Arguably the biggest match in the history of the WWF/E took place in the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit, Michigan, in 1987. It was WrestleMania 3, and the beloved World Champion Hulk Hogan would be defending his championship against a man who had been undefeated for 15 year, Andre The Giant. Chosen to referee that match would be Joey Marella, a WWF referee since 1983, and son of wrestling legend and commentator Gorilla Monsoon. Marella's "phantom three count" in the opening minute of Hulk/Andre set the stage for the match, and the entire angle through SummerSlam 1988. Marella's relationship to his father was never officially announced on WWF programming, but Monsoon's broadcast partner Jesse "The Body" Ventura- who always had a problem with authority figures in WWF- seemed to ride young Marella especially hard when partnered with "Gino", just as a way to have some fun with Monsoon. Marella refereed many more classic matches in the early 90s, including the Bret Hart/British Bulldog Intercontinental Championship match at SummerSlam 1992 in Wembley Stadium. Unfortunately, just under two years later, Marella would fall asleep at the wheel of his rented car on the New Jersey Turnpike on July 4th, 1994, and was killed in the accident. WWF manager- and later part-time referee- Bruno "Harvey Whippleman" Lauer was also in the car, but survived. Joey Marella's name lives on, as both WWE ring announcer Tony Chimmel and Marella's sister have named a son after Marella.
The 'House is a father of two and husband of one in Minnesota. He is an improv comedian, and in his spare time follows WWE, MLB, The Simpsons, and Bob's Burgers. Growing up he was a huge fan of He-Man, and refuses to believe that it was in fact terrible.
