Vince McMahon enforced rule about WWE referees after receiving advice from Kevin Dunn
Marty Elias recently revealed that Kevin Dunn is responsible for Vince McMahon’s rule about WWE referees no longer being referred to by their names.
Two decades ago, it was common for referees to be mentioned by name on WWE television. Earl Hebner, for example, was often referenced by commentators during WWE’s Attitude Era.
Elias, a WWE referee between 2005 and 2009, spoke about his career on the Chat Grapple and Cheap Pops Podcast. He said Dunn, WWE’s Executive Vice President of Television Production, advised Vince McMahon not to let announcers mention referees’ names:
“It’s sad that referees aren’t acknowledged. I remember Kevin Dunn when they stopped saying referees’ names at WWE, that was Kevin Dunn. He went to Vince and said that referees are irrelevant, and he told Vince that nobody pays to see a referee, so that’s why they stopped saying our names on WWE television.” [2:13:54-2:14:15]
In 2009, Elias officiated The Undertaker’s WrestleMania 25 victory over Shawn Michaels. The memorable encounter is considered to be one of the greatest matches in WWE history.
Vince McMahon's WWE referees no longer receive royalties
On this day in 2009 I was involved in the greatest WM match in history. Thank you @ShawnMichaels @WWE #Undertaker #wm25 https://t.co/KD4cyTV230
As WWE performers themselves, referees used to receive royalties in the same way superstars do if a show does well financially.
Marty Elias added that WWE’s Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis brought an end to their royalty checks in the mid-2000s:
“Right around that time when I was just getting into WWE, John Laurinaitis decided that referees didn’t deserve royalties, so they f***ing took all the royalties away from referees.” [2:14:20-2:14:32]
Elias was fired by WWE in 2009 shortly after he arrived at an arena wearing a KISS t-shirt instead of regular WWE clothing.
Laurinaitis claimed the decision was due to budget cuts, but the referee thinks the t-shirt incident ultimately led to his release.
Please credit the Chat Grapple and Cheap Pops Podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling if you use quotes from this article.