Ref’s Role

The official in a pro wrestling match is there to enforce the rules (at least sometimes, when he isn’t distracted.)  He represents law and order — the “establishment.” He brings an aura of legitimacy and authority to an otherwise fantastic and out-of-control chaos.

But the ref fulfills another role as well:  he is the ultimate spectator, watching the action just as we are watching the action.  He therefore is there to represent us, the viewer, because he is the on-looker, the Male Gazer, the eyes on the action.

After all, if two studs wrestled in a forest and nobody was there to watch it, does pro wrestling occur?

Most referees look and dress like regular guys.  Instead of spectacular, super-human athletes — they are one of us.  This makes it easier for us to see the match through the ref’s eyes, to accept him as our agent.  The ref watches  the wrestlers — the objects of his gaze — just as we watch the wrestling passively as well.

The ref also shows concern for the Baby-Face, asking if he’s OK or wants to submit.  His compassion inspires our compassion.

The ref fulfills our own desires to protect and rescue the helpless victim.  He is the savior that we wish we could be.  He is our representative, stopping that awful, despicable punishment by the bully as best he can, protecting our beloved Baby-Face.

The ref will often press the flesh, resting a hand on a muscle, feeling the strength and warmth of the wrestler’s body.  As the representative of the audience, he is fulfilling the viewers’ own desires to feel the wrestler’s flesh themselves, to reach out and touch that ideal male body.

Seeing the ref pat down a wrestler before the bout, checking him up and down for foreign objects, causes us to take notice of the wrestler’s body and to want to touch it ourselves.  After all, an official could search the wrestlers backstage just before they walk into the arena, but instead, this time-consuming ritual is deliberately and blatantly performed in the ring, in front of our eyes as we sit and watch jealously as the ref cops a feel, waiting for the wrestling to begin.

The ref is often ignored and disrespected by the wrestlers (particularly the Heels.)  The wrestlers are often larger and more physically imposing than the ref, and will not obey his orders.

Most of the fans can relate to the ref’s apparent powerlessness and impotence, feeling down-trodden and over-whelmed in their own lives.  The brutality and danger of the Heel is magnified by the fact that he disregards the ref’s orders and continues his illegal tactics without restraint.  His disdain for law and order adds to the audience’s hatred for (and fear of) the brutal Heel.