Welcome to another edition of Kay’s Korner.
Today I wanted to talk about something a little different than the normal wrestling column. I would like to take a look at the silent, often overlooked, performers of wrestling: the referees.
Referees have one of the most important jobs in wrestling and the best seat in the house. They have the job of making sure that the wrestlers follow the rules but more importantly, they have the task of keeping an eye on the wrestlers. In today’s world of high-flying moves, referees really have their hands full.
I know; you are sitting there thinking, “They don’t know how to keep their eyes on anything.” Well, I beg to differ. Referees are the unsung, silent heroes of wrestling. Not only are they supposed to keep an eye on everything that goes on in the ring, they must make sure that the wrestlers are not too injured to continue their matches.
In the world of wrestling today, I have noticed that there seems to be a demand for the high-flying spots. With that demand, comes a greater risk to the health and well being of the wrestler. While I can only imagine the rush that must be felt at the crowd’s response on a good high-flying spot, I can also see how a referee’s job is not getting any easier. It is the referee’s job to know when a wrestler is too injured to compete, even if the wrestler himself doesn’t agree.
There have been many referees over the years. Due to my wrestling history, I feel the need to point out a few special referees that brought something different to the matches. (The ones listed are a few of my personal favorites.) I'm also going to offer my opinion on why they stand out more than others did.
Tommy Young:
Tommy Young was one of the most hated referees in NWA history. It was not because he was good at his job. It was because he always seemed to miss the things that should not have been missed. To this day, I still have yet to see a puzzled look on a referee’s face that matches Tommy’s.
He had this way of making you think that maybe he really didn’t see it. Then again, he also had a way of making you think that he did see it; he just didn’t want to deal with it. I have to say I miss seeing Tommy in a wrestling ring. There has been no other referee like him and I doubt very seriously that there ever will be.
Earl Hebner:
Earl Hebner has been a referee longer than I have been watching wrestling. I have to admit, I love it when a wrestler challenges his authority. Earl will not back down from anybody, no matter what. I have seen him poke his finger at some of the greatest wrestler’s chests letting them know that he didn’t care how big they were, this was his ring.
Earl has received a lot of attention due to the famous Montreal screw job of Bret Hart. While most condemn him, I commend him. He was in an awkward situation that most referees would not want to be in, let alone have to deal with. While I am sure Earl has his own personal opinion about the situation, he did what his boss asked him to do. I do what my boss asks me to do. Don’t you?
Charles Robinson:
Charles Robinson has been a favorite of mine for a while. He was one of the few referees, in the now deceased WCW, to be physically involved in the wrestling storylines. Back in the WCW days, Charles was known as “Little Natch” for good reason.
Charles, in his younger years, used to sit in the front row, in the 70’s (in the NWA days) in Charlotte, NC. According to Charles in Ric Flair’s book, To Be The Man, he received so much heat from other fans for being a Flair fan that his grandfather (a Charlotte policeman) arranged police protection for his grandson’s safety.
Charles is a lifelong wrestling fan who absolutely loves Ric Flair. He loved Flair so much that it didn’t matter what Flair’s opponents did, Charles found a way for him to win. He has never tried to hide the fact that he was a Flair fan and he shouldn’t. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Now, with Charles on Smackdown and Flair on Raw, we get to seem him shine all by himself. I expect to see him in the wrestling ring for years to come.
Nick Patrick:
Nick Patrick reminds me of Tommy Young in a lot of ways. Nick came onto the scene in WCW and quickly became one of the most hated referees at that time. He always missed seeing the cheap shots. He always missed seeing the outside interference and always had a puzzled look on his face like he knew something had happened, and at times, even appeared to be in on it. Now that he is with the WWE, he seems to still miss things every now and then but not like he did in WCW.
Mark Foley:
Now, I’m sure that you are sitting there racking your brains trying to place the name. Maybe you have seen him, maybe not. One thing is for certain; in my mind, there is no other referee that has entertained me more than Mark has. I first met Mark at the Mid Atlantic Conference held in Charlotte, NC in January 2004. He is an avid wrestling fan that is a lot like myself. He too grew up watching the NWA back in the day and enjoyed it as much as I did. Mark is currently a referee in Tony Hunter’s Carolina Championship Wrestling.
Mark has been at each CCW event much to the dismay of the crowd. Mark has this really awful habit of not seeing anything and it can really get on the CCW’s fans nerves. But then again, something will happen that you don’t expect. A perfect example of this is Mark (as a referee) giving George South (a wrestler from NWA days) a body slam (while having a match with another opponent) but it was given accidentally. (Don’t ask; you just had to be there.)
Believe it or not, I actually witnessed my first midget match this past weekend at the CCW show in Lenoir, NC. Once again, Mark was the referee. I have never laughed so hard or enjoyed a match as much as I did that one. Mark’s comedic timing is a gift that he shares very well. Watching the midgets take bites out of his butt, well, let’s just say that you had to be there to really enjoy the whole effect.
I could go on and continue to name some more but I’ll stop with these. If you’ve never really watched a wrestling referee in the ring, take a closer look. They can be the most entertaining and most comical entertainers in the industry. They can also get ‘face’ heat and ‘heel’ heat in the same match. I’m convinced that there are wrestlers out there envious of what referees can do.
I’ve often wondered how many of them started out as just fans. (I’m sure that the biggest majority of them were.) I also think that a lot of them actually wanted to be wrestlers at first but for one reason or another, found their way in the wrestling world with stripes on. They too have the passion for wrestling shining in their eyes.
I want to take the time to say “Thank you,” to the referees, the silent heroes of wrestling.
Well, that’s another edition of Kay’s Korner. All feedback can be sent to lilwrestlegrl@yahoo.com.
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