_(cropped).jpg) Robinson in 2014 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Charles Shane Robinson (1964-07-02)July 2, 1964 (age 61) |
Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Charles Robinson[1] Little Naitch[1] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) |
| Billed weight | 150 lb (68 kg) |
| Billed from | Charlotte, North Carolina[1] |
| Debut | 1995 |
Charles Shane Robinson (born July 2, 1964) is an Americanprofessional wrestlingsenior referee, ring crew member and former professional wrestler. He is signed toWWE on theSmackDown brand.
Robinson debuted in 1995 as a photographer before signing withWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1997. During his WCW run, he was referred to as "Little Naitch", as a jab toRic Flair. When WCW's assets were sold to the World Wrestling Federation in 2001, he debuted as an evil referee withinThe Alliance. After The Alliance was disbanded, he became the main referee for the SmackDown brand in 2002. Robinson became the brand's senior referee following the departure ofMike Chioda in 2020.
While growing up, Robinson idolizedNWA superstarRic Flair. He also studiedNWA refereeTommy Young in order to hone his mannerisms as a referee. His professional wrestling career began when he joined thePro Wrestling Federation (PWF) as aphotographer in 1995. After being used as aspecial guest referee in 1995, he later became a full-time referee for the PWF.[1]
Robinson repeatedly petitioned theWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW)professional wrestling promotion for a job.[1] On September 15, 1997, he was given a tryout match, refereeing adark match betweenChris Adams andKendall Windham beforeWCW Monday Nitro at Independence Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. A few weeks following the match, Robinson was contacted by WCW and signed to a contract. His first appearance was during the WCW TV tapings at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.
In 1999, Robinson became theheel referee of theFour Horsemen, aligning himself withFlair.[2] Robinson frequently favored the Horsemen in the matches he officiated, enragingRandy Savage. Savage, who had been suspended by Flair (then theWCW President), proposed a match between his girlfriend,Gorgeous George, and Robinson, with Savage to be reinstated if George defeated Robinson.[1] The match, which marked Robinson's wrestling debut, took place atSlamboree 1999 on May 9, 1999.[1][3] Robinson, dubbed "Little Naitch" (a reference to Flair's nickname, the "Nature Boy"), came to the ring in a robe similar to those worn by Flair, and mimicked Flair's mannerisms, signature strut and "wooo" catchphrase.[3][4] Robinson emulated Flair throughout the match, using Flair's customary illegal tactics, but was defeated by George, who pinned him following adiving elbow drop. Robinson wrestled his second match one week later, teaming with Flair to face Randy Savage andMadusa on an episode ofWCW Monday Nitro.[1] In the course of the match, Savage delivered abotched diving elbow drop to Robinson, cracking several of hisvertebrae andcollapsing his lung.[1] After undergoing treatment, Robinson returned to WCW television several weeks later, and was appointed to President Flair's stable. Flair and Piperkayfabe ran WCW until they were unseated bySting, with Robinson returning to his refereeing duties.
Robinson would again turn heel in the Fall of 1999, this time siding with Sid Vicious and Rick Steiner. Robinson would get involved in matches he was refereeing for Vicious and Steiner. This would go on for a month before Robinson would go back to being an unbiased Referee. In 2000, Robinson appeared in the WCW-produced filmReady to Rumble. On March 26, 2001, onNitro, Robinson refereed the last WCW match ever, where Sting defeated Ric Flair via submission.
When WCW's properties were purchased by theWorld Wrestling Federation fromAOL Time Warner in March 2001, Robinson was hired by the WWF.[1] He debuted in the WWF as a member ofThe Alliance, bickering with WWF loyalist refereeJack Doan and accompanying senior WCW officialNick Patrick to ringside for his match atInvasion on July 22, 2001.[5] He refereed his first WWF match on July 2, 2001.[5] Despite being a member of the Alliance, Robinson, unlike fellow Alliance memberNick Patrick, was mostly a fair and impartial referee. An example of this would be the August 20, 2001 episode ofRaw when he awardedTajiri a victory overBooker T by disqualification when Booker T started choking Tajiri with his shirt. The night before atSummerSlam, Robinson refereed Booker T's match against the Rock and called the match right down the middle as the Rock won theWCW Championship.
