SydLexia.com - The Forums :: View topic - WWE angling to get rid of full-time referees?

Posted: Apr 30 2009 09:57 pm

The McMahons recently issued a directive saying announcers can't mention referees by name. That's fucking bullshit. The refs deserve their props.

Posted: Apr 30 2009 10:30 pm

That is pretty dumb. Robinson is the man.

Posted: May 01 2009 01:10 am

That is just stupid. I mean how many times can they just say "The ref did this or that without spicing it up with their names." Especially if they want to use a ref in a story line. This is just lame.

Title: Alexz Aficionado Joined: May 21 2008 Posts: 2889

It's gonna be great when WWE crumbles...

Is this to avoid the Earl Hebner thing again?

Posted: May 01 2009 05:37 am

The company been underperforming the few years, so they've been making budget cuts. A lot of talent and developmental talent was released at the beginning of the year, and some of the guys who previously had Legends contracts are now get by paid by appearance. They're probably looking to quietly get rid of the senior referees without a lot of people noticing.

Title: Alexz Aficionado Joined: May 21 2008 Posts: 2889

Any Smart Mark will notice.

Posted: May 02 2009 12:45 am

This is such crap. I always thought the ref storylines were fun.

...Of course if it increases my chances of getting in the WWE by getting a part time ref job, I'm all for it.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

Syd Lexia wrote:

The McMahons recently issued a directive saying announcers can't mention referees by name. That's fucking bullshit. The refs deserve their props.

They are paid actors and big boys and girls. If they don't like the deal, go to Hollywood and find another position.

I see no problem with this.

Posted: May 02 2009 02:48 pm

I wish there was a television channel(might be one, i dont have cable anymore) where they air every WCW match from the NWO era and every WWE one from the Attitude era sort of like a iNDemand.

I can't get into this John Cena,Randy Orton era. Also Michaels,The Undertaker and Triple H are really the only ones who are keeping some of the old fans watching.

TNA is ok, but lacks the magic that WCW had. I do like the new Main Event Mafia however to an extent.

Posted: May 02 2009 03:41 pm

Ermac wrote:

I wish there was a television channel(might be one, i dont have cable anymore) where they air every WCW match from the NWO era and every WWE one from the Attitude era sort of like a iNDemand.

There is. It's WWE 24/4 - Classics On Demand. I know Comcast carries it. (I have it.) One of the sections on it is "The Monday Night War", in which you can watch WCW Nitro and the WWE RAW that aired on the same week against each other.

Posted: May 02 2009 09:06 pm

When they wrestle (i.e. the angle between Shane Sewell and Sheik Abdul Bashir on TNA), or biased for a certain reason (i.e. Nick Patrick aligning himself with the nWo on WCW), referees are nice and have decent storylines, so I can see the point of the discussion. For Uncle Vinny, they're only there for the 3-count, the call for the bell and the occasional ref bump, thus 'useless' for any other usage than the usual. Why there are specific refs for both RAW and Smackdown is still beyond me, too.

Anyways, there's a new alternative for wrestling on TV, and that is Ring Of Honor Wrestling on HDNet. I think it airs at Friday evenings, taped from The Arena at Philadelphia (Where ECW used to be based).

Posted: May 02 2009 11:14 pm

GPFontaine wrote:

They are paid actors and big boys and girls. If they don't like the deal, go to Hollywood and find another position.

I see no problem with this.

Well, you're not a wrestling fan. These guys do more than just make a three count. They take bumps, they get guys in position for choreographed spots, and they're the first ones to know when something's wrong. Most of these guys are lifers, who have won the respect of smarks and wrestlers alike. The only discernable reason that Vince McMahon would have for not allowing referees to be mentioned by name is that he feels he can simply fire industry legends like Mike Chioda and Charles Robinson and throw the pinstripes on any mouthbreathing nosepicking roadie that happens to be interested in earning an extra $5. This is already starting to happen. Referees Tim White and Mickie Henson were released in January.

Posted: May 03 2009 12:33 am

Well TNA was smart enough to grab Earl, so you know they'll welcome any other notible refs with open arms.

