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Glass Jaw Referee

 Glass Jaw Referee
type
FeatureClass
 Glass Jaw Referee
label
Glass Jaw Referee
 Glass Jaw Referee
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GlassJawReferee
 Glass Jaw Referee
comment
Known as a ref bump in Professional Wrestling parlance, it is common in pro wrestling matches for one of the wrestlers to knock over the referee during the course of the match, usually inadvertently. Apparently, this puts the referee in a comatose state of sorts in which he is completely oblivious to his surroundings. This can reach ludicrous extremes; a referee that is barely clipped may be rendered "unconscious" for several minutes at a time. In addition to having the shortest attention span of all organisms in the known universe, pro wrestling referees are apparently the weakest as well.
Since pro wrestling referees do not rule on anything they don't personally witness (remember, if the ref didn't see it, it didn't happen), this gives the Heel ample opportunity to call out his cronies or locate a foreign object. Alternatively, the referee may be knocked out just as the Face pins the heel. In either scenario, bonus points are awarded if the referee "awakens" just as the heel begins pinning the face. More if he wakes in time to see the face turning the tables with a foreign object on the heel.
From a Kayfabe standpoint, the main function of ref bumping is to allow such dirty tactics to continue, since obviously any ref with two functioning eyes and half of a functioning brain would halt the match at the first sign of underhanded activity. By removing the ref as a factor for a period of time, the watchers are able to continue enjoying the match without getting hit by a heavy dose of Fridge Logic, and therefore keep the spectacle going.
A variation of this, which may have originated as a subversion, is for a second referee to eventually come rushing out and assume control. In a Double Subversion, this second referee may also be knocked out. Just as likely, though, the first ref comes to, and both refs rule the match in favor of a different wrestler/team (which, in particularly rare and hilarious instances, can result in the refs themselves duking it out). In fact, even if a fellow wrestler is performing the referee duties, they can sometimes be knocked out or incapacitated by a move they would shrug off while competing in a match, though most promotions are getting better about this. Still, for the "normal" referees, it's not uncommon for even the show's own announcers to suggest a stiff wind would knock a ref out. While today seldom does a pay-per-view go by without this coming into play at some point, it was a relatively rare occurrence in mainstream American pro wrestling until around the mid-1990s.
It should be noted, however, that in Real Life the refs are as durable as the wrestlers they are in the ring with, and ref bumping itself is taken with a huge dose of kayfabe as part of the show. Performance or not, these are still 200-pound masses of muscle and adrenaline throwing themselves around, and even a "partial contact" hit can deal some serious damage to you if you're not as durable as they are.
 Glass Jaw Referee
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2023-11-21T20:16:39Z
 Glass Jaw Referee
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2023-11-21T20:16:39Z
 Glass Jaw Referee
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 Glass Jaw Referee
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 Glass Jaw Referee
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ConversedTrope
 Glass Jaw Referee
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DBTropes
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_2372fc33
type
Glass Jaw Referee
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_2372fc33
comment
The main event of SummerSlam 91 featured a notable aversion. It was Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior vs. the Triangle of Terror (Sgt. Slaughter/Col. Mustafa (The Iron Sheik)/Gen. Adnan [Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissie]), with Sid Justice (Sid Vicious/Sycho Sid) as special referee. Meaning, wrestlers would collide with Sid and he wouldn't actually move.
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_2372fc33
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-1.0
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_2372fc33
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1.0
 SummerSlam (Wrestling)
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Glass Jaw Referee / int_2372fc33
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_24d74e86
type
Glass Jaw Referee
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_24d74e86
comment
Averted by the Pro Wrestling Guerilla referee Rick Knox, who is liable to kick the ass of any wrestler who tries to mess with him.