In 2002, the WWF was renamed "World Wrestling Entertainment", and the roster was divided between two "brands",Raw andSmackDown!. Robinson was initially assigned toRaw, but was later traded toSmackDown!, where he refereed many women's matches. On the July 1, 2004, episode ofSmackDown!, Robinson was forced to wrestleLuther Reigns byGeneral ManagerKurt Angle.[6] The match, however, was quickly stopped byCharlie Haas.[6]
AtNo Mercy 2006, Robinson, who had refereed a match betweenMr. Kennedy andThe Undertaker, was on the receiving end of aTombstone Piledriver from the Undertaker after he had called for him to be disqualified after hitting Mr. Kennedy with hisWWE United States Championship belt.[7] Robinson also officiated theWorld Heavyweight Championship matches atWrestleMania 22,WrestleMania 23, as well as Ric Flair's final WWE match and the last part of the World Heavyweight Championship match atWrestleMania XXIV.[8][9] Two years later he refereed the main event ofWrestleMania XXVI, the retirement match ofShawn Michaels.
On the June 20, 2008, episode ofSmackDown, Robinson was placed in a match byGeneral ManagerVickie Guerrero after ejectingChavo Guerrero Jr. from ringside duringBam Neely's match withMatt Hardy. He lost toThe Great Khali in asquash match.[10] After the match he was carried out by medical officials. He returned in a match betweenEdge andThe Big Show, where he stopped Big Show from giving acon-chair-to to Edge.[11] In November 2008 referees were made no longer exclusive to certain brands. Robinson has worked the final matches ofEddie Guerrero,Edge, andShawn Michaels, as well asRic Flair's WWE retirement match atWrestleMania XXIV. He also refereedTriple H's successful victory againstSting atWrestleMania 31. This was Sting's first match in WWE, and Sting personally chose Robinson as the referee. Robinson also refereed the match betweenBrock Lesnar andThe Undertaker atSummerSlam where the match ended in controversy after Undertaker tapped out to Lesnar. Even though Robinson didn't see Undertaker tapping, the timekeeper saw it and rang the bell. Undertaker then hit Lesnar with a low blow and made Lesnar pass out toHell's Gate. In a post-match backstage interview, Robinson admitted that, after watching the replays, Undertaker did tap out, but he also confirmed that it didn't matter if the timekeeper or the crowd saw it, and that as long as Robinson didn't call for the bell, the match would continue, due to him being the referee and the official. AtPayback on May 1, 2016, he refereed the match betweenCharlotte (with her father Ric Flair) andNatalya (withBret Hart) for theWWE Women's Championship. During the match, Robinson called for the bell when Charlotte had Natalya in the sharpshooter despite Natalya not submitting. This was similar to theMontreal Screwjob ofSurvivor Series 1997, when Bret Hart lost theWWF Championship.[12] Robinson was one of the referees assigned to the inauguralWWE Cruiserweight Classic.
In 2016, Robinson has appeared as an uncredited cameo in the filmCountdown.
Since 2002, Robinson has been a part of the WWE production and ring crew, helping assemble and disassemble the ring and set before and after shows.
In April 2020, Robinson becameSmackDown`s senior official referee, after SmackDown's senior official refereeMike Chioda was released from his WWE contract as part of budget cuts stemming from theCOVID-19 pandemic.
He once had his elbow knocked out of its socket while refereeing a match in the PWF inGastonia, North Carolina. Fire Breaker Chip accidentally kicked Charles's elbow during a pin attempt. He was out of action for 4 months.[13]
On April 18, 2014, while traveling with the WWE inSaudi Arabia, Robinson suffered a freak accident while helping assemble the wrestling ring, resulting in him nearly losing his thumb. The injury required six stitches.
On January 29, 2017, during the Royal Rumble PPV, Robinson was refereeing the WWE Championship Match betweenJohn Cena andAJ Styles when he tore theplantar fascia on his left foot seven minutes into the match. He completed the match, but was subsequently out of action for two months, during which he underwent successful surgery. He returned on March 25, 2017, during a WWE SmackDown Live house show in Johnson City. He made his television return on the March 28, 2017 episode of 205 Live.[14]
On July 11, 2017, episode ofSmackDown, Robinson's left index finger was mildly fractured byBaron Corbin while he refereed Corbin's match againstShinsuke Nakamura.
Robinson's likeness appears as the referee inTHQ'sWWE 12,WWE 13, and2K SportsWWE 2K14,WWE 2K15,WWE 2K16,WWE 2K24, andWWE 2K25.
On October 11, 2000, Robinson married a woman named Amy, who was diagnosed withmelanoma of thelung in January 2001 and died on April 7, 2002.[5] He has a daughter named Jessica from a previous relationship.[1] He is a Christian.[15]
Tombstoned referee Charles Robinson for disqualifying him
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | WWE SmackDown Senior Referee 2020–present | Succeeded by None |
