 Hebner in 2017 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Earl William Hebner (1949-05-17)May 17, 1949 (age 76) Richmond, Virginia, U.S. |
Spouses | |
| Children | 2 includingBrian Hebner (wrestling referee) |
| Relative | Dave Hebner (twin brother) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name | Earl Hebner |
| Billed height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
| Billed weight | 161 lb (73 kg) |
| Trained by | Tommy Young |
| Debut | 1977 |
| Retired | 2021 |
Earl William Hebner (born May 17, 1949) is an American retiredprofessional wrestling referee. He is best known for his time as senior referee for theWorld Wrestling Federation (now WWE) from 1988 to 2005. Hebner (along with his identical twin brother,Dave) played a prominent role in the inauguralThe Main Event card in 1988, in whichAndré the Giant controversially defeatedHulk Hogan for theWWF World Heavyweight Championship, as well as the infamous "Montreal Screwjob" during the main event of the1997 Survivor Series. He also participated in a number of storylines, including feuds involving The McMahon–Helmsley Faction andThe Alliance. Hebner was also the senior referee forTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) from 2005 to 2017, and was inducted into theTNA Hall of Fame in 2015.
In 2019, Earl Hebner joinedAll Elite Wrestling, where he was used primarily for main event and title matches.
Hebner officiated matches forJim Crockett Promotions during much of the 1980s. He was the referee during the famous"I Quit" match atStarrcade 1985 betweenTully Blanchard andMagnum T. A. He can be seen at ringside during the first everWarGames match at the 1987Great American Bash as well as the final match of the Bunkhouse Stampede tournament in January 1988.
Just days after that match, Hebner debuted in theWorld Wrestling Federation as a referee during aWWF World Heavyweight Championship match pitting championHulk Hogan against challengerAndré the Giant, which aired live on February 5, 1988, onNBC'sThe Main Event. In the storyline, Hebner's identical twin brotherDave Hebner was the assigned official, but unbeknownst to Hogan, André'smanagerTed DiBiase had bribed the then-unknown Earl Hebner to steal the victory and the championship (Earl and Dave are identical twins, so this was easy to pull off). Earl then counted André'spin against Hogan, even though Hogan's shoulders were clearly off the mat. As André and DiBiase were celebrating (with André quickly "selling" his title to an overjoyed DiBiase), Dave (whom DiBiase had locked in a closet prior to the match) ran to the ring and confronted Earl. The two brothers argued, and then they fought each other in the middle of the ring. Hulk Hogan, figuring out that Dave's "evil twin" had jobbed him out, picked Earl up and gorilla press slammed him over the ropes and onto the aisleway (missing DiBiase). It was part of the storyline for Hogan to lose the title in order for him to start filming onNo Holds Barred.
This match helped set up a 14-man elimination tournament atWrestleMania IV, since WWF PresidentJack Tunney declared the title "vacant" a week afterThe Main Event match as the WWF World Heavyweight Championship "cannot be bought or sold," where the winner would win the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.Vince McMahon paid both Hebners a bonus of$2,500 for participating in the angle.
Meanwhile, the WWF continued to build heat for Earl Hebner through akayfabe "investigative report" published in the promotion's flagship publication,WWF Magazine. The article claimed, through a fictionalbackstory, that Dave had "been plagued by the misdeeds of his brother Earl" throughout their childhoods, citing such examples as Earl's cheating in school and, while posing as Dave, doing such things as bullying fellow students and abandoning Dave's pretty girlfriend on a sidewalk in a slum district at night. The report continued by noting that, despite Dave's appeal of the controversial ending to the Hogan-Andre match atThe Main Event, Tunney had to uphold the decision since Earl was a licensed referee in Indiana (the match took place inIndianapolis); and that, as a result of Earl's cooperation, he became a "very rich" man thanks to a payoff by DiBiase.[1]
However, the "evil twin" referee storyline was quickly dropped when Dave was apparently injured in the aftermath of the Hogan-AndreMain Event match; in a 2001 interview with theWWF RAW Magazine, Dave claimed to have suffered broken ribs as a result of Earl kicking him as part of the angle, forcing Dave out of action until afterWrestleMania IV. The storyline was then shifted to have Earl come clean, and he was the referee when"Macho Man" Randy Savage won the Tournament final at WrestleMania IV against "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.
The most infamous event in Hebner's career—and possibly in the history of professional wrestling in North America—came during the main event of the1997 Survivor Series in what has since been dubbed the "Montreal Screwjob". During a match for the WWF Championship between then championBret Hart and challengerShawn Michaels, Hebner signaled for the timekeeper to ring the bell (signifying the end of the match) while Michaels had Hart in aSharpshooter hold—Hart's long-established signature move—even though Hart visibly had not submitted. Michaels had thus "won" the WWF Championship. This was not the match ending that Hart had asked for. Hebner had, at the behest ofVince McMahon, "screwed" Hart out of the title. The reason for the "screwjob" was that Hart, who would be leaving the company one month later to join a rival promotionWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW), was unwilling to lose the title to Michaels inCanada. Though Hart said that he was willing to vacate the title the next night onWWF Raw, McMahon feared that Hart would leave the company with the title, take the belt to WCW, and disrespect it asMadusa had done in 1995 with theWWF Women's Championship, throwing the belt into a garbage can during a liveNitro show. He therefore decided to remove the title from Hart forcibly, by instructing Hebner (who had previously promised Hart "on his children's lives" that he would not betray him) to signal an end to the bout when Michaels had Hart in a submission hold.
