Welcome to another eWrestlingNews Question of the Day!

A discussion was brought up on the Refin’ It Up podcast about it being time WWE recognized the work of referees and inducted some of them into the Hall of Fame.

My question for you today is “Do you think referees should be inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame?”

Remember to answer with your response in the comments below.

As far as my answer…

Absolutely. Frankly, I don’t see an argument against it, and I think WWE needs to expand the Hall of Fame to include other roles, too. If commentators and managers and interviewers can be inducted (and should), then why not referees? On top of that, I’ll die on the hill that Jim Johnston needs to be inducted for his musical contributions.

Obviously, referees aren’t going to be as much of a “draw” for the viewing audience as Superstar wrestlers. Given a choice, Batista’s going to headline far more than Charles Robinson. But the WWE Hall of Fame should honor everyone who is responsible for the product being successful, and the referees are a big portion of that. If they aren’t doing their jobs, the matches are terrible and the production and editing all suffer. Many of them are also setting up the ring all the time and doing other roles, too. Mike Chioda, John Cone, and so on have some of the longest tenures of anyone in the company, too.

Eventually, Jessika Carr should be inducted, too, for really setting the tone for a female referee.

The only argument I could see people having is a “nobody cares” approach of not wanting to hear their Hall of Fame speeches. If that is even the case, just solve the issue by not airing their speeches during the ceremony. Give them their rings and plaques and do a little YouTube video behind the scenes for the people who do care to be able to see and hear them. Lump the referees and some other people together in a quick “also, these following people were inducted” clip reel similar to how the technical awards are presented at the Oscars.

I say 100% open the doors and let the referees in. Give them their flowers.

What do you think? Drop your thoughts below!