TWI #25 What Counts As Professional When The Crowd Wants Blood

The moment the crowd starts chanting “get the ref”, you know you’re in trouble. What I didn’t know was how far that chant was about to go, and how quickly a wild hardcore match can turn into something you never agreed to.

We’re closing out the last part of my “shit show trilogy” with a two night Australian wrestling weekend that starts on a low note, because I’ve just brought home the ashes of my dog. I still show up to referee, thinking wrestling might clear my head, but night one already feels off: Mexican talent with a totally different way of calling spots, a loose plan, and matches where the ref is suddenly part of the action. I break down what it’s like trying to referee around that, including the head spin of working a championship match with Blue Demon Jr and being told to do things that don’t match how our crowds read a good guy and a bad guy.

Then night two hits, and it’s full chaos. LA Park and his sons run a hardcore extreme rules match by feel, and I’m repeatedly dragged into stomps, whips and chops even though I’m not trained for it. When the chant turns on me, it becomes very real, very fast, and I’m left with marks I didn’t expect and a big question about professionalism, consent, and safety in pro wrestling.

If you’re into behind the scenes wrestling stories, referee perspective, lucha libre culture clashes, and the messy truth of indie wrestling, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share it with a mate, and leave a review with your take: was it just part of the show, or way out of line?

Transcript

Welcome Back To The Trilogy

SPEAKER_04 0:31

Hello and welcome back to the last part of our trilogy of the shit show of the last couple of months. Five star shit show, I can't remember what I called it, but I'm your host Dave Morgan and this is the Team Wing It podcast. Now, I've told you the first two parts. Let's get on with number three, shall we?

SPEAKER_01 0:50

Will you still need me? Will you still feed me when I'm 64?

Night One Grief And Wrestling

SPEAKER_04 0:57

So I had a wrestling show. Well actually it was two nights of wrestling. It was Friday the 22nd of May and then Saturday the 23rd of May. Now Friday the 22nd, I got to bring the ashes home of my dog, the one that I talked about in the last episode. So I was kind of bummed out. I just eh I was a bit eh about everything. Didn't know what I was really thinking, but yeah. I thought wrestling. Of course, wrestling. And um, yeah, so I went and visited Leanne before the show 'cause I couldn't go, uh she couldn't go, she was dog sitting. And um yeah, so I've rocked up to the show and we're dealing with six Mexican dudes, a couple I've worked with before. And let me tell you, it had a weird vibe about it. People didn't even know what the hell was going on. They hadn't even met their opponents before the show as the show was starting, so it was odd. It was just very, very odd. And um I'm finding out finishes for the matches, and I can tell you now, the traditional way that I have been taught and I have done for the past 23 years Yeah, it's okay. But then these Mexicans have this weird way, like at one point I'm stopping one of them from doing a dive, and if anyone knows about Mexican wrestling, they're known for their dives and their high flying, and I'm like, really? Okay, you you tell me what you want, I'll do it, I don't give a shit. And the crowd booed the shit out of me. Of course, because you know why? It was stupid. Then in the championship match, famous B vs. Blue Demon Jr. It was a case of

Confusing Lucha Style Ref Calls

SPEAKER_04 2:38

um Blue Demon got whipped into the corner, and famous bee, who's the bad guy and all this, gets whipped into him. And then he whips me into Blue Demon, and I've got to give him a clothesline. And then he tries it again, and Blue Demon comes out of the corner and clotheslines me, and I'm like, I don't understand why I need to be doing this in a championship match, but alright. And Blue Demon's telling me, I in Mexico we use the rest a lot. So if you see me put my hand down and my fingers are spread stomp on my hand and this sort of thing, and I'm like, This makes absolutely no sense to me. Why the hell would I be attacking the guy who's perceived as the good guy in here, because everyone hates famous pee, this makes no sense. And he kept telling and after the match, he told me, Oh, you should have done this, you should have done this. I'm trying to tell him. The crowd are cheering for you, why would I do this here? But he has his way of thinking and he's a legend, so I didn't argue, I just Okay next time, yes, not a problem. Then in the hardcore match, uh Mexican Extreme Rules match, Mad Dog versus LA Park, who formerly used to be known as La Parker back in the old WCW days. And um Mad Dog comes up and he and he just sort of shook his head and goes, Hey, we need you for something. Okay, what now? We're gonna be fighting over a chair, you're gonna take it off La Parker or LA Park, he's gonna swing behind you and push you into me, and I'm gonna forearm the chair into your face, and you're gonna go down. Okay, why? He goes, I don't know. I don't understand why we're taking out the referee in a hardcore match. Okay. He goes, I won't kill you. Okay. I trust my dog, he's good. So that happened, and yeah, it was just very weird, and just I didn't understand why we were doing what we were doing. You know what, be a good soldier, do what you're told for the most part. Yes, that was night one, but little did I know the real chaos would start on night two.

