Wrestling is quite a dangerous sport, where the two athletes get into a massive physical battle, hoping to come out on top. Thus, in such a sport, the probability of someone getting hurt increases. However, there is a thin line between wrestlers hurting their opponents and seriously injuring them. And it is the referee’s job to make sure that the line is not crossed and that both wrestlers remain safe. This is why a referee in a newly emerged clip has come under a lot of fire.

There was a video uploaded to the Reddit wrestling community featuring two high school athletes who get themselves locked in a very tense situation during their wrestling encounter. One was dressed in a grey jersey while the other was in black. Suddenly, after both had a serious tussle, the wrestler in the grey jersey managed to grasp hold of his opponent’s leg, looking for a takedown. What he does next takes the whole wrestling community by surprise.

The grey-jersey wrestler lifts his opponent after he appears to lose balance in an attempt to slam him onto the ground. However, as he is about to finish the move, both his feet leave the ground. He then uses gravity to smash him down, in control of his body still. This seemed like an extremely dangerous maneuver since the extra strength of gravity would have seriously hurt the opponent. However, despite this, the referee deemed it not a foul move and instead gave points to the grey jersey.

This angered the members of the wrestling community on Reddit since they were pretty adamant over the fact that the move performed by the wrestler was definitely illegal. In fact, many were even shocked that it did not receive a foul by the referee since it might cause serious damage to the opponent’s body.

Hence, many were worried about why the referee did not call it an illegal move. They expressed their dissatisfaction with this fact in the comment section of the post as well. However, some tried to bat in his defense and said that his intentions were not wrong.

Wrestling community debates on the referee’s lenient decision

Numerous members of the wrestling community weren’t happy with the decision made by the referee. While slams should be encouraged in the sport, most shared the same thoughts about the slam made in the particular video. It was definitely illegal, as both the feet of the wrestler were up in the air for one or two seconds. This meant that the slam done was not through skill but by using the gravitational force that would pull down every wrestler.

According to many, this shouldn’t be done as it is unfair to the opponent. One fan wrote, “Yeah, I love letting them wrestle and wrestle hard. That’s a slam. Can’t leave your feet,” while the other wrote, “Super illegal.” In combat sports like wrestling and boxing, one must always adhere to the rules and not try to take the easy way out.

This is because, unlike other sports where the opponents only get an unfair advantage by cheating, in combat sports, illegal moves pose a clear danger of an excessive injury or even a worse scenario. Thus, illegal moves must be kept in check, as one fan wrote, “The intensity is a judgement call, but he left his feet so definitely illegal. JV refs, though; they’re always brand new or just bad at it in general. Most stuff doesn’t get called.”

However, this should be improved, as athletes who compete in wrestling at this age are the ones who are most in danger of a career- or life-threatening injury. Thus, the system might have to do better here. Another fan, however, felt that the referee ignored the slam only after noticing that the intensity of it wasn’t high enough to seriously hurt his opponent.

Thus, despite the move being illegal, he didn’t do anything about it. “That’s not what makes it legal or not. If you lift your opponent in college & return them to the mat as a slam. Your knee needs to touch the mat before your opponent does. This wasn’t a dangerous slam, so the ref just ignored it,” they said.

If true, this was a very risky move to play from the referee. They must ensure that their wrestlers are saved first and foremost, as this is competitive wrestling. Of course, many felt that the slam was similar to the entertainment side of wrestling. “Bro thinks it’s WWE,” said one fan. The WWE showcases a lot of slams in its fights. In fact, wrestlers like the Undertaker, Kane, and Big Show are very popular for the move ‘choke slam,’ a move where they grab their opponents’ necks and slam them down.

Now that the fans have given their thoughts on the wrestler’s move, do you think it was an appropriate action? Let us know in the comments below.