Title: Alexz Aficionado Joined: May 21 2008 Posts: 2889

I'm with Syd. Wrestling fans know the names of many well known and respected referees. Earl Hebner, of course, for the notorious Montreal Screw Job(and not apologizing for it), Time White, Mike Chioda, Nick Patrick...

We WILL notice.

Those guys do a lot more than count to 3. Nick Patrick NWO angle was also done really well, as well as he feud with Chris Jericho.

Refs are an integral part of the machine working. Knowing who they are and their past(Hebner for example) can really be used to GREAT effect, if Vince wasn't so dense.

Posted: May 03 2009 04:42 pm

Robinson not only was a referee, he helped move and setup/tear down the ring after house shows at least. He also did a lot of photography for WWE at events when he wasn't reffing.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

Syd Lexia wrote:

GPFontaine wrote:

They are paid actors and big boys and girls. If they don't like the deal, go to Hollywood and find another position.

I see no problem with this.

Well, you're not a wrestling fan. These guys do more than just make a three count. They take bumps, they get guys in position for choreographed spots, and they're the first ones to know when something's wrong. Most of these guys are lifers, who have won the respect of smarks and wrestlers alike. The only discernable reason that Vince McMahon would have for not allowing referees to be mentioned by name is that he feels he can simply fire industry legends like Mike Chioda and Charles Robinson and throw the pinstripes on any mouthbreathing nosepicking roadie that happens to be interested in earning an extra $5. This is already starting to happen. Referees Tim White and Mickie Henson were released in January.

Yeah, but this just goes to prove my point further.

They are paid actors and their boss doesn't like their roll as it currently stands. He has the right to adjust their roll as he sees fit.

Perhaps Vince doesn't want story arcs that have anything to do with referees, ever. Or perhaps he is pissed off at just a few of them and is trying to get even. Either way, it is a show that he runs and owns.

Joined: Apr 14 2006 Location: Lake Michigan Posts: 3332

GPFontaine wrote:

Either way, it is a show that he runs and owns.

And it isn't doing well the past few years, mostly because of decisions like this.

Joined: May 13 2009 Location: lowell, ma Posts: 289

all i know is that this comes as no surprise. ever since the wwf turned into the wwe it has pretty much sucked. its like before the 90's they didnt really need any storylines because it wasnt seen as frequently. then the 90's come and its on tv live every week. so that guy russo became there writer, and i'd say he did a good job between like 94-00. i guess he left wwe a couple years back tho.i think theyve really just run out of ideas. you know that saying history repeats itself. well it seems like all failing wrestling companys also repeat themselves. remember how wcw ended.

Title: Alexz Aficionado Joined: May 21 2008 Posts: 2889

WWF became WWE because they lost the rights to the name "WWF" to the World Wildlife Fund. As my friends say," Damn pandas!" Razz

And GPF, it's a lot more than what you think it is. Step out of the box.

Joined: May 13 2009 Location: lowell, ma Posts: 289

Ghandi wrote:

WWF became WWE because they lost the rights to the name "WWF" to the World Wildlife Fund. As my friends say," Damn pandas!" Razz

And GPF, it's a lot more than what you think it is. Step out of the box.

lol i know that, im just saying that coincidently thats when i thought it started to suck

Posted: May 17 2009 05:42 am

World Wrestling Federation didn't technically lose the name. The British royal family runs the World Wildlife Fund, and they had asked McMahon not to use the acronymn to help avoid confusion. He agreed, but then did it anyway. So the royals sued him in the British courts, where plaintiffs always win. And he had to stop using the acronymn. So he changed his company's name.

The whole thing is dumb. Unless it's the name of a product like LASER or SCUBA, you shouldn't be able to monopolize an acronymn. And the wildlife fund only hurt themselves. Back when there were two WWFs, the fund got a whole lot more attention. Now no one cares. Fuck nature.

Posted: May 17 2009 10:26 am

Which the whole thing is stupid now, because the World Wildlife Foundation changed their name to "World Wide Fund for Nature". So now they're the "WWFN" and nobody is using the "WWF" name.