Douglas Allen Tunstall Jr. (born August 19, 1967), better known as Tiny the Terrible, is an American
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
and politician. During his wrestling career, he appeared as an attraction on the
independent circuit and made two appearances on
WWF/E ''Raw''. He stands tall and is a former
NWA World Midget's Champion. In 2006, Tunstall unsuccessfully ran for mayor of
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence and East Providence to the south, Central Fal ...
. His campaign was the subject of ''
A Man Among Giants'', a documentary film directed by
Rod Webber.
Personal life
Douglas Allen Tunstall Jr. was born in
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...
, on August 19, 1967. Tunstall is a
dwarf
Dwarf or dwarves may refer to:
Common uses
*Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore
* Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
* Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...
who stands at 4 feet, 7 inches tall.
His father was a
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
veteran of normal height, though Tunstall says his mother was shorter than he is.
In 1985, Tunstall graduated from
Central Falls High School
Central Falls High School (CFHS) is an urban Senior High School in Central Falls, Rhode Island that serves students from grades nine through twelve. It is centrally located within the city of Central Falls so that students are able to walk to and ...
, where he partook in
scholastic wrestling
Scholastic wrestling, also known in the United States as folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practiced at the high school and middle school levels in the United States. This wrestling style is essentially collegiate wrestling wit ...
and claims to have won the majority of his matches in the 98-to-105-pound class.
He subsequently earned an
associate's degree
An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of Tertiary education, post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelo ...
from
Community College of Rhode Island
The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) is a public community college in Rhode Island. It is the only community college in the state and the largest community college in New England. The college's primary facility is located in Warwick, with ...
and took science-related classes at
Rhode Island College.
Tunstall began a career in
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
in the 1990s.
His notoriety in wrestling led to multiple appearances as a guest on ''
The Jerry Springer Show
''Jerry Springer'' is an American scripted syndicated tabloid talk show that aired from September 30, 1991 to July 26, 2018. Produced and hosted by its namesake, Jerry Springer, it aired for 27 seasons and nearly 5,000 episodes. The television ...
''.
He also worked seasonally for
KB Toys
K·B Toys (also known as Kay Bee Toys) was an American chain of mall-based retail toy stores. The company was founded in 1922 as Kaufman Brothers, a wholesale candy store. The company opened a wholesale toy store in 1946, and ended its candy who ...
, where he would portray a
Christmas elf
In English-speaking cultures, a Christmas elf is a diminutive elf that lives with Santa Claus at the North Pole and acts as his helper. Christmas elves are usually depicted as green- or red-clad, with large, pointy ears and wearing pointy hats. ...
.
In 2006, he said he had been receiving
Social Security Disability Insurance since 1995.
He estimates his income to be $10,000 a year.
Professional wrestling career
Tunstall performs as a professional wrestler under the moniker "Tiny the Terrible".
He often made appearances on the
independent circuit in the
northeastern United States,
including
New England Championship Wrestling
New England Championship Wrestling (NECW) is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in the Northeastern United States that has promoted events since 2000. Currently owned and operated by Sheldon Goldberg, is one of the top independ ...
.
Tunstall and his brother Half Nelson, a fellow dwarf wrestler, would perform against 350 lb Erich "Mass Transit" Kulas. The three caught the attention of
Extreme Championship Wrestling
HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...
(ECW) owner
Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman (born September 11, 1965) is an American professional wrestling manager, former promoter, photographer, and executive. He is currently signed to WWE, appearing on the SmackDown brand as manager for Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweig ...
, who invited them to appear at an ECW house show in 1996. This led to the
Mass Transit Incident, which occurred after Kulas canceled his showcase with Tunstall to replace the absent
Axl Rotten
Brian Knighton (April 21, 1971 – February 4, 2016), better known by the ring name Axl Rotten, was an American professional wrestler. In the early 1990s, he was a part of the tag team The Bad Breed with Ian Rotten. He had a short stint with Wor ...
in a tag-team match against
The Gangstas
The Gangstas was a professional wrestling tag team and stable, consisting of New Jack and Mustafa Saed in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). The group originally started as a three-man group with D'Lo Brown in Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW), ...
