Little Man, Big Problem

In terms of Hornswoggle, Jamie Noble didn’t think things could get any worse. Boy, was he being short-sighted.
Ever since Noble was pinned by Hornswoggle at The Great American Bash, several WWE Superstars have been seen snickering and laughing in his direction; just weeks ago, Noble even found Shannon Moore and Funaki doing so during SmackDown. Now, however, it’s more than just the WWE Superstars having fun at his expense; our fans now seem to be in on the “joke.”
It’s no secret that in recent weeks, SmackDown’s smallest Superstar has become one of its most popular. The ovation Hornswoggle received on the night he won the Cruiserweight Championship has carried over since The Bash; our fans love the pint-sized pugilist’s zany antics, and why wouldn’t they? For everyone who has ever been called too small, too weird, too…well, too anything to succeed in life, the 4-foot-tall leprechaun ruling in a land of giants – to him, at least – can be viewed as an inspiration.
Granted, Noble has never really been much of a fan favorite, eschewing audience support in favor of breaking the rules to succeed. However, just looking at what happened in the ring last week, it’s clear that he’s in our fans’ sights more than ever before.
After Noble defeated Moore three weeks ago on Friday Night SmackDown, the new Cruiserweight Champion popped up at ringside to have some fun with his chosen Goliath. Noble almost got his hands on the tiny terror, but instead ended up with some egg – in the form of some delicious pie – covering his face. While the dessert covered up the embarrassment washed over his grill, it couldn’t drown out the cheers and laughter of our fans in Phoenix. If it wasn’t before, it became evident that night that our fans were solidly behind Hornswoggle. At least, it should have been, since most of our fans are taller than the pocket-sized prankster.
As if that weren’t bad enough, Hornswoggle has begun to cause Noble problems with other WWE Superstars now as well. When Kane interrupted Noble’s match with Finlay – a bout spurred on by Noble’s pursuit of Hornswoggle, costing the fighting Irishman a match against Matt Hardy two weeks ago – the vertically-challenged champion got involved as well, pushing Noble head-first into the Big Red Monster’s already-injured ribs. Predictably enough, Kane snapped, and despite Noble’s attempt to set the scene, the Big Red Monster nearly drove him through the mat with a thunderous chokeslam.
As our fans were filing out of the Mohegan Sun Arena following last week’s SmackDown, a mother and son were seen chatting; the youngster, who looked no more than five years old, wore a homemade “I Pinned Jamie Noble, Too” t-shirt and was begging his mother to see if the merchandise stands had any Hornswoggle action figures. Laughing at the scene were a group of teenagers, one of whom piped in,“They don’t, little guy, but they should start making souvenir pies!” Perhaps WWE Shop could look into all three of these potential hot sellers; they’d be sure to have a short shelf life.
Seriously though, our fans’ reactions to Hornswoggle’s antics must make Noble feel like he’s less than a foot tall. Being embarrassed about losing to a presumed inferior opponent – twice – is one thing; having 15,000 screaming WWE fans cheer that opponent and remind you of your horror in every arena you go to…well, it’s just too big a problem to ignore.
But until the day comes where Noble gets his revenge on the Cruiserweight Champion – if it ever comes – that’s exactly what the Southern Superstar is going to have to deal with. And until that day, he could be leaving every arena angry and red-faced…and if Hornswoggle has anything to do with it, perhaps pie-faced as well.
Judging by recent reactions, our fans would actually enjoy that