Dylan ‘Hornswoggle’ Postl was very suspicious when WWE called him with an offer, especially considering how bad his audition went.
Postl debuted on WWE’s main roster in 2006 as a ‘Leprechaun’ that would often aid Fit Finlay. The following year, Hornswoggle would win the Cruiserweight Championship and was the final champion before the title was reintroduced in 2016.
Hornswoggle Makes it to WWE
Postl would become a household name thanks to his tenure with WWE, but his journey to being a Superstar wasn’t easy. During the Oh You Didn’t Know podcast, Postl recalled his woeful audition.
“WWE I always say they were looking for a person like me but now I can just say, WWE was looking for a midget. They were trying out midgets to be Finlay’s Leprechaun. It just wasn’t happening. Then Ken [Anderson] said to Fit, he goes, ‘Hey I got the guy. He’s good hearted, he’s a good kid, he can take bumps,’ All of this. They try me out in Green Bay actually.
“There was a Smackdown taping in Green Bay. They pulled me in to the promo room with Fit, asked me to do a Irish accent, I failed miserably. So much so that I remember, I don’t know if Fit even remembers. We walked out, I go, ‘oh man how did that go,’ He goes ‘Huh, not very well.'”
With his audition being a dud, Postl wasn’t expecting to hear anything from WWE. That is why he was in no hurry to answer the call that would ultimately change his life.
“I didn’t expect to hear back. Two weeks later a blocked number came up on my phone three or four times in the morning, about 8- 9 in the morning and I kept sending it to the voicemail because I was like ‘I’m not paying this credit card company that wants my money, not happening.’ Then finally, there’s a voicemail, [It says] ‘Dylan this is Tommy Dreamer. We want to give you a lot of money and hire you. We want to give you a contract, please call me back.’
“And I was like ‘Someone’s f***ing with me.’ A, Because they’ll never hire me and B, Because no one talks in such a monotone voice for a whole voicemail, a whole minute and a half voicemail. No one talks in, ‘Dylan call me back please, this is Tommy Dreamer.’ No one also would introduce himself in an office position as ECW’s Tommy Dreamer. None of this shit matched up, I was like ‘Someone is f***ing with me.’
“So finally I give him a call and he goes, ‘Oh you decided to call me back, that’s good. We’re gonna pull you to TV, you’re going to start as Finlay’s Leprechaun, I guess.’ [Then] it was literally off to the races, three weeks later, I’m travelling to the Philippines.”
Postl would remain with WWE until 2016. He would make a one-off return in 2018 for that year’s Greatest Royal Rumble match. He would also appear during the 2019 Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
Which former WWE Superstar helped Postl after his release from the company in 2016? Click here to find out.