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_24d74e86
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-1.0
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_24d74e86
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1.0
 Pro Wrestling Guerilla (Wrestling)
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Glass Jaw Referee / int_24d74e86
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_2f8f16ed
type
Glass Jaw Referee
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_2f8f16ed
comment
Eddie Guerrero loved taking advantage of this trope. When the ref was out, he'd often try and get his opponent disqualified by pretending he'd been hit with a foreign object when the ref came to. Occasionally he'd knock the ref out himself and try to get his opponent blamed for it. His match with Chris Benoit at Vengeance 2003 is a particularly classic instance of this. His final match, against Mr. Kennedy, had this same trope. After Kennedy was disqualified for "using a chair" on Eddie, Kennedy actually did use one — hard — saying "DISQUALIFY THAT!!" It was a bit Harsher in Hindsight, but no one knew what was about to happen, unfortunately.
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_2f8f16ed
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1.0
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_2f8f16ed
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 Eddie Guerrero (Wrestling)
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Glass Jaw Referee / int_2f8f16ed
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_35e88987
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Glass Jaw Referee
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_35e88987
comment
In a most absurd case, decorated amateur athlete, mixed martial artist for the UFC and NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dan Severn was portrayed this way during Owen Hart's feud with Ken Shamrock. Whether Severn turning heel and becoming Owen's personal trainer makes up for it or not is a matter of opinion.
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_35e88987
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1.0
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_35e88987
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1.0
 National Wrestling Alliance (Wrestling)
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Glass Jaw Referee / int_35e88987
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_5ae0b268
type
Glass Jaw Referee
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_5ae0b268
comment
In a TNA match, Chris Sabin of the Motor/Murder City Machine Guns inadvertently knocked out the referee in a match against Team 3D. Sabin then got knocked out and Brother Ray of Team 3D pinned him, at which point another referee came out and counted the three count. AT THE SAME TIME as this was happening, Alex Shelley of the MCMG pinned Brother Devon of Team 3D, and the original referee woke up in time to make that three count. Cue the two referees arguing over whose count was the real one; eventually it was ruled a no-contest.
Subverted by Shane Sewell, whose Puerto Rican wrestling background was noted and well-documented throughout his time as a TNA referee. Especially during Sheik Abdul Bashir'snote better known for his time in WWE as Daivari matches as X-Division Champion, when it was almost expected for Sewell to beat the shit out of Bashir after the match, regardless of all the storyline reasons against it.
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_5ae0b268
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-0.3
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_5ae0b268
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 TNA
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Glass Jaw Referee / int_5ae0b268
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_7e62d5c2
type
Glass Jaw Referee
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_7e62d5c2
comment
SHIMMER referees have been known to be knocked off their feet simply by being shouted at.
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_7e62d5c2
featureApplicability
1.0
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_7e62d5c2
featureConfidence
1.0
 SHIMMER (Wrestling)
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Glass Jaw Referee / int_7e62d5c2
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_aa8a643c
type
Glass Jaw Referee
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_aa8a643c
comment
On an episode of Raw in 2013, a match between Daniel Bryan and Wade Barrett was interfered with when Vince McMahon came down to ringside and very slowly pulled the ref out of the ring to break up a pin. Despite not even really being hurt in any way, the ref stayed down long enough for the Bryan/Barrett match to continue, with Vince calling Brad Maddox down as the new ref, Bryan beating up Maddox, Triple H coming down to finish the match as ref, and a dramatic appearance by Randy Orton. The last one closed out the show and the ref was still laying on the ground, selling the small tumble he took roughly five minutes earlier.
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_aa8a643c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_aa8a643c
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1.0
 Bryan Danielson (Wrestling)
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Glass Jaw Referee / int_aa8a643c
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_c6b738c4
type
Glass Jaw Referee
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_c6b738c4
comment
Possibly the most over-the-top example of this may be a tag match at ROH's Manhattan Mayhem II show on August 25, 2008... where the referee was knocked out long enough for the Vulture Squad stable to debut, leading to a three way melee with weapons and high spots to break out, and for the match to be decided with the ref none the wiser.
