TWI #25 What Counts As Professional When The Crowd Wants Blood

Send us Fan MailThe moment the crowd starts chanting “get the ref”, you know you’re in trouble. What I didn’t know was how far that chant was about to go, and how quickly a wild hardcore match can turn into something you never agreed to.We’re closing out the last part of my “shit show trilogy” with a two night Australian wrestling weekend that starts on a low note, because I’ve just brought home the ashes of my dog. I still show up to referee, thinking wrestling might clear my head, but night one already feels off: Mexican talent with a totally different way of calling spots, a loose plan, and matches where the ref is suddenly part of the action. I break down what it’s like trying to referee around that, including the head spin of working a championship match with Blue Demon Jr and being told to do things that don’t match how our crowds read a good guy and a bad guy.Then night two hits, and it’s full chaos. LA Park and his sons run a hardcore extreme rules match by feel, and I’m repeatedly dragged into stomps, whips and chops even though I’m not trained for it. When the chant turns on me, it becomes very real, very fast, and I’m left with marks I didn’t expect and a big question about professionalism, consent, and safety in pro wrestling.If you’re into behind the scenes wrestling stories, referee perspective, lucha libre culture clashes, and the messy truth of indie wrestling, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share it with a mate, and leave a review with your take: was it just part of the show, or way out of line?