The 5 Shortest Wrestlers Ever (And 5 Shorter Than They Seem)

In the pro-wrestling business, height is often a benefit for any prospective talent. Wrestling is built on the foundations of watching larger than life people put on an athletic showcase in front of an audience's very eyes, so it definitely helps if the wrestlers are physically larger than normal people.

There have been plenty of wrestlers in history who have reached the top based almost entirely on the spectacle of their height, but equally, there are many who have reached the peak despite their size. This article will highlight 5 of the shortest wrestlers ever and, for fun, will also take a look at 5 superstars who are shorter than they may seem.

10 SHORTEST: DRAKE MAVERICK (5'4'')

Drake Maverick is currently the on-screen manager of Raw tag team Authors Of Pain, while simultaneously acting as the general manager of 205 Live, the WWE's Cruiserweight-specific brand. Somewhat bizarrely, he is a heel on Raw, but a babyface on 205 Live, which is a tad baffling.

Maverick wrestled for TNA/Impact Wrestling from 2013 to 2017, which is where he first established himself to American audiences as an undersized talent with impeccable comic timing. At 5'4'', there haven't been many male WWE talents shorter than him.

9 SHORTEST: EMBER MOON (5'2'')

Ember Moon is currently on the shelf, having suffered an elbow injury during the 2019 Women's Royal Rumble match. It required immediate surgery, which took her off of Monday Night Raw, where she had been trying to establish herself after a very successful run in NXT.

Despite clocking in at a tiny 5'2'', her dynamic ring style and charismatic persona saw her win the NXT Women's Championship in November 2017. She held the belt for almost six months, before dropping it to Shayna Baszler two nights before making her main roster debut the night after Wrestlemania 34.

8 SHORTEST: AJ LEE (5'2'')

Very few women in WWE history made as big an impact as AJ Lee in such a short amount of time. Her tenure on the main roster lasted just less than four years, but during that period she won the Divas Championship a record-tying three times, acted as Raw General Manager, won two Slammy Awards for Diva Of The Year and was featured in several main event level storylines while portraying her 'mentally unstable' character.

Her undeniable star quality and excellent ring work made her a hit with fans, despite standing only 5'2'' tall. Fittingly, she said she had fulfilled all her goals in wrestling by the time she retired.

7 SHORTEST: REY MYSTERIO (5'2'')

Widely regarded as the greatest cruiserweight wrestler in history, Rey Mysterio (Jr) is the shortest superstar to ever win the WWE Championship and/or World Heavyweight Championship. He is billed as 5'6'', but it's generally accepted that WWE is fudging the numbers there.

In reality, he's more likely to be around 5'2'', but that only makes his litany of accomplishments all the more impressive. He has won championships all over the world and in rival companies, but the fact that he reached the top even in WWE's Land Of The Giants is pretty incredible.

6 SHORTEST: ALEXA BLISS (5'1'')

WWE sells Alexa Bliss shirts with the phrase 'Five Feet Of Fury' emblazoned across the chest, which should tell you all you need to know about the height of the 'Goddess'. In reality, she stands at 5'1'', so is the shortest female wrestler on the roster. Yet, she is also one of the most successful, due to her brilliant character work and wonderful mic skills.

Since her July 2016 main roster debut she has won the Raw Women's Championship three times and the Smackdown Women's Championship twice, and will also be hosting the upcoming Wrestlemania 35!

5 SHORTER THAN THEY SEEM: BROCK LESNAR (6'3")

The Beast Incarnate Brock Lesnar is one of the most famous combat sports athletes in history. He had a meteoric rise to the top of WWE in his first run from 2002-04 and has been presented as an all-conquering force ever since his return to the company in 2012.

Lesnar has an intimidation factor that is second to none and it is all because of his chiseled physique and unmatched ferocity in the ring. His height is never emphasized, though, and it's because he is only 6'3'' tall; not a small man by any means, but in no way is he a giant. His presentation, however, makes him appear larger than life.

4 SHORTER THAN THEY SEEM: JOHN CENA (6'1'')

John Cena has been 'the guy' in WWE for as long as most modern fans can remember and has only started to loosen his grip on the main event scene in the last two or three years, after hearing the siren call of Hollywood.

Cena is in prime physical condition and is one of the best sports entertainers to ever lace a pair of boots, but it may surprise people to find out he is only 6'1'' tall. For comparison's sake, that's the same height as Seth Rollins, who is never really presented as being physically dominant like Cena can be.

3 SHORTER THAN THEY SEEM: BIG E (5'11'')

As one-third of The New Day, Big E has been one of the most consistently popular performers on WWE's roster over the last 5 years. Known more these days for his comedy stylings (which include stuffing pancakes in his tights), it's maybe hard for fans to remember that when he debuted he was initially pushed as a monster heel, acting as Dolph Ziggler's enforcer.

He was physically imposing, and used his power-lifting background to showcase his strength. In height terms, though, he doesn't even crack 6 feet tall; he stands at only 5'11'', which is surprising given his initial presentation as a behemoth.

2 SHORTER THAN THEY SEEM: ELIAS (6')

In terms of physical specimens on the current WWE roster, there aren't many guys better put together than Elias. A burly brute with the physique of a bear, he would be more than capable of dominating most people on the roster. Yet, since his introduction, he has never been presented in such a fashion, with WWE preferring to focus on his (admittedly stellar) character work.

Perhaps he has never been booked to be a force because of his height; he clocks in at 6 feet tall, meaning he's a few inches shorter than the likes of mid-card guys like Heath Slater and R-Truth.

1 SHORTER THAN THEY SEEM: BRAUN STROWMAN (6'8'')

Braun Strowman is 6'8'' inches tall. Why then, you may ask, are we including him on a list of wrestler's who are shorter than they seem? It's because Braun Strowman is booked in a similar fashion to past giants like Big Show, The Undertaker and Kane. All of those guys clocked in at 7 feet tall or slightly under, whereas Braun is a good four inches shorter than that.

He is the same height as Baron Corbin, for example, who is always treated as the underdog in altercations with Braun. Admittedly, that's because Braun is bigger in terms of his musculature, but we've always felt like he's presented as being taller than he actually is.