10 Times Wrestling Referees Really F**ked Up!

8. Raw Women’s Championship Match Ends Prematurely

‘The Empress of Tomorrow’ Asuka defended her Raw Women’s Championship against underutilized legend Mickie James in September 2020 in a match that did the rounds in wrestling news outlets for its abrupt ending. Asuka was always supposed to go over, just not in the way it went down.

The match had Asuka hooking Mickie in the Asuka Lock, with Mickie trying to fight her way out of it, when all of a sudden referee Darrick Moore suddenly called for the bell. This legitimately surprised Mickie, who didn’t tap whatsoever, and was wide-eyed and in disbelief when she heard the ring bell. To cover up the live TV botch Mickie quickly pretended to pass out.

It was revealed afterwards the mistake stemmed from Moore being concerned James had suffered a legitimate shoulder injury in the Lock. Mickie was fine though, and whilst Moore had her wellbeing in mind when he stopped the match, it’s a damn shame the contest ended like that as the match was shaping up to be special.

To cover up the confusion WWE released a kayfabe statement later claiming the ‘The Raw Women's Champion locked on the Asuka Lock, and despite James' best efforts to fight out, the referee ruled her unable to continue and awarded the match to Asuka.’

Mickie James talked to talkSPORT regarding the botch:

“I honestly don’t know. I rolled back to count – one, two – there was no count. So she obviously went to go and lock back in the Asuka Lock and I think in those moments, here’s the thing: it is a dangerous sport. We have to be very careful. The refs do their job and kind of their job is to protect us and make sure it never goes too far or no one ever gets hurt. So he made his decision based on what he thought was a reality, that I was hurt or I couldn’t continue and that’s unfortunate for me.”