Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
One of the most under appreciated jobs in pro wrestling is the job of the referee. A great referee can help move a match along and pace it properly. World Championship Wrestling had some of the very best in the business. Despite their success as officials, some faced sickness and personal tragedies.
Tommy Young
Starting with senior official Tommy Young, who in my opinion was one of the very best at his craft. Tommy, officiated some of the biggest matches in NWA/WCW history. In 1989, in a TV taping match between Tommy Rich and Mike Rotunda, Tommy Young was legitimately hurt so severely, he nearly became a quadriplegic.
That injury ended Tommy’s full time refereeing career and kept him away from the ring for years to come.
Charles Robinson
Charles Robinson is a truly gifted official for both WCW and now for the WWE. As an official for WCW a couple of tragic incidents occurred. First, his wife Amy of two years passed away from cancer. Secondly, in 1999, Charles Robinson turned heel and aligned himself with Ric Flair. He became known as “Lil’ Naitch.” In a match on Nitro, Flair and Robinson faced off against Madusa and Randy Savage. At the end of the match, Savage botched his patented elbow drop on Robinson and nearly killed the smaller Robinson. He suffered several cracked vertebrae and a collapsed lung.
Mark Curtis
Mark Curtis (Brian Hildebrand) was a small, diminutive referee for WCW, but make no mistake about it…Curtis was one of the toughest men in the WCW locker room. He was nicknamed “The Shooter” and for good reason, he knew how to take down people, as a fan sorely found out.
Mark Curtis was diagnosed with cancer in 1997 and like the true shooter he was, took the disease down for 2 years. In 1999, however, he finally succumbed to cancer and died at the age of 37.
Randy ‘Pee Wee’ Anderson
Randy Anderson was another top flight official for WCW during their heyday. As was the case with Mark Curtis, Anderson was diagnosed with cancer and seemingly beat it. WCW even turned Anderson’s unfortunate health crisis into a storyline.
2 years after this segment, Randy’s conditioned worsened and was forced to retire. He died at age 42 in 2002.
Brady Boone
Brady Boone was driving back to his home located in Odessa, Florida. During the drive, Brady’s 1995 Dodge Caravan flipped over on an elevated portion of Interstate 275 in Tampa and landed on the road below. Brady was killed in the crash. It was rumored that Boone had fallen asleep at the wheel. Boone was just 40 years old.
Mickey Henson
One other note, former WCW referee Mickey Jay AKA Mickie Henson was diagnosed with cancer while employed by the WWE. He beat the cancer, but a few years later, died from Covid at the age of 59 .