0329 lf wrestling | London Free Press

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A filmmaker is returning to his hometown to shoot a documentary about his new passion – becoming a pro wrestling referee – and is calling on other mat fans in London to serve as extras.

Colin Hunter, a former newspaper journalist who grew up in London and now lives in Guelph, will film scenes for The Ref Didn’t See It during an upcoming Deathproof Fight Club wrestling show as he chronicles his journey toward becoming one of pro wrestling’s key performers – the kind who, try as they might, seem to miss a lot of rule-breaking.

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“That’s what the fans see: Which is a referee that is supposedly enforcing the rules,” said Hunter, creator of the satirical wrestling news website Kayfabe News, “but the title of the movie is the ultimate cliche of a wrestling referee, because they’re never looking in the right place at the right time.”

The production has been in the works for a year and the scenes being filmed April 6 will take place during a live wrestling show near downtown London. The film will detail Hunter’s journey to becoming a referee – a role, as he puts it, that requires being “out of the way and invisible” until they can play a crucial role in the in-ring storytelling.

“On the surface, you’re playing the role of a referee, but you’re also a part of the illusion, the magic trick that makes the whole match come together,” he said.

The ring may look soft like a trampoline, but it’s hard and it hurts, Hunter said. He could barely move for a week after his referee training. As for the wrestlers pulling punches and flipping each other off, the violent moves are done “faithfully” so nobody gets hurt, Hunter said.

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“The referee becomes part of the storytelling,” he said. “Often, a poor hapless referee likely will be in the wrong place at the wrong time and get knocked over by a wrestler but it’s on purpose. If I’m incapacitated because I’ve been knocked down, that gives the bad guy a chance to cheat.”

The match results are pre-determined, but Hunter says it’s also the referee’s duty to be a secret communicator and remind the wrestlers in case they “forget” about the fight’s timing, choreography or go off-script.

Growing up in London Hunter said he would get excited whenever there was a show coming to the Legion or the Boys and Girls Club but they would often get cancelled or they’d have really low attendance.

“(Wrestling) on the small local level is so much more interactive and the audience is friendly. There are shows practically every weekend in practically every city,” he said. “And it wasn’t always this way.”

Hunter said he believes celebrities in wrestling, such as the Rock and John Cena, have given it more mainstream credibility. The audience has accepted wrestling is not a sport, Hunter said, but a choreographed spectacle. “It’s a rambunctious live-action theatre.”

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“It’s hard to find a more entertaining way to spend an evening than watching a bunch of larger-than-life characters put on these sorts of theatrical spectacles in the ring,” he said. “Some of them are full of action and lots of cool moves, some are really funny, and some of the characters are scary.

“I feel like (wrestling) does have something for everybody. If people were to give it a chance.”

bbaleeiro@postmedia.com

IF YOU GO

What: The Ref Didn’t See It filming during Deathproof Fight Club pro wrestling

Date: April 6 from 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Tickets: General admission is $20 or $25 with meet and greet.

Location: Dundas & Sons Brewing Company at 400 Adelaide St. N.

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