Chad Patton 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 .