Rhode Island's Tim White to become first referee inducted into WWE Hall of Fame

Submitted by boulevardofdef t3_125wfz1 in RhodeIsland

Thought this was an unusual but interesting feather in the cap for Rhody. The WWE Hall of Fame has been around since 1993 and has 234 members, and in 30 years, not a single referee has been inducted. But WWE announced today that Tim White will be part of the new class inducted during WrestleMania this weekend.

As a longtime wrestling fan, I knew Tim White was a Rhode Islander before I ever lived here, because he owned a bar in Cumberland called The Friendly Tap and WWE would frequently make reference to it and sometimes shoot segments there whenever they did a TV taping in Providence, at one point completely wrecking it in a huge brawl between two feuding tag teams.

Not only was he a longtime referee for WWE, he was essentially the personal assistant to the legendary Andre the Giant for many years, which is how he got into the refereeing game. He died last year.

Here's WWE's video announcing his induction.

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Comments

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Proof-Variation7005 t1_je687qp wrote

They're never gonna forgive Earl Hebner, huh

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boulevardofdef OP t1_je6d1tu wrote

Two major points against Hebner, who empirically should probably be the first ref inducted:

  1. He was fired for essentially stealing and reselling WWE merchandise, and
  2. He joined the 2016 class-action lawsuit against WWE over concussions, which so far has kept all participants out of the Hall of Fame
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Proof-Variation7005 t1_je6fpgd wrote

I was gonna say that he took the million dollar man’s money and screwed the hulkster too but yeah.

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wyldweasil t1_je73xp1 wrote

I don't know who owns the Friendly Tap now, but when Tim passed they did put up a sign on the building when I drove by. Always wanted to go there, just hoping an APA brawl doesn't break out

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Proof-Variation7005 t1_je7suev wrote

I went by their about 2 years ago and fhe staff and regulars mentioned he’d been in the night before and got hammered.

Not a bad place for that kinda divey old man bar.

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rye8901 t1_je6dm72 wrote

Interesting. What about Mike Chioda?

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[deleted] t1_je6tab3 wrote

[deleted]

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boulevardofdef OP t1_je6to6a wrote

Andre is probably the most legendary drinker in wrestling history, and there's some very stiff competition there. The amount he was said to drink in one sitting seems impossible until you see the photo of him holding a beer can, then it starts to make more sense.

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darkrom t1_je9tv5h wrote

Only somewhat related, do we have any cool WWE stuff to visit/see/do in this state?

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SNES_Punk t1_jea4l7x wrote

Tim White was the owner of The Friendly Tap if that counts.

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darkrom t1_jea4rkh wrote

It does. Anything else? It’s unfortunate they don’t sell tours or anything in CT at the HQ

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SNES_Punk t1_jea527z wrote

Strangely enough, aside from that and the wrestling school in Woonsocket and a few very niche indie feds, I don't know that RI has much in terms of wrestling-related things to do.

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darkrom t1_jea6yhm wrote

You have me curious, what niche indie feds here? I haven't even let myself venture off into AEW, WWE is enough for me as far as time commitment goes, but indie is a whole different breed.

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SNES_Punk t1_jea7l55 wrote

I'm not a fan of the indies at all, but we have Renegade Wrestling Alliance and RIWA.

Bonus, there is a live indie wrestling event on April 30th at Proclamation Ale Company with ticket prices around $15

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boulevardofdef OP t1_jeadg8b wrote

Beyond Wrestling, which is actually one of the most respected indie feds, started here and used to do most of their shows at Fete in Providence, though I think they mostly do them in MA now.

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boulevardofdef OP t1_jead8rq wrote

I've actually been to the HQ, many years ago, because I knew a guy who worked there. It was awesome!

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darkrom t1_jeade3n wrote

Jealous. I’d have paid to go check it out

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geffe71 t1_je950nv wrote

The hall of fame is a joke

Signed a WWE fan

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