Extreme Rules 2014 match card preview: Hornswoggle vs. El Torito

Pre-Show match: WeeLC

El Torito vs. Hornswoggle

Someone in WWE realized that they had two little people on the roster at the same time, so instead of just having El Torito gore people on Main Event and Superstars week in and week out, they turned Hornswoggle heel.

The Road to Extreme Rules

The star of the upcoming Leprechaun: Origins has done a little bit of everything in his eight year WWE career.  Hero.  Villain.  Vince McMahon's illegitimate son.  Anonymous Raw General Manager.  Cruiserweight champion.  And, my personal favorite, feuding with Chavo Guerrero in an Eagle costume.

Not content to rest on his laurels, and anxious to mix it up with more Latinos in animal costumes, Finlay's buddy ditched his green duds for some leather pants and hooked up with the premier heel enhancement talent in the game today, 3MB.

No strangers to the B-shows, Heath Slater and crew have often tangled with the premier babyface enhancement talent in WWE, Los Matadores.  So when 'Swoggle joined them to form 3.5MB, it was only a matter of time before he ran afoul of Diego and Fernando's sidekick, the little bull, El Torito.

Torito has spent more than a decade working in Mexico as a masked mini, and brings an array of exciting spots to all of the Matadores matches.  His issues with the three-man band go back to his WWE last fall, when they were the first opponents the bullfighter (and their bull) faced.  But it was a few weeks back on Raw that Torito first came to blows in a ring with a rocker his own size.

After first coming to blows in that multi-man match (eventually won when Torito pinned Drew McIntrye), the pint-sized brawlers have since traded victories in singles contests, making the Extreme Rules pre-show the rubber match of the young feud.

What's at Stake?

It's an interesting decision to kick-off the night with this one.  It seems to mean that they're no longer worried about using the pre-show (which is no longer free, being available only to subscribers on WWE Network) to convince people to watch/buy the event, but to get the home audience ready for a fun night.

And, depending on your tolerance for the goofier aspects of pro wrestling, this should do that.  Rumor is they have brought in another midget pro wrestler (Short Sleeve Sampson from Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff's Micro Championship Wrestling) to play a role here, so a strong showing might do more than just cement Hornswoggle and El Torito in their roles as change of pace, comedy workers, but possibly a minis renaissance in WWE.

Don't underestimate the desire of the company to promote on a WWE Studios property, either.  This could be the beginning of the summer of 'Swoggle, regardless of if this match is a dud.

Watch the pre-show with your fellow Cagesiders, and stick with us for all the latest on Extreme Rules and beyond!