10 Times Wrestling Referees Really F**ked Up!

1. Earl Hebner Merchandise F**k Up Gets Him And His Brother Fired

In the biggest referee f**k up of them all, Earl Hebner, along with his brother Dave Hebner, were fired from WWE after years of service in 2005 for selling official and bootleg WWE merchandise without permission.

Earl was reportedly taking merch from live events and making bootleg merch like sweaters, sweatshirts and jackets, and selling them for a profit out the back of his car to wrestlers and fans. He gained a considerable amount of heat from other referees for his side hustle, with many wondering how WWE ever allowed him to do it. Fellow referee Mike Chioda remarked “I remember being disappointed because I thought how is the company letting Earl sell stuff and making money but not let us do anything on the side to make money as far as merchandise?” Turns out WWE never did allow it and Earl was doing it behind their backs.

Earl and Dave sold the merchandise in a store in St. Louis too. WWE, after being tipped off, sent a private eye out to the store to investigate, which resulted in the Hebners being fired.

Earl has continuously denied he ever did it, claiming “It was a big lie from day one. I know what they said, but it was a big lie. Why would you risk a t-shirt for a $200,000 job, for a $15 t-shirt?” It’s obviously still a sore subject for him, with him adding “I don’t want nothing to do with Vince McMahon, period.”