 Patrick during his time as a referee for WWE'sSmackDown brand | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Joseph Nicholas Patrick Hamilton Jr. (1959-11-09)November 9, 1959 (age 66) Lakeland, Florida, U.S. |
| Family | Jody Hamilton (father) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name | Nick Patrick |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Billed weight | 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Debut | 1984 |
| Retired | 1985 (as a wrestler) 2010 (as a referee) |
Joseph Nicholas Patrick Hamilton Jr.[1] (born November 9, 1959), better known by his ring nameNick Patrick, is a retired Americanprofessional wrestlingreferee. He is a former referee forWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) andWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He has also served as head referee for former WWE developmental territoryDeep South Wrestling (DSW) until that company's closing, and is former head referee forFlorida Championship Wrestling (FCW).
Hamilton is the son of wrestling legendJody Hamilton, who wrestled asThe Assassin.[2]
He was a referee in theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA)'sGeorgia Championship Wrestling starting in 1980 under the name Nick Patrick, as he wanted to make a name for himself without his father's help.[3]
In June 1984, Patrick transitioned into a wrestler, teaming with his father. In CWG, Patrick was in a feud withBob Roop, which resulted in a series of Lights Out matches, where they traded victories. In 1985, he moved to the Gulf Coast forContinental Championship Wrestling, frequently teaming withSteve Armstrong, feuding withThe Nightmares. By October 1985, he moved on toMid-South Wrestling, where he was used as an enhancement talent. By the end of 1985, Patrick suffered a knee injury that ended his wrestling career.
After his wrestling career was cut short due to a knee injury, Patrick would help his father out in his promotion,Deep South Wrestling, as an announcer/color commentator. In 1988, whenTurner Broadcasting bought JCP and renamed itWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW), Patrick was brought in as a referee. After Tommy Young retired in November 1989, Patrick became WCW's senior referee.
When theNew World Order (nWo) formed in 1996, he joined and became their official referee. He would allow the nWo wrestlers to cheat and he would show a clear bias towards the nWo. Because of this, he was forced into a match againstChris Jericho at theWorld War 3 pay-per-view on November 24, 1996, inNorfolk, Virginia. Jericho had one arm tied behind his back and still defeated Patrick.
Patrick's biggest night with the nWo was refereeing every single match on the nWoSouled Out pay-per-view on January 25, 1997, inCedar Rapids, Iowa.
His nWo tenure came to an end atSpring Stampede 1997.Scott Hall andKevin Nash were scheduled to defend theWCW World Tag Team Championship againstThe Steiner Brothers. Due to out-of-ring attacks and such, combined with Hall failing to show for the event, the title match eventually became a singles match between Nash andRick Steiner. Nash was allowed to appoint a referee and he chose Patrick. During the match, Nash removed the padding over the turnbuckle and dropped Steiner's face on it. However, in a turn of events, Patrick was starting to become visibly uncomfortable with how Nash was treating Steiner and would soon have a change of heart. Fellow nWo associateTed DiBiase also had a change of heart and attempted, with Patrick, to get Nash to stop. When Nash refused, DiBiase left to get help for Steiner. Nash covered an unconscious Steiner and Patrick didn't want to make the 3-count until Nash forced him to, awarding the contest to Nash. Patrick then told Nash to stop as he would also leave to get help for Steiner. After the match, Nash kept performing the maneuver on Steiner. Later that evening, Patrick served as referee for the main event match between nWo memberRandy Savage andDiamond Dallas Page, counting a proper pin for Page. After the match, Nash came out and attacked Patrick, for all intents and purposes, kicking him out of the nWo.[4]
On the April 21, 1997 edition ofNitro, he unexpectedly appeared at the broadcast desk withTony Schiavone andLarry Zbyszko. Wearing a green WCW polo shirt, he cut a promo explaining that he was sick ofEric Bischoff and the way the nWo did business. He explained that he never wanted to fight fellow refereeRandy Anderson and asked for his job back.[5] Both Schiavone and Zbyszko were skeptical, especially Zbyszko, who was intensely critical. They went to a commercial break with Patrick and Zbyszko arguing. The next week onNitro, WCW executiveJ. J. Dillon re-hired Patrick on a probationary basis. Patrick was a neutral referee from that point on and never sided with the nWo again.
