January 18, 2013 – (Left) Pro wrestler Nasty Boy (center) consults with a referee at Marina City’s House of Blues Thursday night. The second match of “Extreme Midget Wrestling” was a roller coaster but after plenty of punching, kicking, tossing, jumping, chasing, choking, and what we suspect were illegal wrestling moves,

It was a capacity crowd at HOB. Shortly after the show started at 9 p.m., even ticket-holders were turned away because there was no room for them.

“It’s f---ing packed,” described one security person. The crowd was largely twenty-something and mostly but not entirely male.

A ring was set up on the main floor, just short of what is normally the stage at HOB. An unseen ring announcer kept a crowd of at least 850 people cheering, encouraging but often taunting the wrestlers. Violence depicted included one wrestler hitting the other with a baseball bat.

According to its website, the “Extreme Midget Wrestling Federation” performs 120 shows each year, selling an average of 500 tickets per show. The company promotes seven wrestling shows and two “midget brawls.”

Skyler Ward, a representative of the Federation, did not respond to a request last week for an interview.

(Above) An unidentified referee monitors a match with midget wrestlers “Nasty Boy” (standing) and “Lil Rampage” (sitting) at House of Blues in Chicago.

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