Micro Wrestling Puts the Smack Down on Norcross

A raucous crowd shouts in unison, “Micro Superstars!” and the bell rings, sending two wrestlers after each other. The Enforcer gets slammed hard by The Beast, a wild wrestler with clown make-up who plays to the crowd. The Enforcer tries to get scrappy with small blows but gets pinned again, then “dragged” up by his hair. Just another Saturday in Norcross.

This was not your usual WWF smack-down, though. The Micro Wrestling Federation visited the North Atlanta Trade Center this weekend, with showmanship and crowd-pumping antics at full tilt. They are a travelling group of little people entertainers that style their show after WWF, with over-the-top body slams and gloves-off moves inside—and outside—the ring.

Their mission is to “show the world that we are equal, that we are serious athletes, and that we have the will and determination to succeed”—while entertaining and providing more than a touch of Jerry Springer-style comedy.

The wrestlers each have stage personas that they play up to the crowd, from the slick pin-stripped suit dancer (with break-away pants) to the Olympic wrestler to the dark Raven.

The show itself was full of raw energy, with three rounds of two-on-two bouts before a three-on-three brawling finale. 

Owner Jesse Jermann started the company in 2000; He now books between 13 to 16 shows per month, he said. His background was—not surprisingly—in entertainment, doing booking for some novelty acts before starting the first micro wrestling show. He said that he usually has between 15 and 20 entertainers in rotation—but you can just expect to see five or six performers per show.

“It’s all about the fun,” said Raven as the audience filtered in. “I love to make people laugh—I love to see the energy.” He grew up in Baltimore, home of the Ravens football team, and always loved Edgar Allen Poe, so he said the name Raven just came naturally.

The audience, well, they weren’t quite sure what to expect. Norcross residents Keith and Wendy Tait came to the show for their date night (Keith’s choice). “It’s definitely something different,” he said as a band rocked the stage before the show.

Ian Rachelefsky got a group of friends together for a buddy’s birthday. “People didn’t believe me at first,” he said. “But everyone I told wanted to come.”

Ricky Benjamin, another performer who has been to 43 states wrestling with MWF, mentioned with pride that they’ve been on the show “Bones,” in Jimmy Johns sub commercial and even made an appearance on MTV. Does that make them just a little famous? “We’re almost there,” he said. “We’re working on it.”