Post by TIA Promotions on Jun 3, 2022 7:52:53 GMT -5
10 RULES FOR PRO WRESTLING REFEREES
Original article can be found here: camelclutchblog.com/rules-wrestling-referee/
The following is a tribute to the clean-cut arbiters of justice in the squared circle and as a guide of key points to keep in mind when writing referees into your matches.
1. THE FIVE COUNT – A disqualification is supposed to happen if a wrestler holds an illegal move for more than a five count. However, in pro wrestling, the referee almost never will end a match on this stipulation. The rare exception is when a wrestler tries to hold on to it for a full five minutes to injure/kill his opponent and establish himself as a psychopath.
2. ANYBODY CAN BE A REFEREE - Unlike referees in other sports, almost every pro-wrestling referee can be replaced by anybody. The pin-head stripers can be replaced at any juncture by any celebrity, wrestler, or random stranger who is capable of counting to three. There are virtually no requirements for the job, and they are all replaceable.
3. THE THREE COUNT - The ref will usually draw out the count of three like a reality show cliff-hanger. The exception to this is the sneaky roll-up or backslid pin. When that happens, the ref will count the three as if the building is on fire and every second saved is precious.
4. MADE OF GLASS - Regardless of the severity of the impact, “accidentally” being bumped will send the referee flying to the mat or outside the ring and knock him unconscious for as long as required for someone to pull something underhanded. His miraculous recovery will automatically coincide with the heel going for the pin.
5. EASILY DISORIENTED - On a related point, when a ref takes a fall, he will land in such a way that his vision of the chicanery going on behind him is obscured as he stands up. Also, he bizarrely chooses not to look around as he comes to, but rather stares straight ahead or at the mat, thus giving the villain a few extra seconds to do something dastardly. (A common scenario: the heel partner outside the ring, wails the baby-face with a chair, the heel goes in for the roll up.)
6. GULLIBLE - Every time someone puts on a hold like an abdominal stretch or some equally boring rest hold, the pro-wrestling referee will lean in with an intense focus that suggests he reckons this just might be the first time in the history of wrestling that someone will submit to such a hold.
7. EASILY DISTRACTED - While the ref is in heated discussions with a tag team partner outside the ring, the legal man can be stomped by Bloods, Crips, members of the audience, pepper-sprayed exposed to caustic industrial chemicals and left for dead. What the ref could possibly be discussing for this length of time is one of those “suspension of disbelief” wrestling mysteries best left untouched.
8. THE TEN COUNT - When wrestlers are battling on the outside of the ring and the ref begins the count of 10 (or 20 in some hipster feds), an epoch in human history will often pass before he completes the count in an important match. People will do somersault planchas into pile-drivers through tables, return to the dressing room to get their buddies’ impressions of the move, hold a press conference detailing the media’s exaggerated impressions of steroids in pro wrestling… Then they’ll stop for a late-night snack, before finally getting gas and returning to the ring. The ref will be at 4.
9. BLIND - The ref will invariably fail to see that the bad guy has cheated, has his legs stretched to the ring rope for added leverage, or is holding tights. Even when the heel manager or tag team partner is clearly up to no good, the referee will be oblivious of the plan to cheat. It’s as if they’ve never even considered the idea that anyone would ever cheat. Worse, rather than looking at the video footage afterward and learning from their mistakes, the ref will miss this night after night, allowing the heel to cheat with impunity.
10. NERDS - If the ref is in any way athletic or larger than a child, they will probably make a biased call in a match and find themselves embroiled in the classic “heel referee” skit that pro-wrestling likes to trot out whenever the creative well runs dry. Referees should be weak, harmless, vulnerable wrestling nerds if they want to call a clean match.
