Hornswoggle's next move is Oshkosh arena takeover for WrestleCon

OSHKOSH - Dylan Postl's professional life has been — for more than a dozen years now — downright crazy.

Imagine it: A kid from Oshkosh, taking part in what has to be the most Wisconsin moment in WWE history, on one of the biggest stages imaginable. Less than a year after he was working at Target and only three years removed from his Oshkosh West High School graduation, there he is with his 4-foot-5-inch frame climbing a ladder in the center of the ring at "Wrestlemania 23." More than 80,000 people are there at Ford Field in Detroit and millions more are watching live around the world.

Mr. Kennedy, another northeast Wisconsin native superstar, climbs up another ladder next to him — the goal of this match is to snatch a briefcase dangling high above the ring — and, first tossing him over his shoulders, Mr. Kennedy somersaults forward and pancakes Postl on the mat with a devastating move known over the years as both the "Lambeau Leap" and the "Green Bay Plunge."

"I was living my dream," the 31-year-old Postl says now, 11 years later, after having spent nearly a decade entertaining wrestling fans around the world as the WWE superstar Hornswoggle.

"It's all I wanted to do since I was little. I lived my dream and it was awesome."

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Now there's a new dream, albeit a more modest one, under pursuit — to maintain a successful independent wrestling organization. It's already happening with All-Star Championship Wrestling Wisconsin, which he runs along with three of his closest buddies, and next weekend comes a momentous occasion — the second WaterCity WrestleCon. Set for April 21 and boasting a lineup of names all wrestling fans know — Jeff Jarrett, Scott Steiner, Ryback, the Hurricane and the Sandman, among them — it'll be, as far as Postl and company know, the first independent show held in a Wisconsin arena. The action begins at 7 p.m. at Oshkosh's new Menominee Nation Arena. 

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Postl's career with the pro wrestling monolith came to an end in May 2016, wrapping up what could be argued to be among the greatest pound-for-pound runs in the history of the WWE. He certainly accomplished more than many would have thought from a superstar who debuted as a maniac leprechaun first known as "Little Bastard." 

He wound up being the last man to win the Cruiserweight Championship before the title was retired in 2007. Among his most prominent story arcs was the revelation that he was the son of WWE head honcho Vince McMahon, and he later faced off against his on-screen father in a steel cage match. He also had his head shaved by an opponent during a live pay-per-view event. He was briefly the official mascot of the iconic group D-Generation X, getting to perform the famous pyro-boosted crotch-chops with Triple H and Shawn Michaels. 

He also showed he was capable of far more than the shin-kicking and butt-biting pest he was often reduced to. In 2014, he battled El Torito, a wrestler similar in size, in the first-ever "WeeLC" match — a sophomoric riff on the concept of the TLC match (for tables, ladders and chairs). An opportunity to show the skills he'd honed since his days taking bumps in northeast Wisconsin backyards, the match stands alone as his crowning achievement. 

"We stole the show that night," said Postl, who began training in 2000. "No one expected it to be as good as it was. ... It's the best thing I'll ever do." 

It was Mr. Kennedy — Two Rivers native Ken Anderson — who put a good word in for Postl back in 2006. That's when Postl made the incredible jump from wrestling independently and working retail to raising hell as the mischievous Hornswoggle on "SmackDown" in a matter of days. He inked his first deal three days before his 20th birthday.

"They were looking for a midget to be with Finlay on WWE TV. Kennedy was working for WWE at the time, he said 'I got the guy,'" Postl said. "They hired me. ... It was off to the races." 

From Wrestlemanias to Royal Rumbles to countless episodes of "Raw" and "Smackdown," Hornswoggle — often flanking Finlay, who he said he shared a father-son-like bond with since his first week on the job — shared the ring with some of wrestling's most legendary personalities. 

He even spun his fame into movie roles, showing up in both "Muppets Most Wanted" and "Leprechaun: Origins" in 2014. 

All that began as a six-month commitment. It stretched two weeks shy of 10 years.

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All good things must end, however. (Well, except the career of the Undertaker, which seems like it'll continue long after we're all resting in peace.)

The news of his release wasn't a total shock — he'd been back and forth from TV in recent years and, at that time, had been absent from storylines and off the road for more than a year. That means he essentially had been getting paid by Vince McMahon to simply hang out at home in Oshkosh and raise his now 8-year-old son. 

All the time off also helped him get started on a new venture that would wind up being his post-WWE pride and joy — All-Star Championship Wrestling Wisconsin.

