Daniel DiLucchio (born 1973) is an American

Midget professional wrestler Midget wrestling is professional wrestling involving people of exceptionally short stature. Its heyday was in the 1950s and 1960s, when wrestlers such as Little Beaver, Lord Littlebrook, toured North America, and Sky Low Low was the first holder ...

best known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

Short Sleeve Sampson. Sampson works on the

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...

, mainly for Micro Championship Wrestling, TNT Pro Wrestling, and Midget Wrestling Warriors. He has also occasionally made appearances with

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...

and

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

Professional wrestling career

World Wrestling Entertainment

DiLucchio appeared in

(WWE) in promos on two occasions as miniature versions of larger wrestlers. In 2003, he appeared as Mini-Angle, performing a

Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler, Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, Olympic gold medalist in American freestyle wrestling, and former Collegiate wrestling, ...

-style

ankle lock A leglock is a joint lock that is directed at joints of the leg such as the ankle, knee or hip joint. A leglock which is directed at joints in the foot, is sometimes referred to as a foot lock and a lock at the hip as a hip lock. Leglocks are fe ...

on Angle, who was posing as

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American part-time professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He is currently signed to WWE. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is tied w ...

. The following year, he appeared as Mini-Taker and was about to be tombstoned by

JBL JBL is an American audio equipment manufacturer headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. JBL serves the customer home and professional market. The professional market includes studios, installed/tour/portable sound, cars, music ...

before then being attacked by the real

Undertaker A funeral director, also known as an undertaker (British English) or mortician (American English), is a professional involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks often entail the embalming and burial or cremation of the dead, as w ...

. Outside of the comic promos, DiLucchio competed in ''

SmackDown! ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...

s Juniors Division in 2005, participating in the first ever Juniors match against

Pitbull Patterson Pit bull is a term used in the United States for a type of dog descended from bulldogs and terriers, while in other countries such as the United Kingdom the term is used as an abbreviation of the American Pit Bull Terrier breed. The term was f ...

. He also made an appearance on ''

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

'' as Pocket Rocket, the one night only tag team partner for

The Heart Throbs The Heart Throbs, also known as The Heartbreakers, is the name of a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Antonio Thomas and Romeo Roselli, currently wrestling on the independent circuit. Thomas and Roselli are billed as being popular "wi ...

in a match against

Viscera In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a ...

and his mini version partner. Also in the WWE, he appeared as a member of D-Generation X's mini version of the Spirit Squad. In 2014 DiLucchio returned to WWE at Extreme Rules to announce for the weeLC match with Hornswoggle vs El Torito as "Jerry Smaller", a parody of Jerry "The King" Lawler.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

Sampson appeared at

(TNA)'s 2006 Bound for Glory

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

, competing in

Kevin Nash Kevin Scott Nash (born July 9, 1959) is an American actor and retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) where he performed under his r ...

X Division The X Division is a high-flying, high-risk, fast-paced style of professional wrestling seen in Impact Wrestling (formerly Total Nonstop Action Wrestling) and since then in various NWA member promotions. Its tagline is that "It's not about weight ...

Invitational. The following year, he returned to TNA in a segment where he portrayed

Chris Sabin Joshua Harter (born February 4, 1982), better known by his ring name Chris Sabin, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling, and is also known for his work in Ring of Honor. After being trained by Scott D ...

Micro Championship Wrestling and independent circuit

Sampson also stars on the

TruTV TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts comedy, docusoaps and reality shows. The channel was originally launched in 1991 as Court TV, a network that focu ...

original series

Hulk Hogan Terry Eugene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 19 ...

's Micro Championship Wrestling. Sampson is also employed by the Micro Wrestling Federation, where he has held the MCW Championship one time. In the company, he also appears as a fan favorite. He has previously appeared for

National Wrestling Superstars National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

, Ward Family Entertainment, Pro Wrestling Mid Atlantic, and Awesome Wrestling Entertainment, High Impact Wrestling, All Star Wrestling, Old School Wrestling, Big Time Wrestling.

Retirement

In August 2013, Sampson announced his decision to retire from pro wrestling. He would embark on a 40 stop "It's Midget Time" farewell tour. On night three of the

High Impact Wrestling Canada High Impact Wrestling Canada (HIW) was a professional wrestling promotion, based in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Known for its hard hitting "Saskatchewan Style", the HIW roster consisted of nearly 40 regular performers. On January 1, 2019, the ...

's "Christmas Rampage Tour" at King's Challenge IV, Sampson was inducted into the HIW Hall of Fame. But in 2015, he postponed his retirement as he started Midget Wrestling Warriors.

Personal life

DiLucchio is married and has a daughter.

Championships and accomplishments

Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Abram ...

**Men's Wrestling Award (2014) *

Chaotic Wrestling Chaotic Wrestling (CW) is an American independent wrestling promotion, which has been operating throughout New England since 2000; with its current home base in North Andover, Massachusetts. Chaotic Wrestling is known for producing successful, ...

**CW Midget Championship (1 time) **

CW Light Heavyweight Championship The Chaotic Wrestling (CW) Light Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling title in American independent promotion Chaotic Wrestling. The title was first won by Short Sleeve Sampson in Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Es ...

(1 time) *

**Hall of Fame (2013) * Micro Championship Wrestling **MCW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current) *Micro Wrestling Federation **MWF Championship (1 time) *Midge Wrestling Warriors **MWW Champion (1 time, first) *

New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame The New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame and Fan Fest is an American professional wrestling hall of fame. It was established in January 2008 to honor select wrestling personalities who have made significant contributions to professional wrestlin ...

**Class of 2015 *Wisconsin Organized Wrestling **WOW Midget Championship (1 time)

References

External links

Profile at CageMatch.net
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sampson, Short Sleeve 1973 births American male professional wrestlers Living people Midget professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Rhode Island