The fallout of thescrewjob led to a large degree of antagonism towards Hebner, McMahon, and Michaels, especially inCanada, where fans often chant "You screwed Bret!" at the offending parties. In the same vein, Earl's sonBrian Hebner, a former WWE referee on theSmackDown! brand and currentImpact Wrestling referee, received chants of "Your dad screwed Bret!" at shows in Canada. However, onRight After Wrestling, hosted byArda Ocal andJimmy Korderas, Hebner stated that he has since spoken with Hart and they have buried the hatchet, with regards to the Montreal Screwjob.[2]
Hebner was involved in several storylines. He spearheaded the (kayfabe) referee's strike in 1999, resulting in referees being given the authority to defend themselves if physically provoked by wrestlers. In early 2000, he costTriple H his WWF Championship by quick-counting during a match between Triple H andChris Jericho following weeks of abuse by Triple H. Triple H eventually forced Hebner to reverse the decision, promising never to lay his hands on Hebner as long as Hebner was a WWF employee. After Hebner took the title from Jericho and gave it back to Triple H, Triple H "fired" Hebner and promptly Pedigreed him and beat him unconscious.[3] Hebner was reinstated byLinda McMahon thirteen days later, replacing corrupt guest refereeShane McMahon during a title match between Triple H and The Rock atBacklash and counting the fall whenThe Rock covered Triple H for the pin.[4] Hebner was also the first referee to be a playable character in a wrestlingvideo game as he was included in the roster ofWWF No Mercy. During theInvasion angle in late 2001, Hebner became involved in a feud involvingWCW refereeNick Patrick. Patrick was a biased referee who often helpedThe Alliance achieve victories over their WWF opponents. Hebner defeated Patrick in a match atWWF Invasion.[5]
On July 18, 2005, WWE announced that Hebner was fired from WWE for selling WWE merchandise without permission. Hebner's identical twin brother Dave was released from WWE as well on July 19 in connection with these events. These activities would have been conducted from a store that Earl Hebner had partial ownership in, the St. Louis based Pro Shirt Shop. To avoid negative publicity, the controlling owner of the Pro Shirt Shop, Nick Ridenour, bought out Hebner's share in the company and released a press statement which claimed that the company only received merchandise from licensed distributors.[6] However, the claim of Hebner's firing for selling bootleg merchandise was then rebuked during a March 2025 interview when WWE's then-head of talent relationsJohn Laurinaitis actually fired him because he wanted to terminate his brother, Dave, who was McMahon's right hand man, from his employment.[7]
Seven months after his departure from WWE, Hebner debuted forTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) at theAgainst All Odds pay-per-view on February 12, 2006. He officiated the main event, which saw Canadian bornChristian Cage defeatJeff Jarrett for theNWA World Heavyweight Championship. During the match, commentatorsMike Tenay andDon West alluded to the Montréal Screwjob on several occasions, urging Hebner not to call for the bell when Jarrett placed Cage in asharpshooter. Despite the concerns of the commentators, Hebner was an impartial referee. However, he once again caused controversy based on his actions at theTNA Slammiversary 2006 pay-per-view. During the King of the Mountain match, he assisted Jeff Jarrett in winning the match by pushing a ladder over withSting and then-champion Christian Cage on it. This led to the new head of managementJim Cornette taking the belt from Jarrett as the show ended, leaving the status of the belt in question as to who would be the champion. On the June 22 episode ofTNA Impact!, Cornette vacated the title. On the June 30 episode, he awarded the title to Jarrett, but fired (kayfabe) Hebner. Hebner was then reinstated by Cornette due to Jarrett's polygraph test saying that Hebner was not involved. Hebner was punched in the face byJeff Jarrett and was (kayfabe) injured. AtNo Surrender he replaced original referee Slick Johnson for theTNA Knockout Tag Team Championship match because of what happened atVictory Road.
