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How does WWE hire referees?

10K views 23 replies 20 participants last post by  obby 
#1 ·
Who are these guys? Do they get trained in the performance center as well? Does anybody have any information on this? Apart from Drake Younger (who is doing a fine job by the way) nobody ever talks about the referees. I'm curious.
 
#4 ·
I don't think all of them are former wrestlers. In fact, most aren't. For instance, Dan Engler was in TNA before. He was known as Rudy Charles, hell if I know why he changed his name when working for TNA. They released him a few years back. He's never wrestled apart from a single "match" against Booker T and Kevin Nash during the MEM days. He teamed up with Andrew Thomas and the two of them had their asses kicked to prove no point whatsoever. I don't think that recent recruit Matt Bennett (a.k.a. Shawn Bennett) ever wrestled either. There is the profession of being a referee, as there are all other occupations. I know for a fact that they do hold tryouts for referees together with the wrestlers. Since there's fewer referees than wrestlers, they'll rarely include a ref in the tryout sessions, but I recall them trying someone out recently. They just include them in the tryouts along with the wrestlers, probably have them referee a match. At least that's the only reasonable tryout procedure for a referee I can think of.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Nobody talks about referees!?
Earl Hebner ring a bell?
Dave Hebner?

There's been some fantastic refs in WWE and TNA over the years.

Charles Robinson

and Rudy Charles

have been comedy gold!

They go to, and pay for wrestling school training.
Work the indies and hope to get noticed.
Rudy Charles made in from TNA to WWE so they definitely take a look elsewhere from time to time.
 
#8 ·
I was talking specifically about the new generation of referees, particularly the ones on NXT. They're just a bunch of random guys and I doubt most people even know their names or where they came from apart from Drake Younger, that's why I made the thread.
 
#9 ·
The ref during the segment between Rusev and Rowan on last Monday's RAW was crap. Also can't believe that ref who botched the Natalya match that time still has a job.
 
#13 ·
I think they do have ref training in the performance center or something. Being a ref doesn't just mean going out there and making pinfall counts and stuff. They also have to communicate the word from backstage to superstars in the ring, and tell them things like when they're going to commercial/returning from commercial and so on. And I believe refs help set up the ring and stuff as well?
 
#15 ·
He's been a referee for about a year now. He refereed Steen's NXT debut. I can only imagine what he said to Kevin as he was cleaning the blood off of his face post-match. "AYY MAYNE THIS AIN'T RESEDA THAT KINDA STUFF DON'T FLY DOWN HERE MAYNE"

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I'm not really sure if anything has ever been said about how they hire referees. I'm pretty sure one of their refs used to be a top ref for DGUSA/EVOLVE. Mikey Batts (He did some stuff with TNA in their early days) is a referee as well.
 
#16 ·
NXT is training more than just wrestlers and referees. According to various interviews with Triple H, everybody you see (and do not see) are being trained at Full Sail & the Performance Center. They're training broadcasters + play-by-play, interviewers, announcers, camera operators, audio/video production, etc.
 
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