Niall Fox details how important it is for referee's to be a proxy for a promoter.
Referees have an important role in pro wrestling that many know in that they are there to not only officiate the match but also to take care of the talent in the ring. However, there is a lot more to the role of a professional wrestling referee.
While speaking to Fightful's Corey Brennan, Niall "Foxy" Fox detailed how important it is for a referee to be a proxy for the promoter of an event.
"It's very important that you are essentially the proxy for the promoter and if they are given a certain time, it's your job to keep them on that time. Because, again, nobody wants to go to see a four-hour show. No matter how solid of a card you have, people are going to be burnt out. It'd be like that WrestleMania from a few years ago before they started doing two nights. It's just boring now. So my job is to try and keep everyone on a relatively tight schedule. I'll probably get information about, like, right, they have a bit of leeway. They have a bit of leeway. Keep them short. That's my job. I have to try and do my job to the best of my abilities. So does it work all the time? No. People... Some people take the piss. Some people... It's needed because as a referee, you are also the third man in the match. But because the wrestlers are focused on giving you the best match possible, like, yes, we are there to help them put on the best match possible, but we are also there to dictate the pace as well because we have a chance to listen to the crowd and if... we feel that the crowd aren't into it. We can tell them, right, move in, like move on to something else. Let's, let's get this going. Like pick up the pace or all right. They're really into it. Take your time. Let's ride this wave and then we get back into it. So like you can dictate the pace of a match and it's fun. Um, like, especially if you have like, Ireland's been very, very fortunate to have like such Top, top level like talent come in and mix it up with our own and to tell good, great stories as well as put on fantastic matches to be the tour man of that, especially a long running storyline to have a hand in being able to produce a, the best match possible or to help add to the match, whether it be by like, okay, like, Uh, right. Uh, put cheer to the crowd or like hit this and then pose like just something like, or right. Me taking, taking the fall or taking a hit. It's and then, and getting that reaction that gets people like, Oh, like it sucks you in and it adds to the match. So when those really really big like delayed two counts, it just, to get that, like, where everyone is counting and then to deny them of it. Yeah. It's like one, two. Oh yeah. Like that's the reaction. You're just like, they were so ready for it to be true, but it's like, no, we'll take away from you for a moment. It's a brilliant part of it. It's a brilliant part of wrestling."
Foxy will undoubtedly be the official at ScrapperMania 8 in August, with Danhausen being announced for the show earlier this week. You can read more about that here.
Elsewhere in Niall's interview with Fightful, he reflected on some of the biggest bumps he has taken over the course of his career. You can read more here.
