Jimmy Korderas, former WWE referee of over 20 years, wrote a new blog on CSRWrestling.com where he recalls working his first WrestleMania ever. Here’s a sample:
I have had the honor and privilege of participating in 14 WrestleManias in my refereeing career. It is just as much a big deal for a referee to be a part of WrestleMania as it is for the superstars. Trust me, those who have been there can attest to that statement and those who have not had the opportunity will hopefully one day get to experience that feeling. It is extremely difficult to put into words the rush of emotions that one feels when they enter that ring on that special day. Suffice to say that from a referee’s perspective, officiating at WrestleMania should be every refs goal.
I can vividly remember my first WrestleMania as a referee. I had performed other duties at previous Manias but WM IV was my in ring debut. The Trump Plaza Convention Center in Atlantic City was the setting and I was stoked for a few reasons. Not just because it was WrestleMania but I was schedule to ref the opening battle royal with the late Joey Marella. Added to this I was also slated to take not one but two ref bumps this night.
There is one little known fact about the battle royal that occurred during rehearsals Saturday afternoon, the day before WrestleMania. Joey and I were walking through the trophy presentation and we accidentally broke the trophy. As I was passing the trophy up to Joey who was in the ring, the top heavy prize snapped in half. Fortunately for us, the convention center crew was able to help us out by repairing the trophy. Unfortunately for Bret Hart, they repaired it too well. After being double crossed by Bad News Brown, Bret was to smash the trophy to pieces. He tried his best to break it. If you have not seen the footage, go back and check it out. Bret was not only double crossed by Bad News Brown that night; he was unintentionally swerved by the Trump Plaza Convention Center carpenters.
CLICK HERE for memories from the rest of the night and what went right and what went wrong.
