Strummer Posted July 19, 2005 Report Share Posted July 19, 2005 Earl Hebner fired by WWE by Dave Meltzer [email protected] Earl Hebner, the most well known referee in U.S. pro wrestling, was fired earlier today by WWE, allegedly for selling merchandise without authorization. Reports that Dave Hebner was fired are said to be incorrect at the moment, although he was alleged to be involved and has been disciplined. Earl Hebner has been with the company since 1988 when he played the role of heel Dave Hebner in the Andre the Giant title win over Hulk Hogan in Indianapolis. He's easily the most famous referee in pro wrestling history, stemming from his officiating the 1997 Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels match in Montreal where he ordered the bell rung on Hart. He was belived to have been the highest paid referee in the history of pro wrestling since that time as a reward for choosing to do what the company asked of him after promising not to do so to Hart, one of his best friends in the company. He had refereed most main events on PPV for the past decade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted July 19, 2005 Report Share Posted July 19, 2005 I guess this is justice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cawthon777 Posted July 19, 2005 Report Share Posted July 19, 2005 I wouldn't be surprised to see him back in the ring before anyone has a chance to miss him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted July 19, 2005 Report Share Posted July 19, 2005 I'm also confused about what type of merchandise Earl Hebner would sell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffey Posted July 19, 2005 Report Share Posted July 19, 2005 YES! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cam Chaos Posted July 19, 2005 Report Share Posted July 19, 2005 I wouldn't be surprised to see him back in the ring before anyone has a chance to miss him.WWE merchandise where the sales go into his pocket rather than the company account, I suppose. This is like a member of the board getting booted for selling office supplies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EastCoastJ Posted July 19, 2005 Report Share Posted July 19, 2005 Wow, this is seriously shocking. I was certain Earl Hebner and Howard Finkel would be the two guys you'd be most certain would be appearing at Wrestlemania XXX. Hebner must have been running some serious scam to get himself fired, because I don't think WWE would drop him over something minor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sadik Posted July 19, 2005 Report Share Posted July 19, 2005 My thoughts are senior referee or not if he was doing what has been alleged i.e, selling merchandise without authorisation then he deserved what he got Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dazed Posted July 20, 2005 Report Share Posted July 20, 2005 I'm sad to see his hugely telegraphed 2.9 counts disappear. Actually, I'm not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted July 20, 2005 Report Share Posted July 20, 2005 I'll miss his horribly contrived ref bumps more, how will HHH win a match now that he won't have Earl launching himself in the path of every Irish Whip? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mac Posted July 21, 2005 Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 Dave Hebner has been fired too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted July 21, 2005 Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 I can honestly say I'm shocked. I thought nothing short of a dead hooker would get either Hebner (but especially Earl) fired. Then again, they were caught with their hand in the only cookie jar that's increasing in revenue so they should have known what they were messing with. Where does this leave Brian Hebner? It'd be odd to go to work after your dad and uncle got caught pocketing company money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted July 21, 2005 Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 He'll soon be known as the Sole Survivor Of The Hebner Family and both Nick Patrick and Charles Robinson will refuse to do programs with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest teke184 Posted July 21, 2005 Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 I'm surprised they didn't can Brian as well... Brian's had a known attitude problem, which resulted in him being shifted from one show to the other at least once due to "personality conflicts' with refs on one of the crews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted July 21, 2005 Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 Hopefully, with Earl gone, and HBK on his last legs, maybe... just maybe... we can put an end to killing off Canadian crowds by reminding them of Montreal every single time they tour our neighbors to the North. It is also one less excuse to remind Candians that they have to bring it up every time the Fed goes passing through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Some Guy Posted July 24, 2005 Report Share Posted July 24, 2005 I never liked Earl Hebner as a ref since he became "senior referee." Once they gave him that tag he started acting as though he was a major part in a match, rather than just the ref. His ego was obvious during matches and it was irritating. Nick Patrick was the same way in WCW. Earl would go out of his way to make sure the fans knew he was the referee in the match and that he was supposedly something special. Other than the accidental ref bump at an IYH in 95 where he got his leg caught in the ropes and was hanging upside (in a pretty funny visual) he sucks at life and refereeing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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