AEW fans have a lot of criticisms for the company, and the referee staff is not immune to that. Although Aubrey Edwards seems to be a favorite target, a different official is taking shade this time around.
Brian Hebner has refereed in a lot of matches. His experience makes him a great referee in the business, if not the best. He has years of experience and wanted to share some of his advice to AEW referee Bryce Remsburg.
On his “Refin’ It Up with Brian Hebner,” Hebner said that he laughs at times while watching Bryce call the match down the middle. He called Remsburg a good guy, but the professional approach was missing on some occasions.
Brian said that Bryce holds his face when someone gets slapped in the face or he tries to check his back when someone gets hit in the back, but all of that seems too much to handle.
According to Hebner, It’s understandable that referees can have emotions based on what transpires in the ring, but if it happens on every occasion then that becomes tiring to watch.
I have to call the elephant in the room. I have met this guy several times. He’s a very nice guy. It has nothing to do with him as an individual or a human being. Bryce Remsburg, and once again, a very, very nice guy. It’s time for someone to let this guy know he is killing matches, and taking away the power, and taking away the show, and taking away the story because it’s not about him. He’s over dramatic with too many things. Sometimes I see some things that make me just sit here and really laugh because it actually is funny because that’s how outlandish it’s become and nobody’s even seeing it, it seems like that works for that company.
I think the guy’s a good referee, but he’s not when he does all these things. So if somebody gets slapped, he’s grabbing his face. If somebody gets kicked in the back, he’s holding his back. He’s jumping up and down. He’s just over the top. I understand being involved in caring about what’s going on in the ring and showing natural and when I say natural, I’ll explain that if you’d like, but natural expressions. I’ve never once watched an MMA match and watched the guy and the referee sell everybody that gets knocked out. They don’t do anything. They do their fu**ing job and that’s what we need to do. It’s okay if it’s a spot where you’re supposed to show emotion or you’re supposed to show something, but not every time someone does something. Like I say the guy’s a good referee if you take that out. Yeah, I love his count. I love his cadence. I like how he tries to stick to rules. But this has got to stop. He’s taking away from talent, and I think that’s unfair.
Hebner praised Bryce for his cadence and the ability to stick to the rules. It does mean that he is doing things right, but somewhere or in something he is going the wrong way.
Do you agree with Hebner’s comments about Remsburg? Sound off in the comments.