mini-Estrella Champion as Virus was still technically the champion despite not having worked as a Mini-Estrella for over a year. Instead of making Virus return to theMinis division to lose the title CMLL decided to give the championship toUltimo Dragoncito and then subsequently announce that Ultimo Dragoncito had "won" the title on an undisclosed day in October 1999.[21]
CMLL held a "Bicentennial tournament" in August 2010 to commemorate the 18th anniversary of theMini-Estrellas division, with the winner "graduating" to the regular sized division. The tournament consisted of twotorneo cibernetico elimination matches with the winner of each facing off in a singles match on August 24.[22][23]Demus 3:16 won the firstcibernetico, defeatingEléctrico,Saturno,Fantasy,Pequeño Olímpico,Pequeño Nitro,Pequeño Violencia andCisne to earn a place in the finals.[24] The secondtorneo cibernetico took place on August 17, 2010, and was won by Pierrothito. On August 24, 2010, Demus 3:16 defeated Pierrothito in the finals of the tournament to earn his way out of theMini-Estrella division.[25] In March 2011, Demus 3:16 wrestled Virus in a hair vs. hair mask. Demus 3:16 lost the match and after that he returned to theminis division.
SinceMini-Estrella wrestlers are smaller and possess less muscle bulk than heavyweights or evencruiserweights it lends to ahigh-flying wrestling style for a number of theMini-Estrellas, especially in recent years.[1] Some wrestlers such as Mascarita Dorada are able to perform moves that his regular sized counterpart would have a hard time executing.[1] Not all performers in theMini-Estrella division are able to work a high flying style, especially those with more severe forms of dwarfism work a more grounded style.[2]
The firstMini-Estrellas championship was created in 1992 when CMLL created the CMLL Mini-Estrellas World Championship. Since then rivals AAA and WWA both created aMini-Estrellas championship, although only AAA's championship sustained any longevity. In 2008 CMLL decided to use theMexican National Lightweight Championship as a secondary title for theMini-Estrellas division. Up until that point the Lightweight title had not been considered aMini-Estrellas championship.[26]
Mascarita Sagrada & Octagoncito defeated Jerrito Estrada & Piratita Morgan
Octagoncito & Pequeno Violencia fought Mascarita Sagrada & Tsuki to a no contest at 2:37 when Finlay came out and assaulted several of the participants and dropped Tsuki with the Emerald Fusion; after the bout, Finlay cut a promo saying he came to fight and didn't care about how big or small everyone else was
