10 Most Dangerous Wrestlers Under Six Feet Tall

Short fuses

Joe Coffey Vs Minoru Suzuki True Legacy
Joe Coffey vs Minoru Suzuki (True Legacy)

Hornswoggle's surprise cameo in Saudi Arabia's Greatest Royal Rumble was presumably due to Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman requesting Little Beaver appear alongside fellow deceased stars Yokozuna and The Ultimate Warrior. Nonetheless, Finlay's storyline son looked buzzing to be asked to perform in front of 60,000+ supporters after sticking at it on the independent scene since his 2016 departure.

After hitting Kofi Kingston with a Samoan drop, he was dispatched by a less-than-impressed Tony Nese. 'The Premier Athlete' probably envied former Cruiserweight Champion's success. It's not like he'll get anywhere near the strap the leprechaun once retired.

'The Little B*stard' was many things, but a titleholder should never have been one of them. With a shillelagh in hand he was at best a bothersome presence, but even then the weapon was best deployed in the grasp of his Irish accomplice. He was vicious, but only comedically so. He wasn't tough.

It was why Vince McMahon saw such hilarious disconnect in him as his storyline progeny. The Chairman loves big broad lads almost as much as he loves big broad gags - he's built his empire pushing them even when they're categorically not "best for business", and continues to today.

Plenty of his past employees have worn lifts to boost themselves above the six-foot mark, despite the magic in selling the size of the fight in the dog rather than the dog in the fight. McMahon's current 'Big Dog' hardly looks tough right now - he couldn't have done worse pushing one of these short-stacked spitfires...

10. Daniel Bryan

Joe Coffey Vs Minoru Suzuki True Legacy
WWE

The 'Yes Man' established a relationship of deep-rooted respect with the WWE audience on his first night with the company after years of delivering gutsy and grim sh*tkickings on the independent scene. His NXT debut against Chris Jericho was designed to cast him as an over-matched underdog - it instead rendered him the only logical winner of the daft talent show-style knockout show.

Bryan absorbed brutal blows from the then-World Heavyweight Champion, including a gloriously grisly bump onto the announce desk from a caught dive. Though shocking to all fans catching a glimpse of Bryan for the first time, it was par for the course to those that saw him pre-WWE.

Gleefully cutting his teeth on an intense circuit, Bryan honed his aggressive style in wars against some of the very best in the world. Offence was the best form of defence for the 5'10 dynamo, relying as he did on wicked kicks and slick submissions to keep his opponents subdued. He was forced to battle through several injuries whilst doing it too. Regularly bandaged beyond belief, Bryan infamously detached his retina in a bruising battle with then-ROH World Champion Takeshi Morishma.

Such legitimate intestinal fortitude prepared for WWE's unrelenting grind and clearly armed him with the mental strength to "fight for his dreams" years after they were thought to be dashed.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett