New documentary shines spotlight on professional wrestling referees
Documentary was mostly filmed around Kitchener-Waterloo, filmmaker says
Colin Hunter says he has been watching professional wrestling his whole life, adding that while some people lose interest in the sport as they grow older, he hasn't "reached that certain age yet."
Hunter, whose background is in journalism and storytelling, left his career to learn how to become a wrestling referee.
He's now working on a new project called The Ref Didn't See It — a documentary that shines a spotlight on wrestling referees in Ontario.
"Wrestling is just storytelling told in this physical stage, little one-act plays, and every single one-act play in wrestling has a supporting cast member that makes it all work — the referee," Hunter told CBC K-W's The Morning Edition.
"And they don't get any of the glory. They don't pose. The fans don't cheer for [them]. Most fans don't know their name. And to me, that's the compelling side of the story, is that they're always there. They're part of the illusion … and that's what I love about the referee."
The documentary was mostly filmed around Kitchener-Waterloo, primarily at Off The Ropes Studio in Kitchener — which is where Hunter said he "learned the ropes" of becoming a referee.
The film's director, Sara Geidlinger, was never a fan of the sport but said wrestling "is visually beautiful" and is fun to capture for the documentary.
"I went into this thinking I would still not be a wrestling fan, and now [I am] the reluctant wrestling fan ... it creeps up on me. I didn't see it coming," she said.
Geidlinger gave kudos to the people involved in wrestling shows and matches who are "working really hard all week at their day jobs and raising their families and doing what they need to do, [but still] come together on the weekends to put on this spectacle that is for everyone's enjoyment."
"The people involved are so sweet, and, you know, they might be smashing each other to bits in the ring, but they're really taking care of each other, and they're really being careful not to hurt each other, and they've been training for so long to put on this show for everyone."
It's an illusion but everybody, every fan gets wrapped up in it, and until you've actually been to one of these shows, it's hard to understand what it is.- Colin Hunter
For Hunter, "getting in the ring" has been his favourite part of filming the documentary.
"You know, I've watched it all my life on TV, but getting inside the ring and being part of the show — first of all, it's the best seat in the house. You get to really see everything, but you get to be part of the show," he said.
"At first when I was in the ring, I was very nervous, and all these eyes were looking at me. But … the eyes aren't looking if I'm doing my job right. Nobody looks at me until the moment they're supposed to. So, nobody sees the referee until the referee has to take away the weapon from the bad guy.
"…it's an illusion, but everybody, every fan, gets wrapped up in it, and until you've actually been to one of these shows, it's hard to understand what it is," Hunter added.
'Huge level of trust and kindness'
He said his involvement in wrestling has taught him that the sport really isn't what it purports to be at face value.
"It looks like violence. It looks like these people are bashing and smashing each other. But to do it right, to actually make it look good, requires a huge level of trust and kindness and care for the other person," Hunter said.
"So, I think what I've realized is wrestling is sort of choreographed and scripted, and you may want to say that it's fake, but it's highly athletic, and the people doing it are highly trained, and they know what they're doing, and they're playing with the audience's emotions in ways that you don't really know when you're in it."
Geidlinger said they are about 95 per cent through filming, and to get through the rest of production, they're launching a crowdfunding campaign at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
What The Ref Didn't See will be released in June 2024.