Referi: the ultimate "authority" figure on the ring. A referi's (the Spanish-cised version of referee) duties vary and mimic the real-life duties of a sport official. Officially (and publicly) a referi's responsibilities are to keep wrestlers safe, to up-hold the rules of lucha libre, and to determine a winner of a match.
 |
| A stylized version of a referi's role |
Behinds the scenes, however, the role of the referi is much more complicated, while the referi is responsible for keeping luchadores safe, he has to be able to determine which injuries are "real enough" to warrant stopping a match, and which injuries are only minor. In the past, some referi's have allowed for matches to continue when wrestlers were in fact really injured because of miscommunication. Referis has hand gestures and symbols that let stand-bye paramedics know if an injury is legitimate- such as sign is the "X sign" used by referee in the WWE. Additionally, a referi is also responsible for determining the pace of a match. If a match is going too slow he will encourage wrestlers to pick up the pace, or likewise will slow them down if need be.
 |
| Referi El Catrin, performing a conteo during a match |
The appearance of a referi is important. In their attire, referis resemble other sports officials, most often sporting white-black-stripped jerseys, although other referi uniforms exist. More importantly a referi is never to look more physically powerful or agile than the luchadores he is officiating over (though some exceptions exist). Also, most often referis will be male, though female referis do exist.
 |
| Female referi and luchadora Traci Brooks |
Referis in lucha libre have the distinction of being either tecnicos or rudos, like the luchadores themselves. A rudo referi does not need to follow the rules and will often overlook blatant offences to the rules of lucha libre. The most famous of these rudo referis is Tirantes (famous for his suspenders-- hence his name).
 |
| An image of Tirantes wearing his famous suspenders |
0 Response to "Referi"