. Kulas was severely injured during the subsequent match, suffering two severed arteries in a botched
blading from
New Jack
Jerome Young (January 3, 1963 – May 14, 2021) was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name New Jack. He was best known for his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), where he became notorious for his willingnes ...
. In a 2020 episode of ''
Dark Side of the Ring
''Dark Side of the Ring'' is a Canadian documentary television series produced by Vice Studios. The series focuses on controversial subjects and events within the realm of professional wrestling.
Series overview
Episodes Season 1 (2019)
Sea ...
'' on New Jack, Tunstall recounted feeling resentment over Kulas abandoning him and his brother to take a higher profile match.
He defeated Half Nelson for the
NWA World Midget's Championship
The NWA World Midget's Championship was the National Wrestling Alliance's midget wrestling singles championship. Large parts of the championship history is undocumented due to lack of documentation of Midget wrestling for large periods of time fr ...
in 1998 and held it for 167 days, before dropping it to Little Killer.
Tunstall made two appearances on
WWF/E ''Raw''; he revealed in ''Dark Side of the Ring'' that New Jack secured the appearances for him in exchange for helping New Jack be acquitted of assault and battery charges against Kulas.
On the March 13, 2000, episode of ''Raw'', he appeared as one half of "The Twin Towers", a dwarf duo that
Stephanie McMahon
Stephanie McMahon Levesque (born Stephanie Marie McMahon; ; September 24, 1976) is an American businesswoman and retired professional wrestler. She is the current chairwoman and co-chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the world's largest prof ...
joked would face
The Rock at
WrestleMania 2000
WrestleMania 2000 (sequentially known as WrestleMania 16) was the 16th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on April 2, 2000, at the Arrowh ...
. He wrestled his only WWE match on the July 25, 2005, episode of ''Raw'' under the ring name Cloacas, where he teamed with
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 f ...
to take on
Antonio of
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 ...
and Pocket Rocket in a winning effort.
Political career
He is a member of the
Republican Party, which he says has made him unpopular with his friends. He supported
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
during
his presidency.
In 2004, he protested at the
Democratic National Convention and told a ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' reporter that any
platform
Platform may refer to:
Technology
* Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run
* Platform game, a genre of video games
* Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models
* Weapons platform, a system or ...
that promised to give people under five feet tall $1,200 a month would capture the dwarf demographic.
Tunstall ran for mayor of
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence and East Providence to the south, Central Fal ...
, in 2006. His candidacy made him the first
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
to seek the office. He ran against the well-funded eight-year
Democratic incumbent
James Doyle, and stated he would use "ghetto-style politics" such as door-to-door campaigning.
His platform included opposing
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
, encouraging
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
to build a base in Pawtucket and giving stipends to those who took in homeless people. Ultimately, Tunstall lost the election after only collecting 17 percent of the vote.
His candidacy was the subject of the documentary film, ''
A Man Among Giants''.
After the completion of the film, Tunstall was arrested for making threats to public officials. The film's director
Rod Webber bailed him out of jail, and Tunstall was subsequently committed to a mental hospital.
Championships and accomplishments
*
National Wrestling Alliance
**
NWA World Midget's Championship
The NWA World Midget's Championship was the National Wrestling Alliance's midget wrestling singles championship. Large parts of the championship history is undocumented due to lack of documentation of Midget wrestling for large periods of time fr ...
(1 time)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiny the Terrible
Living people
1967 births
African-American male professional wrestlers
American male professional wrestlers
American male television actors
Community College of Rhode Island alumni
Midget professional wrestlers
People from Pawtucket, Rhode Island
People from Providence, Rhode Island
Professional wrestlers from Rhode Island
Rhode Island College alumni
Rhode Island Republicans
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople