Referees a key part of wrestling experience

Why? Because they represent authority and we, as working folks of America, hate authority. We don?t want someone telling us what we can?t do. And, this is especially bad when the authority figure is a blind idiot who misses every call as he is seemingly looking the wrong place at the wrong time, his mistakes often costing championships.

Enter the wrestling referees. For years they?ve been the clowns of the wrestling ring, easily distracted by the bad guys while the good guy is being worked over in the other corner. Despite the yells from the frustrated audience at ringside of ?he?s got a chain,? it seems the referee can never find the foreign object, catch the outside interference, or even catch the guy?s foot on the ropes during a pin. To the casual observer, the wrestling referee is a complete idiot.

If that?s how you feel, then the referee has done his job perfectly as, in fact, the referee is an important part of the show, using his apparent complete lack of talent to cover his intricate role in the match.

First off, even in matches where the referee plays just a minor role, he must be able to miss the big spots, like outside interference and the use of foreign objects. A ref must know when to look the other way, otherwise he could mess up the show by seeing something he wasn?t supposed to see. In some federations, some wrestlers get their start by being referees. Look at Diamond Dallas Page who went from ref, to manager to wrestler.

In some federations, however, the ref is more than just a performer. In the higher end companies, the ref is wired with an earpiece where the match booker will give him directions as to match length and other parts of the show from backstage. These instructions will be passed along to the wrestlers in such a way that the audience will never catch it.

The ref may also pass along messages between wrestlers, telling them the next spot. In reality, the referee has to be one of the most focused people in the ring, able to coordinate action while all the while blending his zebra outfit into the background to allow the wrestlers to shine.

The idea of referees was brought to the forefront recently when the WWE decided to change its tactic when it comes to the boys in stripes. The new direction, and maybe you?ve noticed it the past couple of weeks, is for the officials to be more in control of a match and to act more professional in the ring. Sure, they will still miss things left and right, but at the same time they will exercise more authority during a match.

For instance, have you noticed how they will closely check under the shoulders on a pin now, even stopping a count if the shoulders aren?t really flat on the mat? Or how they are quick with the 5 second count for a rope break, admonishing wrestlers who bend the rules?

Specifically, did you notice how, last week during the HBK concussion against the Great Khali, that the ref stopped the match when he got thrown through the announce table or how the ref repeatedly held back Edge before he speared an injured Kennedy for his Money in the Bank or how, on Smackdown, the ref held back Edge for several moments while allowing a bloody and beaten Taker to get up in the title match. And, minutes before that, the refs conferred on instant replay to determine a tie in the Batista-Taker cage match.

This is all part of a concerted effort by the WWE to change the public?s view of the wrestling referee. They want them to be more realistic than part of comedy relief, more akin to a football official who maintains control but still misses calls here and there. After all, any football official will tell you that they could call holding on each and every play.

Watch carefully the next couple of weeks and you?ll see the change in philosophy.