SUMMARY
- Teddy Long is a WWE legend and a Hall of Famer.
- However, many may not know that Long had his start as a referee.
Theodore Robert Rufus Long, aka Teddy Long, has a multi-talented personality. He is a pro wrestling referee, manager, and authority figure in the world of professional wrestling. Not to mention, he is popular among fans for his tenures with WCW, NWA, and WWE.
Previously, Teddy Long started his career in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Thereafter, in 1998, he became a part of WWE. During that, he was featured as a referee. However, in 2003, he became an on-screen manager.
Moving ahead, in 2004, Teddy became the first African American general manager of Friday Night SmackDown. With that, he gained a lot of popularity among the fans. Also, previously at Survivor Series 2005, Long defeated Eric Bischoff, who was the RAW General Manager. This happened as a result of the SmackDown vs. RAW feud.
Meanwhile, it is worth mentioning that during his tenure as the General Manager of SmackDown, Long brought back many old match types. Apart from that, he also introduced new match types. For instance, he announced a Last Ride Match between JBL and The Undertaker at No Mercy 2004.
In addition to that, Long announced the first ever Barbed Wire Steel Cage Match between JBL and Big Show at No Way Out 2005. Thereafter, Teddy got involved in a feud with John Laurinaitis and Eve Torres. Going forward, Long became the senior advisor to Booker T.
With that, in June 2014, Teddy was released from his WWE contract after almost a year of inactivity. Thus, his long tenure with the Stamford-based promotion came to an end. Meanwhile, he showcased a noteworthy run, which is still talked about among the fans.
Teddy Long elaborates on how he became a referee
It can be understood that Teddy Long had a noteworthy career in the largest wrestling promotion in the world. However, it seems the beginning of his career as a referee was disastrous for him. Recently, Long appeared for a conversation with Chris Van Vliet. During that, he opened up about how he previously became a referee.
Long stated that previously, a job opportunity came to him, which was to put the ring up and take the ring down. He mentioned that a promoter named Louise Manning gave him that job. He added “They really gave to me because they wanted to keep it in-house. I had been there and been around and kind of trusted me. So that’s how I got the ring job.”
With that, Long mentioned that one night he took the ring to the “cop Civic Center in Marietta, Georgia.” He then stated that around 7 o’clock they found out that they had no referee because the one who was supposed to show up didn’t. He mentioned that the management was panicking, and Louise told him that they would provide him with a referee shirt and that he would have to be the referee.
He added that he had told Louise that he had no knowledge about that. However, she asked him not to worry about it. With that, Teddy said that the first match he acted as a referee was a match between Black Bart and Ron Bass at NWA Starrcade 1985. Long then added that during the match, the wrestlers began bleeding profoundly, and he got scared.
The WWE veteran said, “They scared me so bad…they bleeding so bad, I jump out of the ring, I’m like, ‘I’m leaving, no more this’.” Teddy then said that after he jumped out of the ring, he could hear Charlie McGowan, who was the timekeeper, telling him to get back in the ring. However, Long added that he was panicking and was scared of the guys “bleeding all over the place.”
He also mentioned that he was thinking that the wrestlers would come after him. However, he eventually gathered courage and went back in. He added that after he went inside the ring, the match went pretty well, and he started getting the hang of it. He said, “Remember this is my first time ever refereeing in anything.”
Finally, Long revealed that he was quite lucky. He said that towards the end of the match, the timekeeper guy rang the bell too quickly, which resulted in him destroying the finisher of the match. Teddy stated that the management people got so mad at him that they forgot about what Long did. He then said, “As of today, I believe that’s how I survived.”
Thus, by what Teddy Long revealed, it can be understood that he had a scary beginning to his career as a referee. However, he survived it all and put forward a career that will be cherished by fans for years down the line.
When was the last time Teddy Long appeared on WWE television?
While Teddy Long was released from WWE in June 2014, he kept making sporadic appearances in the Stamford-based promotion. Previously, during the 15th anniversary of Friday Night SmackDown in October 2014, Teddy made a surprise appearance.
Also, during that, Team Teddy, which consisted of Mark Henry, Sheamus, The Usos, Jack Swagger, El Torito, and Los Matadores, defeated Team Johnny (John Laurinaitis), which consisted of Stardust, Goldust, Cesaro, Heath Slater, Bo Dallas, Damien Mizdow, Hornswoggle, and Titus O’Neil.
Thereafter, in February 2017, it was announced that Long would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. With that, the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony took place on March 31, 2017. During that, the APA, that is, John “Bradshaw” Layfield and Ron Simmons, inducted Teddy Long into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Meanwhile, Long kept making several appearances on WWE television. He appeared during the 30th anniversary of RAW in January 2023. During that, just like old times, he booked a six-man tag team match between Seth Rollins, Angelo Dawkins, and Montez Ford vs. Gunther, Giovanni Vinci, and Ludwig Kaiser.
Finally, Long’s latest appearance on WWE television took place in April 2024. During the 2024 WWE Draft, on April 26, Teddy was featured as a member of the Friday Night SmackDown backstage team. Thus, it can be understood that Teddy’s last WWE appearance took place not too long ago.
Nick Aldis: “Should we high-five or fist-bump?”
Teddy Long: “Yes” #SmackDown #WWEDraft pic.twitter.com/RIRIsrSB21— H (@HesamSaid) April 27, 2024
With that, his beloved fans will look forward to seeing him in action once again inside the squared circle. However, given the fact that he is currently 76 years old, that is unlikely to happen. Meanwhile, they will wait to hear more interesting stories from Long during his appearances on interviews and podcasts. Till that happens, his fans will take a look at his long, stretched, Hall of Fame-worthy career.