5 things to know about John Cone, father of the new RAW tag team champion
Last night at WrestleMania 34, WWE fans found out after weeks of speculation that Braun Strowman's mystery tag team partner was us. All of us - each of us, as Braun cut the most babyface promo he's ever managed since his repackaging after 2016.
More specifically, his tag team partner was an elementary school-aged child pulled seemingly at random from the Superdome crowd, whom many sources report is the son of WWE referee John Cone, the referee working the RAW tag team championship match that night.
While he's on your WWE television on a weekly basis, you might not be too familiar with Mr. Cone, so here's the lowdown on what you need to know about the father of your newest (and youngest) WWE "superstar".
#5 This wasn't his first time officiating a match for The Bar, not by a long shot
Sheamus and Cesaro mentioned during a 2017 appearance on Talk is Jericho that, just like wrestlers enjoy working with other performers they know, wrestlers tend to work with the same referees on a regular basis.
Working with a referee who is intimately familiar with your move-set, pacing, timing, and selling style makes matches flow better and helps performers be safer, since the official will know much more easily if an injury is legitimate.
Look at every match since the pairing of Sheamus and Cesaro, and you'll notice that most, if not all, feature a familiar black-haired face wearing the referee's uniform.
Just like Charles Robinson for Ric Flair, John Cone seems to be the referee of choice for The Bar, and frequently for Strowman too (more on that later); additionally, Sheamus and Cesaro have made promotional appearances for one of Cone's other non-wrestling projects.