‘Big Little Brawlers’: Ivar on Sacrificing Life & Limb To Live Wrestling Dream
Q&A
The larger-than-life personalities of the Micro Wrestling Federation take center ring on Big Little Brawlers. This six-part reality series from Discovery Channel follows the lives of these athletic dynamos, inside and outside of the ring. Stars including Pinky Shortcake, Syko, Hot Rod, Micro Tiger, Lil’ Show, and others put their blood, sweat, and tears into entertaining fans and earning a living.
It’s all to work up the ranks of the Pigeon Forge-based promotion and be featured before thousands attending “Microfest,” MWF’s biggest show of the year. Ivar, the voice and hype man, has one of the most captivating stories told through the series. The under-3-footer, real name Dylan Highly, brings his energy to every show, not letting Osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease) stop him.
With “Microfest” on the horizon, Ivar hopes to go from the sidelines to having a match on the show. CEO Jack Darrell Hillegass has concerns but wants to see him achieve his dream. Here Ivar opens up about his journey this season.
How did you feel when you found out about Discovery Channel being interested in a show surrounding the Micro Wrestling Federation?
Ivar: When I found out, I was ecstatic. It was my dream to be on television my whole life. Now I was a little scared in the process because you never know how things will be portrayed. I want my story to be what it is and be an inspiring story. After I saw the trailer, I was really excited. With my story, I want to be an inspiration to kids and a role model across the world. The slogan on my T-shirt is that nothing is impossible. It’s how I live every day. And that’s what I want to bring to the new generation.
Discovery Channel
You talk in the premiere about being a fan since age 5. Who was it that got you interested in wrestling?
Sting was my end all, be all. He still is to this day. I cry every time I see him on TV now because he is wrapping up his career. That was the guy that made all this possible for me. I had VHS tapes that were given to me by my grandpa because I was strapped to a pallet. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t lift my head up, so I’d watch TV. I would watch wrestling and these VHS tapes until they weren’t able to be rewound or fast-forward. I’d watch them and mute the sound and broadcast the match like Tony Schiavone. I would try to do what he was doing, so I was obsessed from a young age.
So you’re living the dream right now as the hype man for this promotion. How did you get your foot in the door?
A lot of people don’t know my background. had my own podcast, and radio show. I announced hockey, baseball, football, soccer, basketball, women’s volleyball. Later on, I’d work a 12-hour shift every day working at Best Buy. That was my day job. On my lunch break, I would call the local wrestling promotion that was run by [Harley Race’s son] Leland Race. I would leave voicemails saying, “Hey, this is Dylan. I have no degree. No background in that, but I do have experience.”
Leland called me back, and I went in for an interview. He told me I had something and was a natural. That was it. I called these matches with him sitting right behind me. I learned fast. I got to call Matt Sydal, Scott Steiner, Nick Aldis, Ryback, Adam Cole, Jimmy Hart, Bob Orton, and a lot of other big names in wrestling.
Do you see this reality show leading to a weekly wrestling series on cable?
This is going to be something huge. I know there are other organizations and companies and TV shows that have been done about little people and the struggles we face. Nothing has been done like this because of Micro Wrestling, the job we do, and the aspect of family life. How much we travel. This company does 550 shows a year between two groups. We go from Florida to Maryland To Grand Junction, Colorado.
We are sometimes more full-time than WWE and AEW. And these guys are 4-foot-7 picking up poles and carrying things on their backs. A lot of these guys can also put a lot of the guys you see on TV to shame. This company has so much talent. I can’t wait for everyone to see what this company can do. It’s about time these guys got on this platform because they deserve it.
How did you get started with the MWF?
I started in 2021. I was miserable at my job. I went to a show in St. Louis, Missouri. My band was going to open up for the wrestling show. I was a lead singer of a band called Three And A Half Men. I’m the half. I sang Godsmack, Disturbed, System of a Down, and Shinedown. All the alternative rock stuff. At the last minute, they decided they needed the stage for more seating because it was a sold-out show. I was so mad they canceled that I almost didn’t go. I went to the show and met all the guys. Three months later I took a lunch break from the day job and called and said, “I hate my job. I’m trying to get out.” They brought me on contract for a 14-day contract with 13 shows. It was $100 a night. Bare minimum and that was my foot in the door.
What do you want people to know about you before watching the show as you work to get in the ring?
It is a very big challenge with my body structure to even walk around in a day-to-day life. I have brittle bone disease. I’ve broken a hundred bones and had 10-plus surgeries. I live my life like Bubble Boy. If I fall off my bed, I can snap my ankle in multiple spots. That’s the reality. I do a concert in the middle of the ring each night. When I come out, I have to run around the ring to high-five everyone and get in the ring and run around the ring and sing for 15 minutes. It kills my body, but the adrenaline is how I’m able to do it every night.
What I have to do to achieve my ultimate goal is always work out, and keep myself in great shape. I have to watch my weight. If I gain a pound or pound-and-a-half, I’ll feel it. I wasn’t supposed to walk ever. I didn’t take my first step until I was 15. I didn’t hold my own head up until 5. I was told by the doctor I may not even live until 5, and now I’m 30.
What do you want to be the big takeaway from the show?
I hope people will see what I have to deal with and sacrifice, and I hope not only for myself but for everybody with a disability. I hope it inspires kids that are dealing with this kind of thing. I had to put my body through a lot to get where I’m at. I have to stretch, work out, do stretches every day. I take calcium every day. I have arthritis medicine and all kinds of stuff for my bones and joints.
And it’s all so I can go through that curtain every night and give these guys everything I have. I’m not going to spoil anything, but as far as my dream and what I want to achieve, I will tell you it will be a hard road. I have to do a lot of grinding to get here. There are some days when I can’t even walk to the bathroom, but the crowd makes me feel alive every night. My dream when I was a kid was to be a pro wrestler. I try to make sure I’m in the best shape of my life and be a part of this amazing company.
Big Little Brawlers premiere, 10/9c, January 9, Discovery Channel
