American professional wrestling referee (1954?2022)
This article is about the American professional wrestling referee. For other individuals named Tim White, see
Tim White (disambiguation)
.
Tim White
|
---|
Born
| Timothy Rhys White
(
1954-03-25
)
March 25, 1954
|
---|
Died
| June 19, 2022
(2022-06-19)
(aged 68)
|
---|
Occupation
| Professional wrestling
referee
|
---|
Years active
| 1985?2009
|
---|
Timothy Rhys White
(March 25, 1954 ? June 19, 2022) was an American
professional wrestling
referee
. He worked with
World Wrestling Entertainment
as a
producer
on the
SmackDown!
brand. During the 1980s and 1990s, White worked as
Andre the Giant
's assistant in addition to his referee duties.
[1]
Professional wrestling career
[
edit
]
Referee
[
edit
]
White started as a part-time referee in 1985 while working as
Andre the Giant
's agent. In 1993 shortly after Andre's death, White became a full-time referee appearing more frequently on pay-per-views and WWF television tapings.
Bret Hart
has reported that by 1995, White was providing similar services for
Shawn Michaels
as he had for Andre.
[2]
On June 28, 1998, White was the referee for the legendary
Hell in a Cell
match
between
Mankind
and
The Undertaker
at
King of the Ring
. After Mankind fell through the top of the cell and landed hard in the ring, White, fearful that Mick Foley was seriously injured and needed immediate medical attention, came close to declaring the match over at that point, but Foley begged him not to. The match continued and is now remembered as one of the most legendary matches in wrestling history.
In 2002, White suffered a shoulder injury during a Hell in a Cell match between
Triple H
and
Chris Jericho
at
Judgment Day
.
[3]
At
WrestleMania XX
in 2004, White returned to referee the match between Chris Jericho and
Christian
; he re-injured his shoulder during the final three count of the match, forcing him to end his referee career.
Lunchtime Suicide
[
edit
]
On December 18, 2005, White made a controversial on-screen appearance at the
Armageddon
pay-per-view
.
[4]
In a segment, a "despondent" White was interviewed by
SmackDown!
reporter
Josh Mathews
inside the bar he owned, the Friendly Tap in
Cumberland, Rhode Island
.
[4]
He was depicted drinking large amounts of
alcohol
, claiming that the aforementioned Hell in a Cell match "ruined his life."
[4]
He then proceeded to take a
shotgun
out from under the bar and, off-screen, fired the gun, apparently intending to
kill himself
. This sketch was considered distasteful, in part due to the death of
Eddie Guerrero
a month earlier.
[4]
On January 6, 2006, it was revealed that White had shot his foot accidentally during the "ordeal". But when asked by Mathews about his new year's resolutions, he proceeded to scarf down a box full of
rat poison
, and subsequently fell over in his chair. This segment was leaked onto the internet several days earlier and included was the uncut footage of the post-segment which included the producers as well as White goofing around using some mildly
foul language
. On January 15, 2006, White was interviewed by Mathews again, but this time he tried to
hang himself
; the rope broke. For weeks afterward, WWE's official website uploaded a new video showing Mathews trying to interview White who is about to die by suicide each week in a different way. This became a regular segment on WWE's website and was given the name of
Lunchtime Suicide
, uploaded every Thursday at lunchtime. Over a dozen sketches were aired, and the segments were widely derided as insensitive and of poor taste.
[5]
On April 6, 2006, WWE.com uploaded a video where White did not attempt to die by suicide. In fact, he invited Mathews to a party at the Friendly Tap to take place the following week. The next week, Mathews attended the party, and ended up getting shot by White.
[
citation needed
]
Post-WWE
[
edit
]
White was released from WWE on January 9, 2009, ending his 24-year tenure with the company.
[3]
White provided security for WWE superstars during appearances and autograph signings.
[
citation needed
]
On April 10, 2018, White appeared in numerous interviews in the
HBO
documentary
Andre the Giant
. He also appeared on
WWE's Most Wanted Treasures
in June 2021. On March 29, 2023, it was announced he will be the 2023 recipient of the Warrior Award and, as such, will be the first referee inducted into the
WWE Hall of Fame
.
[6]
Death
[
edit
]
On June 19, 2022, White died from health issues at the age of 68.
[7]
Awards and accomplishments
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Mooneyham, Mike (2009-01-11).
"Steroids report puts heat on wrestling business"
.
The Post and Courier
. Retrieved
2009-06-27
.
- ^
Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling
Bret Hart
, Ebury Publishing 2009
- ^
a
b
Csonka, Larry (January 9, 2009).
"WWE Releases Tim White and Kevin Thorn"
. 411mania
. Retrieved
2009-09-15
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Sokol, Chris (December 19, 2005).
"Taker-Orton rises above Armageddon"
. SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on July 31, 2012
. Retrieved
2009-09-15
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link
)
- ^
"Tim White's Lunchtime Suicide Skits Are Some Of The Worst In WWE History"
.
TheSportster
. 23 November 2021
. Retrieved
December 12,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
"THE FINAL WWE HALL OF FAME 2023 INDUCTEE IS... | PWInsider.com"
.
www.pwinsider.com
.
- ^
Defelice, Robert; Ross Sapp, Sean (June 19, 2022).
"Former WWE Referee Tim White Passes Away At Age 68"
. Fightful
. Retrieved
June 19,
2022
.
External links
[
edit
]