The secrets behind a WWE referee and what the most important person in the ring REALLY does during a match

WHILE MOST believe all that WWE referees do is count one, two, and three… it could not be further from the truth.

In fact, the man in black and white is the MOST important person in the ring, bigger than any superstar.

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They may shock you, but here are five things you didn’t know about wrestling refs, from directing a show to safety skills.

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DIRECT THE MATCH

Each referee will have an ear piece which feeds back to the show’s TV and schedule director.

They will relay instructions such as match length, what moves to do, and when to wrap the bout up.

The ref will then signal to the wrestlers to hurry the match up, usually ending with one of their signature finishing moves.

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COMMUNICATION IS KEY

Obviously feuding wrestlers cannot just stand there and chat amongst themselves about what to do next during a fight.

The one person they can however whisper or signal to is the unappreciated third man in the squared circle.

The ref will do the communication for both of them, telling each what the other needs their opponent to know, such as an injury or what they’re planning next.

SAFETY FIRST

When something goes wrong in the ring, the first person on the scene is usually the man in stripes.

They must all be first aid trained to give out care if a wrestler is hurt or in a life-threatening situation.

If a horrific accident has happened, and they need to cut the TV feed or try and stop people from seeing what's going on, the ref will make a cue to dim the arena lights.

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PART OF THE DRAMA

They might just seem like another person in the ring, but some epic WWE storylines have involved referees.

Nearly every great Attitude Era star including Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and Triple H have been special guest refs.

They are also regularly used to this day as a part of matches, including Finn Balor's recent disqualification against The Miz for touching the referee.

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THE END IS NEAR

The pin-fall might seem like a simple thing, but it's highly important in the context of the WWE.

Finishing the match in style is tricky, you need to make the right judgements, at the right time.

Get your timing wrong, and you could mess it up, or you could just do the three count any way, the Monreal Screwjob comes to mind...