Patrick created massive controversy during theWCW World Heavyweight Championship match between Sting and Hollywood Hogan atStarrcade 1997; he was supposed to make a "fast count" but botched it by counting at normal speed.[6]Bret Hart stopped Patrick from giving Hogan the title, claiming the fast-count, and restarted the match claiming that he didn't want to see Sting getscrewed like he was.[7] After a rematch, the title was declared vacant. Patrick would referee another rematch for the vacant belt, taking over forCharles Robinson (who had been knocked out during the match). Sting would win that match.
When WCW was bought by theWWF, he was one of three WCW referees who had their contracts purchased, along withCharles Robinson andBilly Silverman.[8] He became a referee forThe Alliance of WCW andExtreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) wrestlers trying to take over the WWF. He even had a match againstEarl Hebner at theWWF Invasion pay-per-view on July 22, 2001, inCleveland, Ohio. Patrick lost to Hebner andMick Foley, the special guest referee, gave him "Mr. Socko" after the match.
During the time of the Alliance, Patrick continued to play aheel referee, siding with the Alliance wrestlers over the WWF wrestlers.[9] For example, during a WCW Championship handicap match betweenThe Rock andBooker T andShane McMahon atUnforgiven, Patrick refused to count when The Rock had Booker T or Shane pinned down. AtSurvivor Series, Patrick knocked out Hebner to take over as referee during the "Winner Take All" elimination tag match. After he gave a normal "slow count" for The Rock,Stone Cold Steve Austin became enraged, knocked Patrick out, and brought Hebner back in as referee. After the Alliance angle ended, Patrick became an official WWF referee. At first he was a heel referee, refusing to count to three for face wrestlers as Austin and The Rock, and favoring heel wrestlers likeChris Jericho andKurt Angle. AfterWrestleMania X8, Patrick started portraying a neutral referee once again.[10]
After the brand split, Patrick became head referee on theSmackDown! brand. He officiated theWorld Heavyweight Championship match atECW One Night Stand 2006 between championRey Mysterio andSabu.
Patrick left the SmackDown! brand on February 9, 2007, andMickie Henson took over as senior referee. Patrick remained with WWE, officiating matches in their new developmental territory,Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW).
Patrick returned to the SmackDown brand on February 8, 2008, and refereed a tag team match betweenJesse and Festus andDeuce 'n Domino. However, he quickly disappeared again due to his injuries.
Patrick was released from the WWE on August 8, 2008, after seven months of inactivity due to a chronic back injury.[11]
On February 15, 2009, Patrick officially returned to wrestling when he was introduced as the on-camera commissioner of Rampage Pro Wrestling, an independent promotion based out ofWarner Robins,Georgia. Patrick portrayed a neutral commissioner. Patrick refereed his first match since his WWE release at RPW's "Showdown" supercard at theMacon City Auditorium on April 10, 2009, officiating a no-holds-barred, hair vs. hair contest between Cru Jones and Doc Gayton.
In April 2009, Patrick became RPW's television show director, replacing his father,Jody Hamilton, after the promotion released Hamilton due to financial cutbacks. The promotion re-hired Hamilton later in the year in October. In September 2009, Patrick became the promotion's legitimate general manager. When Patrick took over, he and Hamilton became the primary forces behind the booking. In June 2010, the promotion was temporarily closed down due to internal disputes he and his father were having with others in RPW. The company decided to move forward, but not before firing everyone involved in the disputes, including Patrick and Hamilton. A few days later, Patrick signed on to become the general manager of Great Championship Wrestling, an independent promotion based out ofPhenix City, Alabama. However, Patrick resigned from GCW after only two weeks.
In February 2021, Patrick revived his father's old promotion,Deep South Wrestling.[12]
Patrick is featured in the WWE video game series with appearances inWWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2007,WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2008, andWWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009.[13]
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | WWE SmackDown Senior Referee 2003–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by First | WCW Senior Referee | Succeeded by none |
