A Closer Look At…Tommy Young

In the long history of professional wrestling,  many people have come into the industry and forever changed it. Most of the performers who had a lasting impact on wrestling were wrestlers themselves. Whether it was pioneers like Gorgeous George introducing showmanship and flamboyancy, Terry Funk bringing hardcore brawling to new heights, Dusty Rhodes proving that charisma and interview skills could make a man a superstar, Vader showing that the big men of the sport could work just as fantastic a match as the smaller men, or the Rock teaching everyone that wrestling could be a jumping off point for greater stardom, many grapplers have come in and changed the way we think about professional wrestling. Some of the men who changed the sport were managers, some were announcers, some promoters or bookers. But one of the most overlooked men who had a lasting effect on the wrestling world was not a wrestler, an announcer, a manager, booker or promoter. He was a referee by the name of Tommy Young.

For years, the pro wrestling referee was an afterthought. To the wrestlers in the ring with him, the referee was and still is an essential piece of what they do. The referee is in charge of making sure the match runs for the correct length of time. He relays messages from the producers in the back to the wrestlers in the ring, as well as from one wrestler to another. He makes sure the men participating in the match are physically OK and if something happens to one of the wrestlers, it is up to the referee to improvise and cover for him, or come up with an ending to the match. The referee acts as prompter, making sure that wrestlers remember pre-determined spots and it is up to the referee to make sure the correct outcome is reached. However, all of those things are done only for the benefit of the wrestlers in the match. For many years, referees did not realize that they are also a part of the show, somebody that the crowd is seeing as part of the match. The first man to really understand this was Tommy Young.

Tommy Young wanted to be a professional wrestler, but he just wasn’t good enough. Wanting to still be a part of the business, Young became a referee. In the days before Young stepped between the ropes as an official, referees did all of the things mentioned above to aid the wrestlers put on their matches, but the referee’s own performance was an afterthought. Yes, the counted the pins, called for the bells when a man submitted, counted people out of the ring and the like, but they did so in a very uninspired manner, as if they were just going through the motions. Tommy Young was the first man to realize that referees were just as visible to an audience as the wrestlers were. With this realization, Young started to give a more believable performance as an in-ring official.

When big moves were hit, Young would react. As the man closest to the action, the referee has the best seat in the house. If a move was high impact enough, Young would flinch, or give a facial expression, letting the crowd know just how devastating the move was. Tommy Young was very vocal in his admonishing of the rule breakers, making sure they knew he was on to their tricks and watching their every move. He enforced all the rules, even ones most referees forgot about, like five counting a man if he was in the corner stalling. If a wrestler was in the familiar position of being against the turnbuckles with his opponent standing on the middle ropes landing punches to his head, the referee would always count for him to stop. but Tommy Young would go that little extra, sticking himself between the ropes to make sure he was face to face with the wrestler bending the rules.

Perhaps nowhere did Tommy Young add more flair to his role than when he was counting a pin. When one wrestler pinned another, Young didn’t just jog over and make the count. Tommy would slide into position, getting there as quick as possible, making a great show of his effort to get into position for the pin count as soon as possible. He would also slide his hands under a wrestler’s shoulder blades, making sure he actually was pinned, if there was any doubt. Young’s dramatic counting of pins added that little something extra that seemed to make the three count a little more important when it finally occured.

Tommy Young was such a fantastic official that he became the unofficial referee of none other than NWA World Champion Ric Flair. Young was Flair’s favorite referee and requested that Tommy referee all of his matches. For most of the 1980s, if you watch a Ric Flair match, Tommy Young is the referee for it. As the senior official for Jim Crockett promotions, any match refereed by Tommy Young took on a little air of importance that other matches were lacking. Fans knew that if Tommy Young was the referee, this match was one that really meant something.

While it’s true that fans buy tickets to see wrestlers, not referees, Tommy Young still had a lasting impression on the business. Many of his innovations are still being used today, and some of the current crop of referees, most notably Charles Robinson, have mentioned Tommy Young as an influence on their own style of officiating. Tommy Young’s performances set the standard for what a wrestling referee should do. He was able to add just a subtle bit of style to a match, without drawing attention to himself or making himself the focal point of the match. He was able to take the referee position and use it to enhance the performance of the men in the ring with him, giving matches he was involved in that tiny little edge. Many times a match just felt special and it was hard to pinpoint exactly why that match stood out over others on the same card. A lot of time, it was because of the subtle brilliance of Tommy Young, the greatest wrestling referee of them all.