SPEAKER_03 4:45

Black birds singing in the dead of night. Take these broken wings and learn to fly. All your life. You were only waiting for this moment to arise.

SPEAKER_04 5:05

So night two starts, and that they had a trios tournament, and everything was seemingly going well, and then the last match before intermission was a six-man hardcore extreme match, and at first it was, then it wasn't, then it was, and um it turned into I didn't actually know what the heck was going on until like a couple of minutes before the match. Okay, I know what we're doing. Excellent. Now the problem with this was with LA Park and his sons, they tend to just do what they want, and yeah, they talk about a couple of things, and if they happen to happen, if they don't, they don't. And generally I can run along with this. But at one point, um one of the sons is in the corner and the Aussie guys are all taking turns running in and clotheslining, and all of a sudden I hear, get the ref. What? Get the ref to do it. So I then had to run in and clothesline this guy, and I'm like, okay, I know it's a hardcore match, and but okay. Then LA Park later on the match is down, and all the good guys, the Aussie guys are stomping him, and all of a sudden, get the ref. And I'm hearing this, and I'm like, what? Rev, you stomp me. So I start stomping him, and I'm like, I don't understand. The crowd was enjoying this, and I'm like, this isn't what I do. I'm not trained to do this. So I was trying not to kill people because I'm not trained on how to stomp people wrestling way, and then later on, like it keeps going with this, and the match is chaotic. It's all over the place. Bins are getting thrown through the crowd, all sorts of hell is breaking loose. And um, yeah, then they're bringing out this leather of like it's it's like a weightlifting belt that LA Park wears, and he took that off, and they're whipping people, and all of a sudden, ref, you whip. So I whipped another one of the sons, and I'm like, why am I doing this? I don't know what I'm doing. So okay, bang, I've given him a shot or two,

Hardcore Match Ref Bump Logic

SPEAKER_04 7:14

I can't remember. Later on, LA Park is backed up against the ropes and the and the Aussies are taking turns in chopping them across the chest, which is just open hand, hitting him in the chest as hard as you can just to make a noise. Now, if you're good, you can do that and not have to do it hard. You sort of cup your hand, I think, and that. I again I'm not trained. Next thing Rev. I'm like, what? Okay. Rev, you'll chop. Okay. I've chopped him. Harder. Wait, what? And under the mask, I can just see his eyes and he's looking at me going, harder, hit me harder. I've hit him like four times, and each time was harder than the next, or harder than the last. And in the end, I'm sure I left a handprint on him, and I felt bad because I, as I said, not trained. I'm just swinging, okay, you're asking for this. And then comes the chaos. And I'm like, I don't understand why I'm getting so involved. This is nuts, I don't understand, but I'm just going with it because I'm getting told what to do in the ring, and these guys want me to do this. Okay. And then they've used the whip on El Negativo, which is an Aussie guy who's comes from Mexico, but he's one of our guys on our team. And they've whipped him with the belt, and all of the Aussie guys are outside the ring. And the crowd started chanting, get the ref