***Addendum
Joey Crash — Today at 9:07 AM
if I could add an optional 11th, it's important to remember that referees are characters too, even if they're mostly in the background. you need to officiate consistently - otherwise there better be a kayfabe reason for it (i.e. paid off by a heel to count slower, faster etc)
Original article can be found here: camelclutchblog.com/rules-wrestling-referee/
The following is a tribute to the clean-cut arbiters of justice in the squared circle and as a guide of key points to keep in mind when writing referees into your matches.
1. THE FIVE COUNT – A disqualification is supposed to happen if a wrestler holds an illegal move for more than a five count. However, in pro wrestling, the referee almost never will end a match on this stipulation. The rare exception is when a wrestler tries to hold on to it for a full five minutes to injure/kill his opponent and establish himself as a psychopath.
2. ANYBODY CAN BE A REFEREE - Unlike referees in other sports, almost every pro-wrestling referee can be replaced by anybody. The pin-head stripers can be replaced at any juncture by any celebrity, wrestler, or random stranger who is capable of counting to three. There are virtually no requirements for the job, and they are all replaceable.
3. THE THREE COUNT - The ref will usually draw out the count of three like a reality show cliff-hanger. The exception to this is the sneaky roll-up or backslid pin. When that happens, the ref will count the three as if the building is on fire and every second saved is precious.
4. MADE OF GLASS - Regardless of the severity of the impact, “accidentally” being bumped will send the referee flying to the mat or outside the ring and knock him unconscious for as long as required for someone to pull something underhanded. His miraculous recovery will automatically coincide with the heel going for the pin.
5. EASILY DISORIENTED - On a related point, when a ref takes a fall, he will land in such a way that his vision of the chicanery going on behind him is obscured as he stands up. Also, he bizarrely chooses not to look around as he comes to, but rather stares straight ahead or at the mat, thus giving the villain a few extra seconds to do something dastardly. (A common scenario: the heel partner outside the ring, wails the baby-face with a chair, the heel goes in for the roll up.)
6. GULLIBLE - Every time someone puts on a hold like an abdominal stretch or some equally boring rest hold, the pro-wrestling referee will lean in with an intense focus that suggests he reckons this just might be the first time in the history of wrestling that someone will submit to such a hold.
7. EASILY DISTRACTED - While the ref is in heated discussions with a tag team partner outside the ring, the legal man can be stomped by Bloods, Crips, members of the audience, pepper-sprayed exposed to caustic industrial chemicals and left for dead. What the ref could possibly be discussing for this length of time is one of those “suspension of disbelief” wrestling mysteries best left untouched.
8. THE TEN COUNT - When wrestlers are battling on the outside of the ring and the ref begins the count of 10 (or 20 in some hipster feds), an epoch in human history will often pass before he completes the count in an important match. People will do somersault planchas into pile-drivers through tables, return to the dressing room to get their buddies’ impressions of the move, hold a press conference detailing the media’s exaggerated impressions of steroids in pro wrestling… Then they’ll stop for a late-night snack, before finally getting gas and returning to the ring. The ref will be at 4.
9. BLIND - The ref will invariably fail to see that the bad guy has cheated, has his legs stretched to the ring rope for added leverage, or is holding tights. Even when the heel manager or tag team partner is clearly up to no good, the referee will be oblivious of the plan to cheat. It’s as if they’ve never even considered the idea that anyone would ever cheat. Worse, rather than looking at the video footage afterward and learning from their mistakes, the ref will miss this night after night, allowing the heel to cheat with impunity.
10. NERDS - If the ref is in any way athletic or larger than a child, they will probably make a biased call in a match and find themselves embroiled in the classic “heel referee” skit that pro-wrestling likes to trot out whenever the creative well runs dry. Referees should be weak, harmless, vulnerable wrestling nerds if they want to call a clean match.
***Addendum
Joey Crash — Today at 9:07 AM
if I could add an optional 11th, it's important to remember that referees are characters too, even if they're mostly in the background. you need to officiate consistently - otherwise there better be a kayfabe reason for it (i.e. paid off by a heel to count slower, faster etc)