Former WWE Referee Brian Hebner Talks State Of Wrestling Officiating In 2024

Brian Hebner is best known for his time officiating in WWE and TNA, as well as being the son of legendary referee, Earl Hebner. In a recent appearance on "Busted Open Radio," Hebner commented on the state of modern refereeing and criticized the major mistakes many officials are making today.

Hebner stated that refereeing today is not the same as it was during the time of his father Earl, or other referees such as Mike Chioda, Jimmy Korderas, and Timmy White, nor even during his tenure.

"It's like there are rules that aren't rules, that suddenly become rules just to make the match accommodate what they do." He then touched on AEW's Tony Khan defending his referees, since he claimed that his referees shouldn't have to care since fans don't. "If you're doing something wrong, or you're doing something that's not completely right, it's not taught. It's like an afterthought."

Hebner then claimed that he would have been fired back in his day if he did the things referees do these days, but maintained that there are still good referees out there. But, he added that they simply don't measure up to the greats. He then suggested that promotions should use veteran referees to help improve the quality of officiating today and described a scenario of Korderas going to TNA. 

"His job all day is to make sure those referees know exactly what's going on. He goes to the talent, brings it back to the referee, they do it together. He's in the Gorilla Position when the referees come back, he's there to point out the things they did right, the things they did wrong, and that's how officials will become better."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.