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Referees are the unsung heroes of WWE, working in the ring as an invisible link between performers and management.
The responsibility of the WWE referee goes beyond counting pinfalls and announcing submissions. They have to make sure everything goes according to plan inside the squared circle in terms of storylines, schedule, and more.
Nonetheless, some of them went the extra mile and were not afraid to take off the striped shirt and compete in the ring.
Several WWE referees have experienced wrestling in the ring, not as officials, but as competitors. They squared up against legends like Triple H, Kane, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
Here are six WWE referees who have stepped into the squared circle for a match.
#6 & #5 WWE Referees Theodore Long and Jack Doan
On the January 8 edition of Monday Night RAW in 2001, The Rock teamed up with referees Theodore Long and Jack Doan to take on Kane and Rikishi.
As part of the storyline then, management wanted to hurt The Rock before the Royal Rumble, so they teamed him up with both referees. They forced Teddy Long to start the match against Rikishi who quickly delivered The Stink Face to the WWE Hall Of Famer. Long successfully escaped more humiliation afterward and tagged in The Brahma Bull.
The Rock took down Rikishi and Kane before distracting the referee. This gave Teddy Long and Jack Doan a chance to get involved. The two WWE referees took out their anger on The Samoan Stinker.
Although The Rock's team won the match by disqualification, both referees ended up getting beaten by Kane and Rikishi. They turned their attention to Rock, but The Undertaker rushed to the ring to rescue him. The Deadman took down Kane with a chokeslam before Rock hit Rikishi with a Rock Bottom to clear the ring.
#4 WWE Referee Mike Chioda
The Rock teamed up once again with another WWE referee, Mike Chioda, and Chris Jericho, to take on The Dudley Boyz and Nick Patrick on an episode of WWE SmackDown in October 2001.
Both referees clashed in the ring before Bubba Ray Dudley interfered. The Rock rescued Chioda and Patrick ended up getting a Rock Bottom, before receiving a People's Elbow from Chioda for the pin.
On a recent episode of Monday Mailbag on AdFreeShows, Chioda dubbed teaming up with The Rock and Jericho as a 'great experience' and said that his family loved every second of the match.
"Man, it feels great to go undefeated. That's a good question (laughs). I actually love the fact that I'm undefeated. That was such a great experience for me. I had so much fun. My family loved it. My sisters, everybody, all my nieces and everybody and my mom were just so thrilled when they got to see that match and stuff like that, a bunch of friends. I mean, it was just a fantastic experience for me. So, and it was great to get a chance to actually, I think that was the only match I've ever wrestled in, in WWE history and in my career."
Chioda was let go by WWE last year as part of budget cuts due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
#3 WWE Referee Earl Hebner
On May 2, 2000, Vince McMahon and The McMahon-Helmsley Regime took to the ring to give a promo on WWE SmackDown.
Earl Hebner had helped The Rock retain his World Championship against Shane McMahon, which did not go down well with the WWE Chairman. Being in Richmond, Earl's hometown, Mr. McMahon said that it is only right that the referee returns to the ring and has his first wrestling match.
Vince McMahon thought it would not be fair to send the WWE official on his own in his first match, so he had him tag with The Rock to take on D-Generation X in a Handicap Tag Team match. If The Rock or Earl were to be pinned, The Brahma Bull would lose his title.
After beating out The Rock, DX tried to gang on Hebner. But The Great One returned at the perfect time to save his partner. The match turned into chaos when Jericho interfered to attack Triple H. Hebner took advantage and hit X-Pac with a low blow, which The Rock followed with a Rock bottom to retain his title.
#2 WCW's Nick Patrick squared off against WWE's Earl Hebner
Earl Hebner returned to the WWE ring a little more than a year after his first experience. As part of the Invasion storyline, Hebner represented WWE to take on WCW's official Nick Patrick with Mick Foley as a special guest referee for the match.
As tensions rose between WWE and WCW officials in the locker room, the two senior figures had several confrontations and their feud started to get physical. A match was booked between the two officials at Invasion 2001.
Both referees were accompanied by their colleagues who stood at ringside. As the match started, Hebner and Patrick exchanged blows while Foley tried to block any interference from the outside.
However, Foley could not stop WCW's referees from ganging on Hebner, who was thrown outside the ring. The special guest referee decided to expel them from ringside as an immediate punishment.
Nick Patrick protested the decision, giving the WWE referee time to recover. Hebner took Patrick down with a bizarre running shoulder block and pinned him for the win.
#1 WWE Referee Scott Armstrong faced CM Punk in the ring
At WWE Breaking Point 2009, referee Scott Armstrong officiated a match between CM Punk and The Undertaker. This match started a storyline that led the referee to compete against the Straight Edge Superstar inside the squared circle.
As the Punk-Taker match went on, Armstrong called for the bell when CM Punk tapped out to the Hell's Gate. However, WWE SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long appeared and told The Deadman that the Hell's Gate maneuver was banned by Vickie Guerrero. The match was restarted, as a result. When Punk applied the Anaconda Vise maneuver to The Undertaker, the latter hadn't submitted to the move. Still, Armstrong declared Punk as the winner.
As it turned out, the whole scheme was part of a plan arranged by Punk, Armstrong, and Long.
On a later episode of WWE Smackdown, Armstrong expressed his regret for helping Punk. Armstrong was hesitant to help Punk again during the latter's submission match against The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship. During the match, The Deadman delivered a chokeslam to Armstrong. Towards the end of the bout, Undertaker forced Punk to tap out to the Hell's Gate after another referee made his way to the ring.
That led to a match between CM Punk and Scott Armstrong on the October 30 episode of Smackdown. The match was arranged by Vince McMahon himself after Punk complained about Armstrong's officiating.
The former WWE World Heavyweight Champion bullied his opponent with a smile on his face as the match kicked off, but Armstrong tried to fight back. Despite showing a lot of heart, CM Punk proved to be more than what Armstrong could handle inside the ring. The experienced wrestler made quick work of his opponent and pinned him after delivering the Go to Sleep.
Scott Armstrong got his revenge on CM Punk the following week when he officiated Punk's match against R-Truth. He fast-counted to award Truth the victory.
