(A-Z) Bill Alfonso, Randy Anderson, Fred Atkins, Stanley Banks, Sandy Barr, Frenchy Bernard, Larry Brock, Jerry Calhoun, Billy Caputo, Dr. Mark Curtis, Red Shoes Dugan, Sonny Fargo, Carl Fergie, George Gadaski, Tommy Gilbert, Dennis Graham, Tiger Hattori, Dave & Earl Hebner, Joe Higuchi, John Hopper, Kenny Jay, Don Knox, Dick Kroll, Teddy Long, Bronco Lubich, David Manning, Joey Marella, Connie Marker, Angelo Martinelli, Scrappy McGowan, Shane McMahon, Jimmy McQuire, Marty Miller, Pee Wee Moore, Frank Morrell, Paul Morton, Daichi Murayama, Jerry Murdoch, Sonny Myers, Billy Otto, Nick Patrick, Tommy Ran, Sam Roberts, Charles Robinson, Gilberto Roman, Stu Schwartz, Oki Shikina, Eddie Smith, Charlie Smith, Yuji Shimada, Mister Takahashi, Ted Tanabe, Tirantes, Tropicasas, Jerry Usher, Kyohei Wada, Ron West, Tommy Weathers, Tim White, Dick Woehrle, Wally Yamaguchi, Kotetsu Yamamoto, Bob Yazawa, Tommy Young... mixture of wheat and chaff...
Pro wrestling's good referees are someone who can bring control to chaos for creating good matches with wrestlers. As sports officials, they are in charge, but it's the wrestlers whom the fans have come to watch, not them. But, they are actually the THIRD man/woman in the ring.
Kanji "Joe" Higuchi is, no doubt, considered the very best and most popular referee in Japanese Puroresu history. Joe was born in Yokohama City in Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan on January 18, 1929. He was devoted to training Judo in his boyhood. On August 15, 1945, Japan accepted the surrender terms of the Allied powers. For more than six years after the surrender, Japan was placed under Allied, mainly American, control. Joe became a Judo coach for the U.S. Army and learned the English language.
Joe joined a regional promotion named All Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance (AJWA) to become a pro wrestler in 1954. AJWA, which was run by Toshio Yamaguchi and Umeyuki Kiyomikawa, had promoted at Osaka Gym including a "Japan vs. U.S. Puroresu Match." He had trained with Raul Romero (Mexico's National Lightweight champion) and P.Y. Chan (Tojo Yamamoto).
Rikidozan and Nippon (Japan) Pro Wrestling (JWA) carried the irresistible Puroresu boom, and they weeded out other small offices in those days. Joe retired once in 1960 but joined JWA as an interpreter for gaijin (foreign) wrestlers in 1963. Then, he became a referee in 1965. JWA sent him to the United States in 1967. He took in thorough experiences of refereeing eleven shows, including Los Angeles, CA; Dallas, TX; Amarillo, TX; Atlanta, GA; and Tampa, FL, and established his refereeing style and techniques.
Giant Baba started his own All Japan Pro Wrestling at Machida Gym in Tokyo on October 21, 1972 with big support from Dory Funk Sr., Bruno Sammartino, NTV (Channel 4), and Joe. Baba and Joe's very strong relationship with the NWA's main territory--promoters in Texas (Dory Funk Sr. & Jack Adkisson [Fritz Von Erich]), Florida (Eddie Graham), Georgia (Jim Barnett), and Mid Atlantic (Jim Crockett Jr.)--in the 1970's prevented rival Antonio Inoki's New Japan Pro Wrestling from bringing in big name gaijin wrestlers. Joe is the one and only Japanese referee who refereed an NWA World Heavyweight title match in the United States; that was between Jack Brisco and Dory Funk Jr. at the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, MO in 1975.
Joe Higuchi retired as a referee after refereeing the Triple Crown Heavyweight title match between Mitsuharu Misawa and Steve Williams at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo on March 1, 1997. He had refereed over 20,000 matches in 32 years. After being travel agent for All Japan Pro Wrestling's gaijin wrestlers, he is now an adviser for Misawa's NOAH.
Rikidozan debuted as a pro wrestler on October 28, 1951. He was seasoned through 260 matches in Hawaii (Al Karasick, promoter) from February to June 1952 and in San Francisco (Joe Malcewicz, promoter) from June 1952 to March 1953. Oki Shikina (Japanese-American wrestler in the 1940' s-1950's) in Hawaii trained him. Oki was one of the greatest Hawaiian wrestlers (no relation to Oki Shikina in Southern territories in the 1970's). Rikidozan hired Oki as a main referee for JWA; Oki refereed in Japan until 1973.
Tommy Young is considered one of the greatest referees of all time. Tommy was from Allen Park, Michigan. After being a wrestler, he worked as a referee for Eddie Einhorn's International Wrestling Association (IWA) in 1974. Then, Jim Crockett Promotions in Mid Atlantic hired him. He had been one part of great matches, especially Ric Flair's matches, for 15 years. He suffered career-ending neck and back injuries while refereeing a match between Mike Rotundo and Tommy Rich at Center Stage in Atlanta, GA on November 28, 1989.
"Dr. Mark Curtis" Brian Hildebrand was always a big wrestling fan who loved wrestling itself. Brian trained at Domenic DeNucci's wrestling school in Pittsburgh, PA with Mick Foley and Shane Douglas. Brian was a manager and even wrestled as "Ninja Turtle." He had refereed for SMW, ECW, and WCW. I was one of many fans who were attracted from around the world to SMW's FanWeeks that were run by Brian. He passed away on September 8, 1999 after a long and courageous battle against cancer. We will never forget you, Brian.
ECW manager Bill Alfonso was a referee in Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF), WCW, and the WWF for years. Fonzie always enjoys being a part of wrestling.
Texan James Beard, as a close friend of Kendo Nagasaki (Kazuo Sakurada), was a referee and a booking agent for Super World Sports (SWS) and Network Of Wrestling (NOW) in Japan from 1990 to 1994.
Charles Robinson is one of the best referees today. He has followed Tommy Young's great style.
Kyohei Wada was born in Tokyo on November 20, 1954. He debuted as a referee in February 1974. He is the most respectable referee in Japan today. He, as Mrs. Motoko Baba's right hand man, stayed with All Japan Pro Wrestling when Mitsuharu Misawa and 24 other wrestlers and 18 office workers left in the middle of July 2000.
Yusuke "Wally" Yamaguchi has been around the wrestling business for 25 years. He was born in Tokyo on May 5, 1958. He has been with Gong magazine and touched various independent offices, including FMW, Universal, Michinoku, and W*ING, as a referee and a booking agent. He managed Kaientai, as Yamaguchi-san, in the WWF in 1998. Mrs. Baba hired him as a referee and a travel agent for gaijin (foreign) wrestlers in June 2000.
A Japanese female referee, Miss Lee Nikkan (Big Japan Pro Wrestling), has refereed even barbed wire death matches. She will appear before more footlights in the near future.
Who are your favorite referees?
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