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_c6b738c4
featureApplicability
1.0
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_c6b738c4
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1.0
 Ring of Honor (Wrestling)
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Glass Jaw Referee / int_c6b738c4
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_cb8f7af1
type
Glass Jaw Referee
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_cb8f7af1
comment
The original Dusty Finish comes to mind. After being ousted due to an injury by The Four Horsemen, Dusty Rhodes got his chance at comeuppance against the then-NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Ric Flair, at Starrcade 1985, The Gathering's main event. Late in the match, referee Tommy Young was knocked clear out of the ring with two referee bumps. The Horsemen used this opportunity to jump Dusty, sending both Ole and Arn Anderson to attack Rhodes' injury. Rhodes persevered, and a second referee counted a small-package pin on Dusty, apparently (and to the appearance of all watching the show) making Rhodes NWA Champion for the third time. This was reversed (and the trope subverted) when Young noted on the next week's television that he had seen the interference, thereby disqualifying Flair, Flair retaining the title through the Champion's Advantage.
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_cb8f7af1
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-0.3
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_cb8f7af1
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1.0
 The Four Horsemen (Wrestling)
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Glass Jaw Referee / int_cb8f7af1
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_cc4c3b88
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Glass Jaw Referee
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_cc4c3b88
comment
Kurt Angle vs the then-WWE Champion John Cena at Survivor Series 2005 was a particularly hilarious instance of this trope. Angle had his own personal referee, Daivari, who was determined to make Angle win. Cena, after several pin falls that should have been three counts, realized he could hit the ref and Angle wouldn't allow Daivari to disqualify him because it would cost Angle the belt. Eventually Daivari got inadvertently knocked out of the ring, and another ref came in. This ref was later knocked out by Angle so that he could bring Daivari back into the ring (still unconscious despite a relatively minor fall), but instead another ref came in, who ended up being knocked out as well, and then yet another referee who also only got knocked out, by which time Raw was out of referees and they sent in one from SmackDown!. When Daivari finally came back in, he received a DDT from Cena. By the time the match was over, the ring was littered with the bodies of four unconscious referees.
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_cc4c3b88
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1.0
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_cc4c3b88
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1.0
 Kurt Angle (Wrestling)
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Glass Jaw Referee / int_cc4c3b88
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_fcc7ec6b
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Glass Jaw Referee
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_fcc7ec6b
comment
Triple H vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania 17 was very over the top about this. The referee got knocked down early on in the match. The two spent at least ten minutes brawling all over the arena. This included doing things that should have gotten them disqualified (not to mention counted out). By the time they returned to the ring, the ref still took a while to recover.
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_fcc7ec6b
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1.0
 Glass Jaw Referee / int_fcc7ec6b
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 Triple H (Wrestling)
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Glass Jaw Referee / int_fcc7ec6b

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Glass Jaw Referee
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Sleep and Wakefulness Tropes
 Glass Jaw Referee
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Undead Horse Trope
 Pokémon World Tour: United (Podcast) / int_e4b972f7
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Glass Jaw Referee
 WWE Video Games (Video Game) / int_e4b972f7
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Glass Jaw Referee
 Furry Fight Chronicles (Webcomic) / int_e4b972f7
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Glass Jaw Referee
 Black Rose (Wrestling) / int_e4b972f7
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Glass Jaw Referee
 Carlito Colón (Wrestling) / int_e4b972f7
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Glass Jaw Referee
 Celtic Championship Wrestling (Wrestling) / int_e4b972f7
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Glass Jaw Referee
 Daizee Haze (Wrestling) / int_e4b972f7
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Glass Jaw Referee
 Eddie Guerrero (Wrestling) / int_e4b972f7
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Glass Jaw Referee
 Impact Wrestling (Wrestling) / int_e4b972f7
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Glass Jaw Referee
 Jacqueline (Wrestling) / int_e4b972f7
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Glass Jaw Referee
 Jeff Jarrett (Wrestling) / int_e4b972f7
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Glass Jaw Referee
 Mickie James (Wrestling) / int_e4b972f7
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Glass Jaw Referee
 National Wrestling Alliance (Wrestling) / int_e4b972f7
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Glass Jaw Referee
 SHIMMER (Wrestling) / int_e4b972f7
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Glass Jaw Referee
 Stevie Richards (Wrestling) / int_e4b972f7
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Glass Jaw Referee
 "Stone Cold" Steve Austin (Wrestling) / int_e4b972f7
type
Glass Jaw Referee
 Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (Wrestling) / int_e4b972f7
type
Glass Jaw Referee