Micro brews and Micro Wrestling: Reality TV stars hit the mat in Coopersville

COOPERSVILLE, Mich. (WOOD) — This Sunday, Sunday, Sunday is your chance to catch one of the biggest wrestling events in West Michigan with some of the smallest wrestlers.

The Micro Wrestling Federation is coming to Coopersville Brewing Company for a special show that will feature two singles matches, a “Micro Brawl” where wrestlers will battle all throughout the venue and a “Micro Rumble” where all of the superstars battle in the ring for a chance at the championship belt.

The organization started in 2000 in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. and features wrestlers under 5 feet in height. It’s one of the original wrestling leagues designed exclusively for little people. It has a long history but has only recently gotten major attention thanks in part to its presence on TikTok. Their page has over 1.6 million followers and nearly 34 million likes on their videos.

From there, the Discovery Channel approached the federation to start a reality show focused on the wrestlers’ lives inside and outside of the ring. The show was titled “Big Little Brawlers” and put fans closer to their favorite wrestlers, including Ivar the Micro.

All of the wrestlers have faced adversity to get to this point. But Ivar, whose real name is Dylan Highley, may have made the biggest journey.

“I’m a guy that was in a brittle bone disease, in a wheelchair,” he said. “I didn’t even hold my own head up until I was 5 years old.”

Three years ago, everything changed for Highley. He grew up loving wrestling and when he heard about the Micro Wrestling Federation, he called Jack Darrell, the owner of the organization.

“Before I met Jack, I was punching my numbers at self-checkouts at Target and if you would have told me that just by making a call, fans would be cheering my name, bringing signs out for me, coming by the droves to come see me from states away. People drive states away to come to this,” Highley said.

That call has led to other things besides getting Highley getting in the ring. He is now seen as an inspiration to his fans. It’s one of Highley’s favorite parts about the shows.

“We have the power. We have the ability to be a spectacle, but also be an inspiration because we are a little people,” he said.

Highley doesn’t wrestle in every show, he serves as the voice of the federation and does the entertainment in between the matches as well. One of the focuses of “Big Little Brawlers” was getting Ivar to actually wrestle during one of the bigger shows.

Thanks to the help of the rest of the federation and his wife Melissa, Highley accomplished his dream of actually wrestling in a real match. He said it’s still hard for him to actually believe his dream came true.

“It still gets to me,” Highley said. “I look around, there’s 2,000 people, three straight shows in New York City, and they’re cheering, ‘Ivar, Ivar.’ And I’m a guy that was in a wheelchair, couldn’t hold my own head up. All I had was professional wrestling. And 30 years later, I’m getting in the ring, kicking somebody in the face.”

Highley will be at Coopersville Brewing Company on Sunday for the event along with some of the other top wrestlers in the federation. You can get your tickets to the wrestling match by clicking here .

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