Chad Patton (May 5, 1976) is an American professional wrestling referee currently signed with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
Career
World Wrestling Federation (2000-2002)
He was signed by the WWF after he was introduced to the by his friend, Jack Doan. On his days off and on the weekend, Patton would help set up the ring for WWE events in the Midwest. Officials recognized his hard work and put him in charge of putting up the stage. Eventually, it became a full-time job for Patton. At one point, he was asked to try his hand at ring announcing, which Patton says he was terrible at. Patton was thrilled when a referee position became available and tried out. He’s been a WWE referee ever since.
The first match which Patton refereed was a bout between Steve Blackman and Tiger Ali Singh.
World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (2002-present)
In 2002, the WWF was renamed "World Wrestling Entertainment", and the roster was divided between two "brands", Raw and SmackDown!. Patton was placed on the Raw brand and officiated the matches.
On the August 8, 2005 edition of Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff made him wrestle Chris Jericho after Bishoff slapped him for interfering in "his business". Making him publicly apologize and then made a match between Jericho and Patton with Bischoff himself serving as referee. To make matters worse, Bischoff refused to enforce the rules, allowing Jericho to repeatedly choke Patton and for Carlito to deliver cheap shots from ringside. Y2J finally applied the Walls of Jericho and Patton promptly tapped, but Bischoff refused to end the match right away.
Patton stuck up for Maria Kanellis on November 28, 2005 edition of Raw, punching assigned referee Daivari in the face. On the December 19, 2005 edition of Raw (Tribute to the Troops), Patton refereed the Shawn Michaels - Triple H Bootcamp match which resulted in Patton being punched in the face.
On January 16, 2006 edition of Raw, Patton was officiating a match between Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels when manager Daivari inexplicably entered the ring with a steel chair. He seemed to be looking to go after Michaels — despite Angle having HBK in the ankle lock at the time. Patton intercepted Daivari and grabbed hold of the foreign object. As Daivari and Patton fought, Angle tried to pull away the chair. In doing so, the chair was inadvertently thrust up into Angle’s throat, stunning him. Michaels seized the moment and rolled up Angle for a sudden win. Fortunately for Patton, Angle took out his aggression on Daivari — not him. On the April 10, 2006 edition of Raw Patton was officiating a World Tag Team Championship match between the Spirit Squad and Big Show and Kane. Near the end of the match Kane would "snap" and throw steel chairs into the ring, Patton would then disqualify him for it. After the match Kane would try to use the chairs on the Spirit Squad however Patton would intervene and take the chair off Kane. Kane would then chokeslam Patton.
He would remain on the Raw brand until November 2008 when referees were made no longer exclusive to certain brands. On the June 7, 2010, show of Raw Patton was assaulted by the NEXUS. On April 6, 2012, Patton disqualified Sheamus in his match against Alberto Del Rio. It happened when Del Rio grabbed a chair while Patton wasn't looking and dropped it, Sheamus then picked up the chair and was disqualified for an incorrect reason. After the match, Patton turned his back on Sheamus. When he turned around, Sheamus brogue kicked him in the face because he disagreed with the referee's call. Patton also offciated the match between Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXX, in which he counted the 123 that would end The 21-0 Streak of The Undertaker at the event.
Personal life
Chad Patton was first introduced to the WWE family by friend and fellow referee Jack Doan. Patton stays active when outside the ring. He works out and enjoys helping to coach his son Chase’s sports teams, including basketball and baseball. Patton is married to his wife, Stacy.
