The third man in the ring

Courtesy: Jacob Ferrell

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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As I've been promoting Stride Pro Wrestling shows via social media and this blog for the last several months, there's been one guy I've completely failed to mention. So today, I have a quick shout out to Lane Austin. Not only is Lane Stride's senior referee, many times, he's the only official on hand.

When I was a kid, the referee was often an important part of the match. I knew the of each ref from both the NWA and WWF. These days, that third man in the ring is often just a prop. I'm not sure I could name more than a couple of ring officials now. 

Champ Heath Hatton & Lane Austin
Courtesy: Steve Belcher

But everyone who comes out to Stride Pro Wrestling shows knows Lane Austin. He's been at each event and has taken a fair share of abuse from the men and women of the ring wars. From being criticized for not counting fast enough to actually assaulted with a chair by former champion Ax Allwardt and speared by current champ Heath Hatton, Lane has seen a lot over the past year.

Lane & "Big" Roger Matheus
Courtesy: Steve Belcher

He's maintained law and order, for the most part, trying to soothe savage beasts who are much bigger than him. Most of the time Lane does this job with a smile on his face. He's not just a prominent face in Stride Pro Wrestling, but he's got reffing gigs all over the area. And he's no slouch either, Lane works out hard to stay ready for the rigors of the job.

Me & Lane

I've been in the stripes one time and it was not an easy task. So before you boo the ref, remember he's in there trying to call the action the best way possible. I salute my future tag team partner "Luscious" Lane Austin and encourage you to come out and see he and all the other stars of Stride Pro Wrestling this Saturday night at the Illinois Star Centre Mall in Marion.

1-2-3 You're In the Hall of Fame

Hogan and the Hebners
Photo courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

Referees have long been an important part of any professional wrestling match.  When I was a kid, it seemed like I knew the names of all or most of the officials in the match.  Now, I would be lucky to name more than just a few refs.  I think that's a sign of the times, as they don't seem to be worked into matches like they used to, or maybe it's that announcers don't bother to include them during commentary most of the time.

As of right now, there are no referees in the WWE Hall of Fame.  Sure, there are men (and women) who have served as special guest referees, but not one pure ref from back in the day.  There are plenty of outstanding refs who deserve a spot in the Hall of Fame.  I think once there's an actual physical building, the WWE should include a Referee Wing to go along with the Celebrity Wing.  

Danny Davis

So if the company were to induct a ref, who would be the first to get the honor?  There are plenty to chose from including Danny Davis who went from ref to wrestler back to ref in the WWF.  Nick Patrick and Teddy Long were notorious as well.   World Class Championship Wrestling ref Bronko Lubich was memorable to me for many reasons.  He and David Manning were two of my favorites growing up and watching WCCW.  Dick Woerhle, Dick Kroll, Tim White, and Jim Korderas all stand out to me also.

I like all the names mentioned obviously, but here are my three top choices. I'm basing my decision on memorable moments for each of these men and my personal enjoyment of said ref.

Ric Flair & Tommy Young

Tommy Young may be the best wrestling referee of all time.  He was an NWA/WCW guy so I don't think the WWE would make him the first to go into the HOF.  Young worked some of the greatest matches in wrestling  history, including the Ric Flair-Ricky Steamboat series of matches.  As I write this, Tommy Young is the ONLY NWA referee I actually remember.  He helped the wrestlers in the match tell their story.  His emotions and close counts in those Flair-Steamboat matches helped fans get more invested into the contests.

Joey Marella

The late Joey Marella was one of my favorite refs as a kid.  He didn't really stand out for any particular reason.  I think his claim to fame came at Wrestlemania III and that perceived three-count he made in the early moments of the Hulk Hogan-Andre the Giant match.  Jesse Ventura called him out on it during commentary and Bobby Heenan would later criticize the botched count too.  After that Marella was a house hold name.  I'm not sure when I figured it out, but Joey is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Gorilla Monsoon.  Sadly, Marella died in a car crash in 1994.

Earl Hebner and "The Screwjob" 

Earl Hebner is a part of wrestling history from a couple of big matches.  He first officiated the rematch between Hogan and Andre on Main Event in 1988.  This time Andre did win, but we learned that Hebner had been bought off by the Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase.  Controversy lingered around Hebner in 1997 when he called for the bell during the Bret Hart-Shawn Michaels WWF Title match at Survivor Series.  It's all a part of the Montreal Screwjob.  I didn't remember this, but Hebner apparently beat WCW ref Nick Patrick in a match during the Invasion Angle of 2001.  Hebner has cashed in on his notoriety and is still working as a ref, but now for TNA.

There are plenty of great referees now who have had Hall of Fame worthy careers, including Charles Robinson, Scott Armstrong, and Mike Chioda.  Who are your picks?

Wrestling Pet Peeves

One of many pet peeves: general managers
Photo by WWE

By Chad Smart
@chadsmart on Twitter

As I mentioned in the last blog, my interest in wrestling has been on the downward slope for the past few months. Outside the monthly Chikara shows, I am not excited about the weekly wrestling shows. I’ve been trying to figure out why I don’t look forward to Raw, Impact or Smackdown anymore. This week on From the Rafters Radio, the roundtable discussion is wrestling pet peeves. After some thoughts, I think I’ve come up with why wrestling doesn’t excite me. Here are 4 of my top 5 reasons. For the number reason, you’ll have to listen to From the Rafter’s Radio. You can listen live at 7pm CST at wggh.net or find the show on Itunes once it’s archived. If Kevin proofreads this, I’m sure he’ll put in links to the archives.

5: REFEREE BLINDNESS IN TAG MATCHES: This is something that’s been a pet peeve since the ‘80s and is still happening. In a tag team match the referee will not see the Face team make the tag because the Heel who is not in the ring will distract the referee. When the referee turns around and sees the now legal member of the Face team in the ring, the ref will block the Face from attacking and force him out of the ring claiming the ref didn’t see the tag. As the ref is getting the Face out of the ring, the Heels will switch without making a tag. When the ref is done with the Face and turns his attention back to the action inside the ring, he will ask the Heels if they made a tag and let the action continue. I understand this, and other referee incompetence, is supposed to build drama in the match so when the Faces finally make the hot tag the audience will erupt in cheers. That doesn’t mean it’s still not annoying and outdated.

4: What? Yes! What?: Two of the most annoying chants in wrestling. The Yes! chants were amusing when they first started but quickly evolved into an overused crutch. Since Yes! can be chanted at any time no matter who is wrestling or what is going on, it has lost it’s original purpose of showing support for Daniel Bryan and now is simply a way for wrestling fans to yell whenever they get bored or when nothing is going on in order to draw attention to themselves. The What? chant was never interesting or productive. It was an annoyance from the beginning and has out lived its shelf life. For some reasons fans continue to chant it whenever someone is in the ring cutting a promo no matter who’s talking or what is being said. To me it is another example of fans trying to get themselves over at the expense of the show.

3: TOO MUCH WRESTLING ON TV: With the addition of the new WWE show “Main Event,” WWE now has five and a half hours of shows on television. They also have two hours of shows online with Superstars and NXT and the three hour monthly Pay Per Views. That’s 33 hours of programming a month. For die hard wrestling fans there is also the weekly two hour Impact and TNA’s monthly PPV as well as Ring of Honor’s weekly show and shows from companies such as AAPW, Championship Wrestling from Hollywood, SAW and other companies I’m forgetting that can be watched online. The oversaturation of wrestling hasn’t led to more stars being created or better stories being told. It has led to mostly spinning wheels. Which leads me to..

3.1: REPETITON: Every week the interaction between wrestlers is about 90% the same as the previous week. Whoever is going to be fighting on the PPV has to have an interaction with his opponent whether it is verbal or physical. By the time the PPV rolls around, I am usually tired of seeing the opponents in the ring with each other that I question why I should pay to see something I’ve been seeing for free for the past month.

2: GENERAL MANAGERS: Maybe it’s the old school fan in me, but I remember a time before 1997 when wrestling Presidents or Board of Directors were only seen when there was a major announcement to make. Now GMs get more airtime then mid-card champions. All GMs also seem to become corrupted by their power and instead of simply presiding over a show, enter into feuds with the top wrestler. The position of General Manager, much like the What? chant, has overstayed its welcome and needs to be retired.

As for my number 1 Pet Peeve, as I said, you’ll have to tune in to Rafters Radio to hear it. You’ll also get to hear what the other hosts find annoying in today’s wrestling environment. If you have any Pet Peeves of your own that you’d like to share, post them on our Facebook page or Twitter feed.