AEW referees have plenty to worry about during live television, but apparently getting wrestlers to actually listen to them can sometimes be part of the problem. Bryce Remsburg revealed that while most talent cooperate with instructions during matches, there are occasions where wrestlers simply choose to ignore what the referee is telling them.
Speaking on The Certified Mark Show, Remsburg explained that referees are constantly receiving instructions through their earpieces during AEW television. Tony Khan is one of several people who can speak directly to him while he’s working a match.
“Sure. So I have—there are, I believe, four people that can talk to me. Tony Khan, boss, booker. He’s timing the show. He’s head of creative. Everything he sees and wants is on him.”
The show’s director is also feeding Remsburg information about commercial breaks, replays and other production cues. Meanwhile, the match producer and ringside medical staff have their own lines of communication with the referee.
“I have the director of the show basically telling us when we’re going to commercial break, telling us when we’re coming out of commercial break, tells me when to hold a belt up to the camera, tells me when I can take the belt down from the camera, tells me when we’re going into replay, all that good stuff.”
“I have the coach of the match, which is the producer, coach, whatever you want to call it. They kind of are the conduit between the wrestlers and the television product. They’re telling you what to look out for. They can talk to the camera guys, and then I can talk to the doctor or medical professional that’s at ringside.”
Most of what Remsburg then passes along to the wrestlers involves timing, but that’s not all. Referees can also tell talent to adjust their positioning or appearance so everything comes across properly on television.
“Most are time-related. But sometimes it’s, you know, ‘Hey, we can’t see your face. Your hair is in your face. Your tag is out on your tights.’ If they’re turned sideways, tell them to turn so hard cam can see that because ultimately what we’re doing is a television product.”
Remsburg explained that keeping everything on track is especially important because one match running long can screw with the rest of the show. If the opening match goes several minutes over, everyone scheduled afterwards could end up paying for it.
“If the first match goes four or five minutes over time, that’s an egregious sin. You’ve now taken time away from the rest of the show, and that’s not—you know, the wrestlers don’t want to be responsible for that, and the referee doesn’t want to be responsible for the one that’s giving poor messaging. So we’re all just doing our best to keep the ship on track.”
That’s where things can occasionally get tricky. Remsburg said Tony Khan and AEW’s coaches understand that referees are doing their best to relay those instructions, but that doesn’t necessarily mean every wrestler is going to listen.
“I think that the coach and Tony look out for the referees, definitely. He sees us hustling. He sees what we’re trying to do. The coach understands that, you know, while we are sometimes doing our best to relay messages and make people go on time, some matches are going to go over time. Some wrestlers are going to do their best to listen to the referee. Some wrestlers are going to choose not to listen to the referee.”
Remsburg made sure not to make it sound like AEW has wrestlers ignoring referees every week. According to him, it doesn’t happen very often, but there are still those occasional moments where the talent decides not to follow the message being passed along.
“That happens sometimes. Not very often, but once in a while. And at the end of the day, I think as long as the coaches and Tony see us doing our best, you know, that’s that.”
Remsburg didn’t name anyone who has ignored instructions or reveal what happened afterwards. Still, his comments offer an interesting look at what referees have to deal with while trying to keep AEW’s live shows on schedule, especially when a wrestler decides they aren’t going to play along.
What do you think about Bryce Remsburg revealing that some AEW talent occasionally ignore instructions from referees during matches? Let us know in the comments below.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