TNA Wrestling had their own version of the Montreal Screwjob, in this case, it was a TNA World Heavyweight Championship match on the January 21, 2010, episode of TNA Impact! betweenKurt Angle and defending championA.J. Styles. Previously to this match, Angle and Styles had fought at the TNA pay-per-viewGenesis, which was also for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship except the stipulation was that if Angle were to lose, he would never get another shot at the title in 2010. In this match,Ric Flair interfered causing Styles to retain his title. Hulk Hogan, now running TNA withEric Bischoff somewhat controversially to some fans, said that due to Flair's interference in the match at Genesis, Angle would get another match at the title on Impact! and if Flair were to interfere, Styles would be stripped of the title and the title would be awarded to Angle. During the match, Angle put his signature move, the Ankle Lock on Styles, but Styles reversed it and used the Ankle Lock on Angle which resulted in the "Screwjob" when referee Earl Hebner called for the bell although Angle did not submit, similar to The Montreal Screwjob.[8] On the January 28 episode ofImpact! Earl confessed to screwing Bret Hart and Kurt Angle for the money. Hulk Hogan then suspended him indefinitely.[9] On the March 8 Monday night edition ofImpact! Hogan decided to give Hebner a second chance and had him referee the main event of the evening, a tag team match, where Hogan andAbyss faced A.J. Styles and Ric Flair.[10]
In May 2012, Hebner signed a contract extension with TNA, which would keep him with the promotion through 2013.[11] In July 2012, Hebner started a romance storyline withMadison Rayne, as part of which, he started helping her win matches,[12][13] including one for theTNA Women's Knockout Championship on August 12 atHardcore Justice.[14] In response to this situation, Knockouts ExecutiveBrooke Hogan announced that Hebner would no longer referee the Knockouts matches. On April 17, 2014, Hebner was reinstated as Knockouts referee, when Madison Rayne defeated Velvet Sky in a Street Fight.[15] On June 19, 2014, Hebner was involved in the TNA World Heavyweight Championship bout between Kenny King and Eric Young, but after King's loss,MVP fired Hebner and made him get rid of his uniform, to the disgust of his son, Brian, but was reinstated by the new Executive Chief of Wrestling Operations,Kurt Angle after MVP was relieved of his duties by Board of Directors.
On September 14, 2015, it was announced that Hebner would be inducted into theTNA Hall of Fame class of 2015.[16] On November 3, 2017, it was reported both Hebner and his son, Brian, had parted ways with Impact Wrestling.[17]
On July 7, 2018, Hebner refereed what was advertised as his final event at Ring Wars Carolina, which also saw the refereeing debut of his daughter, Katie.[18]
On September 1, 2018, Hebner refereedAll In, and was part of the match betweenNick Aldis andCody Rhodes for theNWA World Heavyweight Championship.
Hebner refereedNWA 70th Anniversary Show inNashville, Tennessee, and was part of the main event match betweenNick Aldis andCody Rhodes for theNWA World Heavyweight Championship.
On February 16, 2019, Hebner refereed at All Star Wrestling's Justice in the main event between Sharp Dressed Man Lawrence and the debuting Brian Snyder in Lewisburg, Tennessee. Near the end of the match, Snyder put Lawrence in the crossface, Lawrence's finishing hold, as Hebner called for the bell, even though Lawrence never gave up. The finish was very similar to theMontreal Screwjob.
In 2019, Hebner, along with a number of other referees, joinedAll Elite Wrestling. He officiated a limited number of AEW events, primarily AEW pay-per-views and selected episodes ofAEW Dynamite. Hebner then went on a one-year officiating hiatus that ended in 2022 when he returned toImpact Wrestling.
Hebner made his return to IMPACT Wrestling after 5 years away from the company atSlammiversary (2022) to count the 1–2–3 to give the Impact Originals the win against Honor No More. He returned again atSlammiversary (2024) in Montreal as a referee in X-Division championMustafa Ali's pocket, in reference to Hebner's role in theMontreal Screwjob, but this time refused to call the match against challengerMike Bailey while Ali had him locked in the sharpshooter, and ultimately called the match fair when Ali submitted to a sharpshooter from Bailey.
Hebner was married twice, he was first married to Carol Ann Kettner from 1969 to 1977. He later married Susan Ann Green, the marriage lasted from 1978 to 2000.
Hebner's son Brian Hebner is also a professional wrestling referee (retired in June 2022) before becoming a professional wrestling podcaster with Jim Korderas, while his daughter Katie made a cameo appearance with TNA in 2008 as "Katie Kim", the sister ofGail Kim. Hebner's identical twin brother,Dave, was also a wrestling referee as well as a promoter.
Hebner played himself in the episode "Sixteen Candles and Four-Hundred Pound Men" ofBoy Meets World. Stock footage of one of his WWF matches was also featured in the motion pictureEncino Man.
In July 2016, Hebner was named part of aclass action lawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that performers incurred "long term neurological injuries" and that the company "routinely failed to care" for them and "fraudulently misrepresented and concealed" the nature and extent of those injuries. The suit was litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE, primarily overchronic traumatic encephalopathy, an issue that has risen to the forefront of sports-related injuries, especially after theChris Benoit double-murder and suicide.[19] In September 2018, US District JudgeVanessa Lynne Bryant dismissed the lawsuit.[20]
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by none | WWF/WWE Senior Referee 1988–2002 | Succeeded by Replaced withWWE Raw Senior Referee andWWE SmackDown Senior Referee |
| Preceded by First | WWE Raw Senior Referee 2002–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Total Nonstop Action Wrestling/Impact Wrestling Senior Referee 2009–2017 | Succeeded by |