Claude Giroux (wrestler)

Claude Giroux (born July 13, 1956) is a Canadian-born midget wrestler whose career spans over 20 years.[2] He is still active in the Canadian Independent circuit.[3] Giroux's biggest exposure came when he performed as Doink the Clown's sidekick Dink in the World Wrestling Federation between 1993 and 1995.[4] Outside of his stint as Dink the Clown, Giroux also performed in the WWF as Tiger Jackson in the 1980s and as The Macho Midget in the 1990s. He has been making independent appearances throughout the Northeast US as Vinny Cenzo since the mid 2000's.

Claude Giroux
Born (1956-07-13) July 13, 1956
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada
ResidenceSaint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Dink the Clown
Little Hulkster[1]
The Macho Midget
Tiger Jackson
Tiny Tim
Billed height4 ft 0 in (1.22 m)
Billed weight95 lb (43 kg)
Trained bySky Low Low
Little Brutus

Tiger Jackson

Giroux made his debut in the late 1970s after being trained by Little Brutus and Hall of Famer Sky Low Low under the name "Tiger Jackson". With Midget Wrestling being seen as a sideshow to the "tall version", Giroux tended to travel from promotion to promotion instead of staying in one area for a long time. In the early days of his career, Giroux wrestled in many National Wrestling Alliance territories, for the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico, and in Germany, as well.[2] Giroux also made appearances in the World Wrestling Federation from 1982, often teaming with his brother Lionel Giroux who wrestled as "Little Beaver".[5]

In late 1992, Jackson signed on with the WWF and started to team up with The Bushwhackers in their feud against The Beverly Brothers.[6] The Beverly Brothers recruited "Little Louie" to even the sides but to little success falling to the combination of the Bushwhackers and Tiger Jackson time and again including a prime time loss on the "Road to WrestleMania IX" Special shown on March 28.[7]

Imitating others

In Mexico there is a tradition for the midget wrestlers to imitate "full sized" wrestlers such as Mascarita Sagrada and Mascara Sagrada. In the 1990s, Claude Giroux followed that tradition after working for the WWF for about 6 months, appearing as miniature versions of several full-sized wrestlers.

Macho Midget

Giroux's first imitation gimmick came as a direct result of the antics of the heel Doink the Clown, who had a second Doink come out to interfere in the match. During a match between Doink and Randy Savage on Monday Night Raw, Giroux climbed out from under the ring dressed like a miniature version of Randy Savage (instantly dubbed the Macho Midget). The sight of the Macho Midget distracted Doink long enough to be rolled up for a pinfall.[8] After his debut, Giroux helped Randy Savage out a few times but also went back to teaming with the Bushwhackers, this time working as "The Macho Midget".[9]

Dink the Clown

Giroux's best known imitation role was as "Dink the Clown,"[10] the slapstick partner of Doink the Clown (at the time played by Ray Apollo, the fourth and last wrestler to play Doink on a regular basis in the WWF). Dink was introduced as a present to Doink the Clown by Santa Claus himself on an edition of WWF Superstars of Wrestling that aired on November 27, 1993.[11] From then on, Dink accompanied Doink to ringside and took part in the clown antics played on opponents. While acting as a manager, Giroux occasionally also wrestled as Dink, twice on Pay Per View. Dink's first PPV appearance was on March 20, 1994 at WrestleMania X, teaming with Doink to face Bam Bam Bigelow and Luna Vachon in a losing effort.[11][12] Dink's second PPV appearance came at the 1994 Survivor Series where he was joined by fellow "Mini Clowns" Pink and Wink to make up the team Clowns'R'Us to face Jerry Lawler and his three "Mini Kings" – Sleazy, Cheesy and Queasy. After losing the match, all six midgets attacked Jerry Lawler and chased him from the ring.[13] Then afterwards, Giroux left the WWF in spring 1995.

After the WWF

When the Dink gimmick was phased out by 1995, Giroux left the WWF as well, working mainly on the independent circuit ever since. In 1997, Giroux made a one-off appearance for World Championship Wrestling as Tiger Jackson when the company toured through Montreal, which has been Giroux's home territory since leaving the WWF.[4]

Dink made a brief appearance at Joey Janela's Spring Break in the first ever Clusterf*ck match in 2017, biting Veda Scott on her butt and eliminating himself from the match. Giroux occasionally makes independent appearances in the Northeast United States using the name Vinny Cenzo.

Championships and accomplishments
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References
  1. "Tiger Jackson". Cagematch. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  2. Greg Oliver. "Slam! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: Tiger Jackson". Retrieved June 10, 2007.
  3. Eric Benner (January 29, 1999). "The Return of the Rougeaus". Retrieved June 10, 2007.
  4. thehistoryofwwe.com (November 10, 1993). "WWF Show Results 1993". (shown on November 27) included Raymond Rougeau conducting an in-ring interview with Doink the Clown in which Santa Claus came out and presented him with a gift - Dink the Clown
  5. thehistoryofwwe.com (August 28, 1982). "WWF Show Results 1982". Little Beaver & Tiger Jackson defeated Sonny Boy Hayes & Sky Low Low in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match
  6. thehistoryofwwe.com (December 26, 1992). "WWF Show Results 1992". The Bushwhackers & Tiger Jackson defeated the Beverly Brothers & Little Mickey Moses
  7. thehistoryofwwe.com (March 7, 1993). "WWF Show Results 1993". (Shown March 28) The Bushwhackers & Tiger Jackson defeated the Beverly Brothers & Little Louie at 9:57 when Tiger pinned Louie with a crossbody off the top
  8. thehistoryofwwe.com (July 25, 1993). "WWF Show Results 1993". (Shown August 2) Randy Savage pinned Doink the Clown at 11:22 with an inside cradle moments after a midget dressed as Savage appeared from underneath the ring and distracted Doink from the ring apron; after the bout, the "Macho Midget" (Tiger Jackson) bit Doink on the butt before Doink was held back by officials and forced backstage
  9. thehistoryofwwe.com (July 25, 1993). "WWF Show Results 1993". The Bushwhackers & the Macho Midget defeated the Brooklyn Brawler, Blake Beverly, & Little Louie when Macho pinned the Brawler with a splash off the top
  10. Doink the Clown: Doink's friendly Mini Me. Please note that the original evil Doink was an AWESOME character, and would never be inducted into WrestleCrap, but once he was made a good guy and given a half-sized clone, it was all over.
  11. "A Little League of His Own". WWE. 2007-09-24. Archived from the original on 2007-10-03. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
  12. prowrestlinghistory.com (March 20, 1994). "WWF WrestleMania Results (X)".
  13. prowrestlinghistory.com (March 20, 1994). "WWF Survivor Series Results (1994)".
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