Wrestling with Disbelief: The Referee

Professional wrestling is an art form (I do not use that term lightly, or with any sense of irony). It is theatre in the guise of a sport. It has its own logic, its own rules, its own laws. The laws and the rules of wrestling are different, but both rely on the referee. 

What is wrestling? 

The legendary referee Earl Hebner dwarfed by The Rock

Wrestling in its simplest form is a physical competition between two wrestlers that takes place in a ring. In order to win, one must pin the other's shoulders to the mat for three seconds. There are very few rules, but that means the rules that do exist are all the more important. In addition to the two wrestlers -as with other sports- there is a referee. The referee gives the illusion of legitimacy, but they are also a point of potential drama. A referee is a narrative tool that can be employed for dramatic effect, because if the referee doesn't see it, then they can’t enforce the rule, and if a referee happens to be distracted, then wrestlers can cheat. This dance between the referee and the wrestlers is essential. 

The cowardly villain (the heel) will do anything they can to bend and break the rules to win against the beloved hero (the babyface). The beats that happen between the bells are often familiar, following long established tropes: the referee is distracted and the heel will give the babyface a low blow, gouge the eyes, hold the tights or use the ropes to get a pin. The referee may be knocked out and regain consciousness, completely unaware of the events that went on while they were incapacitated. In any other sport, it would be unimaginable. In the world of wrestling, it is standard.

The tragic figure of the referee

The wise fool and the foolish King from Shakespeare's King Lear

The character of the referee is a victim, often the target of the villainous heel’s wrath, and on the receiving end of vicious, unprovoked beatings. But despite this a referee has the most power in a ring filled with literal giants. They are physically weaker than the wrestlers, entirely incapable of fighting, left alone with no support from the organising body of the match- if a referee is knocked out, there are no repercussions. They are weaklings clothed in power, and the heel will take advantage of this weakness whenever possible. But to resist the rules of the referee is hubris. Though the rules of wrestling are there to be broken, its laws are immutable- even if repercussions are avoided temporarily, the villain will always get what is due to them. The referee  is merely a pawn in a game of divine justice. A cheating heel will get their comeuppance eventually. In wrestling good always triumphs, but a new evil is always lurking. 

Unlike Shakespeare’s fools who often possessed great knowledge hidden under the guise of ignorance, a wrestling referee possesses great power which hides their incompetence. None the less, just like King Lear's beloved Fool, their role is essential. A referee who does not play by these rules would be worthless— the story would not function. A match without a referee similarly loses something— if you cannot cheat, then the villain cannot play their part. The referee is the physical embodiment of the rules themselves, and in order for the laws of wrestling to be maintained, the rules must be broken. The referee must be the foolish figure of authority.

You know it's all fake, right?

Ric Flair, the master of flamboyance

How can an audience possibly buy into this charade? How can we suspend our disbelief at what is happening? The referee clearly should be helped by someone when they get beaten up. Wrestlers hitting officials shouldn't just get banned from performing, they should be sent to prison. How can a referee fall for the same tricks over and over again? Like any art form, wrestling follows its own verisimilitude, its own laws of presentation. Asking why the referee falls for the same tricks over and over is like asking why Lady Macbeth keeps killing herself. She does it because she must, because in order for the play to reach its denouement, she must die. The referee is foolish because they must be in order to drive the story forwards.  

If the referee gives wrestling order, the audience is what gives it life. They cheer for the babyfaces; boo the heels; let out a high pitched "Woo!" at every chop; count the one... two... and then sigh in frustration or relief when the wrestler kicks at at the last moment. The wrestling fan understands the rules, but also the laws of wrestling. They know a referee must be awful at their jobs in order for wrestling to be what it is. But when the referee misses something, fans still shout at them, point, tell them to turn around, scream at the injustice that is going on in front of their eyes and behind the referee's back. Wrestling fans are not stupid- they know the role they have to play as well. 

Referee Aubrey Edwards laying down the law to heel, Chris Jericho

Suspension of disbelief in many forms of art is essential -fantasy couldn't function without it- but wrestling fans are the only people who are thought to be stupid because they take part in it. Wrestling is silly, gaudy, beautiful, suspenseful, dramatic, ridiculous- it is everything that people wanted from a play 400 years ago. If wrestling existed in Jacobean England, Shakespeare would have written it, because it would have been the most exciting, bombastic and incredible thing anyone had ever seen. Wrestling is timeless, and the referee is at the core of what makes it function.