Report: WWE Looking To Hire Shorter Referees To Make Talent Look Taller

From Tom Phillips stretching to female backstage interviewers taking their shoes off, WWE and Vince McMahon have always been obsessed with making talent appear taller than they actually are as the company attempts to give the impression of larger-than-life athletes fighting it out inside the squared circle.

This obsession is set to take another turn. Writing in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer has reported that WWE have introduced a directive to hire shorter referees as another way to make Superstars look taller.

This isn't an entirely new thing, though, and former WWE Referee Mike Chioda has previously noted that WWE introduced a height limit when hiring officials and most referees in the company are below six-foot.

"I'm six-foot, I think there's maybe like one referee who's maybe six-one. I think Chad's [Patton] about six-foot and everybody else is pretty much smaller, so no more than six-foot. I think the top you're gonna get is six-foot and so it should be," Chioda said on AdFreeShows.com.

"You don't wanna be looking as tall as the wrestlers, even though they're six-foot they look jacked. They're all jacked up looking good, but your referees should not be towering over your talent that's for sure."

H/T to Inside The Ropes