With his pal Josh Weimer, Postl took a leap in 2013 and launched his own independent wrestling company in Oshkosh, with the goal of not just regularly putting on shows but also training aspiring wrestlers.  

Their first event was held at the since-burned Timbuktu Bar and Banquet Hall in Oshkosh. It brought out 125 people, which Postl said for a first-time independent operation was a great sign.

They continued to push forward, growing the fan base and making use of larger and larger venues. The next show had upwards of 200 people. They moved to the Oshkosh Masonic Center. Then it was Oshkosh West High School, where more than 500 people showed up — still without big names on the card.

"It's almost like a cult following," Postl said. "We have people waiting outside the building. We have tailgaters." 

Last April marked another leap for ACW Wisconsin with the arrival of their first ever WaterCity WrestleCon, held at the Sunnyview Expo Center in Oshkosh. Assembled as part wrestling show, part convention, they were able to secure the legendary Bret "The Hitman" Hart to headline. The jaws of Postl and Weimer were on the floor as more than 1,000 people showed up, more than double what they'd expected. Some fans waited more than two hours to get some face time with the WWE Hall of Famer. 

The inaugural WrestleCon was a huge success. The question heading into 2018, then, was how to up the ante.

Before the December opening of Menominee Nation Arena, the venue was in talks with ACW Wisconsin about a potential collaboration. Arena president Greg Pierce said in the run-up to the ribbon-cutting, his team offered up surveys asking people what kind of non-basketball events they'd like to see in the 3,600-seat home of the Wisconsin Herd. 

One specific response drowned out the rest. "ACW fans bombarded us," Pierce said. 

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It's names like Bret Hart and Jeff Jarrett that get casual fans' ears to perk up, but ACW Wisconsin's heart is the local talent. Another element of the venture is a wrestling school now housed in an old auto shop on the corner of Seventh and Oregon in Oshkosh. With Josh Binder, a friend and fellow independent wrestler, Postl runs a spring and fall class each year. Ages range from as young as 17 to guys in their mid to late 30s. They usually meet twice a week and learn the ins and outs of the business.

They're taking bumps on day one, and each session usually begins with about 20 participants. By the end, it's down to about six. But those six are all in.

"We have guys driving two and a half hours a week just to train," Postl said.

"Just to get beat up," added Weimer. 

All this is going on while Postl spends most weekends working the indie circuit. He now wrestles under the name Swoggle, thanks to WWE owning the rights to his best-known alias. ("They only own the Horn," he joked.) He's still making it to about 100 shows a year, flying to places as far and enticing as London and Sydney, Australia and as mysterious as Horse Cave, Kentucky.

"Last week there was 1,500 (people) at a show. The next night there was 700. Next week there might be 12," he said. "But either way it's fun for me. I'm getting paid to do what I love to do. It's the only thing I know."

He acknowledges that, at some point, the gigs are going to dry up. His body's also not going to hold up forever, and having had to undergo surgeries as a youngster, he's already pushed it much further than ever thought possible. 

But before he gets reunited with his old red Target shirt, there are Hornswoggle fans around the world who still want to snap a selfie, get his autograph and see him in between the turnbuckles. 

He's also got that growing indie operation to steer, amateurs to train and, most importantly, a son to raise. It's a crazy existence, sure, but it's what he knows and what he loves. 

The idea of the superstar as goofy as Hornswoggle — somebody once lured into a leprechaun trap by Lucky Charms cereal and who was granted the ability to speak by Santa Claus — can make a go of it running a wrestling organization might sound crazy to some WWE fans. But as we know from the journey made by the kid from Oshkosh, there's a lot of crazy in wrestling.

Case in point: That same night Hornswoggle was slammed off that ladder at "Wrestlemania 23," another match took place called "Battle of the Billionaires." It ended with WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon sitting in a chair and getting his head shaved in the ring by a man who, a decade later, is the president of the United States.

So, again, Hornswoggle running his own successful wrestling organization? Crazier things have happened.

IF YOU GO

What: All-Star Championship Wrestling Wisconsin WaterCity WrestleCon 2018

When: 7 p.m. April 21; doors open at 4:30 p.m.

Where: Menominee Nation Arena, 1212 S. Main St., Oshkosh

Tickets: $20 general admission, available at Menominee Nation Arena, House of Heroes Comics + Games, Festival Foods in Oshkosh and acwwisconsin.com.