wrestling / News

Former Referee Recalls Working Randy Orton vs. Hulk Hogan at SummerSlam 2006

August 29, 2018 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas
Hulk Hogan Randy Orton Summerslam 2006

– Former WWE referee Marty Elias wrote a piece for The Sports Daily recalling working the Randy Orton vs. Hulk Hogan match at SummerSlam 2006. You can see some excerpts below and the full article here, which features Elias’ memories of arriving at the arena for the PPV and his emotional reaction when Sgt. Slaugher, who was working as a producer for WWE at the time, told him he would be working Hogan vs. Orton:

My heart sank, and I asked him to repeat what he said. He said, “you have the Hogan match, have fun!” Right there and then, I had flashbacks to when I would take my younger brothers to the LA Sports Arena to see Hulk Hogan in the late 80s early 90s. I surely thought Sarge was ribbing me! But this was no rib!

As word got out about assignments, I was asked how I got such a high profile match. I didn’t know what to say; it was just assigned to me, I didn’t ask for it! I did find out later that John Laurinaitis assigned me the match because he believed in my ability and knew I was a great referee. Although I hadn’t been with WWE that long, he knew I would do great.

Elias also discusses working with Orton, Hogan, and Jimmy Hart backstage as they laid out the match, and how there was some debate about who would go over during the match:

As we entered the dressing room, there sat Hulk Hogan, Jimmy “Mouth Of The South” Hart, and Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake. As we discussed the match, the issue of who was “going over” came up and it went back and forth for a bit. Vince McMahon finally came into the dressing room to chat with Hulk and the issue of who was “over” was settled right there.