The Muppets Put Me In A Wrestling Ring

“The Muppets are going to be on RAW tonight!”

While I was in fourth grade, a classmate decided to blurt those words out to our teacher for some reason unbeknownst to me. I wasn’t sure what RAW even was, but I knew I loved The Muppets.

I went home that day and looked up “Muppets on RAW.” I didn’t find an answer easy, and after looking at a picture of Hornswoggle showing off his Muppets-themed tattoo, I figured out that RAW was a wrestling show.

I had never watched a second of professional wrestling in my life. I wasn’t sure I wanted to. I wasn’t exactly an athletic kid or one who wanted to watch grown men fight, a la the UFC. Reluctantly, to see the Jim Henson creations I knew and adored, I set the DVR to record that episode of Monday Night RAW. Sitting down and expecting to see just Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear, I was met with CM Punk, John Cena and Daniel Bryan.

I fell in love with professional wrestling that night. CM Punk quickly became my favorite wrestler as he threatened to twist Alberto Del Rio into a human pretzel if he didn’t agree to fight him at Survivor Series.

I watched my first episode of “Friday Night SmackDown” later that week. I watched every episode of RAW and SmackDown for pretty much five years after. Just about three months after discovering professional wrestling, I attended my first live event. I was officially hooked.

My love for professional wrestling became a huge part of my life and how my peers knew me.

In high school, I began dating a girl I had met in one of my math classes. I would soon find out that her father, Rex Luther, had experience in the professional wrestling business. What!?

Needless to say, we got along pretty well pretty fast. It wasn’t long before we were travelling to independent shows all around the Mid-South. I spent many hours learning about the pro wrestling industry from both Rex and “Superstar” Bill Dundee without ever stepping foot into a wrestling ring. This was awesome.

One day, on a drive home from an independent show, Rex asked a question that would change professional wrestling for me forever.

“When are you gonna get in the ring?”

A few local wrestlers were starting an independent show down the street from my house in a little church gym. Rex had been asked to help, and in turn, asked if I could be trained as a referee for the shows. I said yes, and at the age of 15, I was in the middle of two huge athletes doing everything they can to put the other down.

Being from Memphis, you always hear people talk about legends like Dundee and Jerry “The King” Lawler. Wrestling is viewed very differently in the Mid-South than is seen on WWE programming, and that threw me for a huge loop as a teenager. I spent many hours watching Mid-South tape, specifically studying Jerry Calhoun and how he would referee matches between performers who are considered all-time greats by a majority of the wrestling world.

My first show gave me butterflies as I paced back and forth near the Gorilla position. Luckily, I knew one of the wrestlers in the first match I reffed, and that gave me a bit of comfort. I managed to get through just fine and was told I had done a great job. I still get those same butterflies today.

I’ve had the chance to officiate matches for some up-and-coming talent like Blake Christian, and for some of the greats like Dundee and the legendary late “Grandmaster Sexay” Brian Christopher.

I was the referee for a lot of Christopher’s matches in the summer of 2018, and the advice I would receive from him after every match is invaluable. I still repeat a lot of his advice in my head, as he gave me many tips about performance in general that superseded “just refereeing.” He loved to watch me embarrass myself by having me dance with him in the ring after matches. I got to do the “Too Cool” dance with Brian Christopher and another wrestler, and that’s one of the coolest things I can tell anyone.

I’ve trained to wrestle, but there’s something about being a referee that always draws me back to the stripes. I love to watch wrestling and truly enjoy it, appreciating the psychology and storytelling given to the audience with each move.

And when it comes to watching wrestling, no one has a better seat in the house than the guy counting to three.