Night Two Chaos Kicks Off

SPEAKER_04 8:45

and I'm like, no, they wouldn't do that. Yes, they would. They grabbed me, poured water, pulled the ref shirt up, like had me bent over, poured water on my back, and held open the back of my pants and poured cold water down my butt crack, which was very uncomfortable for the rest of the show. And then LA Park grabs the strap and whips me hard as fuck across the back, and you see the water spray off my back. And it hurt. And some of the videos like I posted videos of this, uh I did a YouTube thing, and check out the channel and the videos on there. After one of the shots, you see me rolling to the side and you just scre hear me yell, oh fuck me. Cause that hurt like hell. And the crowd, the bloodthirsty assholes in the BCW crowd, start chanting one more time. So they dragged me back, put me on my stomach. Oh, sorry, put me on my back, held up the shirt again, held down my arms, and whipped me across the stomach. Oh my god, that hurt. Oh, because it it really got me across the rib cage more than anything else. And I didn't have a lot of meat there, so that hurt like a bastard. Now, then the Aussies came streaming back in and one of them gorge came and checked on me, Are you alright? Can you continue? I'm like, Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine. I'll be alright. So I struggled through the rest of the match and the finish and all this. I've just rolled out under the ring, under the rope, gone to the back, I'm like, what the fuck was that? And people are checking on me because they're they've never seen me do something like that. And what that was not spoken about. I had no idea that was coming. And it was very chaotic, and people offered, or one person offered to referee the second half of the show for me. I said, no, no, no, I'm okay. So I calmed down a little bit, went out, did the second half, and yeah. Everything else was okay. But after the show I spoke to LA Park and his family, and they're like, this is what we do in Mexico. We just feel how and the crowded chanting get the ref, so I'm like, okay, over here, unless we talk about it beforehand, we don't do that. And he's like, oh it's okay, amigo, we got this. Yeah, it's alright for you. I'm the one with huge fucking marks across me right now from something I did not expect. So really, it was an assault. But there are two ways of thinking about this. Now, people did check on me the next couple of days. Now, a couple of them were like, dude, it should not have happened, but at least you got a really cool story out of it. And then other people are like, dude, that is so unprofessional. There is no way that should have happened. What the fuck? So yeah, I'm still torn between that. I don't think they're gonna be coming back. I think there was a bit of shit behind the scenes that yeah, I don't think they'll be back, and to tell you the truth, I'm not in a hurry to referee them again.

Get The Ref Turns Brutal

SPEAKER_04 12:06

So as we've come to an end of the shit show trilogy, now I must say I did get a photo with LA Park and his sons at the end of night too, and LA Park went and signed my back, just below the scars or the marks where his belt left. Cause you know what, bugger it, I want the photo anyway. Do I agree with what happened? No. But look, I did want a photo like that, and Josh and I got photos with all the Mexicans together, so that was good, but as I said, not in a hurry to referee them again. Now um as we come to the end, and um yeah. Josh has a physio appointment this Thursday, so tomorrow as we speak, well as I speak, and then we have a talk with the surgeon in a couple of weeks, and um so the sequel to part one of the trilogy is gonna come, and I have other things to talk about too. So I will get on to that too. So yesterday when I was recording the majority of this everything before now, I was sort of at a loss. I didn't know what song I was gonna add to the end of this. And then today, while I was at work on one of the daytime talk show, bullshit shows in the morning, I saw it was Global Beatles Day. A day to appreciate the music of the Beatles, which I'm sure you've noticed. I've thrown a few of my favourite songs, little little bits and pieces in around the place. Does it suit the wrestling thing? No. Do I care? Again, no. So I figure, you know what? Throw a few of them in, and I'm gonna end with not one of their bigger hits that I remember, but I love this song, and it's called Rocky Raccoon, and I remember at one point thinking it was Rocket Raccoon, as in like from The Guardians of the Galaxy, but I know that the timelines don't match up, so shut up. It's

Was It A Cool Story

SPEAKER_04 14:16

my podcast, I can say what I want. So I'm gonna call it Rocket Raccoon, and I don't know why. And it was from the Beatles for Sale album, I believe, or the White Album. I don't know, I've looked through too many other albums today to remember which one I pulled it from. So yes, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do, and if you don't know it, take a listen. It's not bad at all. Alright, I will see you all sooner than you think, because I've got so much more to talk about, and I think I need to talk more. God knows why, but you know what, it's what I do. So you're all gonna suffer as long as you press the download button.

SPEAKER_02 15:00

Now somewhere in the black minor heels up to call to there lived a young boy named a Rocky Raccoon. And one day his woman ran off with another guy, hit young Rocky in the eye. Rocky didn't like that, he said, I'm gonna get that boy. So one day he walked into town, booked himself a room in the local saloon.

SPEAKER_03 15:25

A Rocky Raccoon checked into his room, only to find Gideon's Bible. Rocky had come equipped with a gun to shoot off the legs of

Wrapping Up And What’s Next

SPEAKER_03 15:46

his rival. His rival, it seems, had broken his dreams by stealing the girl of his fancy. Her name was McGill, and she called herself Lil, but everyone knew whereas Nancy Now she and her man who called himself Dan were in the next room at the holdown. A Rocky burst in and grinning a grin. He said, Danny, this is a showdown. But Daniel was hot, he grew fast and shot, and Rocky collapsed in the corner.

Beatles Day Outro And Rocky

SPEAKER_03 17:13

The doctor came in. Speaking of gin, I proceeded to lie on the table. A rocky said dark is only a scratch. And I'll be better, I'll be better, dark, as soon as I am able. And I rocky rock, he fell back in his room. Only to five Gideon's Bible. Gideon checked out, and he left it no doubt to help with good rocky revival.