Dave Hebner

Dave Hebner (May 17, 1949 – June 17, 2022) was an American professional wrestling authority figure, promoter, road agent and referee.
==Career==
Hebner debuted as a professional wrestling referee in the late 1970s in the Richmond, Virginia area. In the 1980s he began working for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) where he refereed many historic matches such as Randy Savage versus Ricky Steamboat at WrestleMania III and Randy Savage versus Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania V. Perhaps his most memorable appearance came on the February 5, 1988 episode of The Main Event, when he was assigned to referee a match for the WWF Championship between Hulk Hogan and André the Giant. André defeated Hogan after Hebner's twin brother Earl had switched places as DiBiase had locked Dave in a closet and quickly counted to three as André pinned Hogan, despite Hogan clearly having his shoulder up. The match and the WWF Championship were awarded to André as a result who later vacated the title. Both Hebners received a $2,500 bonus for the match.
Prior to WrestleMania IV, the WWF attempted to extend the "evil twin" referee storyline through a kayfabe "investigative report" published in the promotions' flagship publication, WWF Magazine. The article used a fictional backstory to build sympathy for Dave by claiming he was continually victimized by Earl's misdeeds committed in Dave's name since their childhoods. However, the angle was dropped after Dave said, during a 2001 interview with WWF RAW Magazine, that he had suffered broken ribs when Earl kicked him (as part of the aftermath of the Hogan-Andre match during The Main Event). As a result, the storyline was shifted to have Earl come clean, and he was the referee when Randy Savage won the Tournament final at WrestleMania IV against Ted DiBiase for the WWF Championship.
After retiring as a referee following knee replacement surgery, Hebner became a WWF road agent. He worked as a Road Agent until July 2005.
Hebner was released from the WWF, renamed WWE, in July 2005 along with his brother Earl for selling merchandise without authorization.
After being released, Hebner debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) on the December 17, 2005 episode of TNA Impact!, appearing on the stage during a match between Team 3D and the The Diamonds in the Rough.
In addition to appearing with TNA, Hebner opened his own professional wrestling promotion, the United Wrestling Federation (UWF), in Virginia. In addition to the promotion, he is also the promotion's storyline General manager. In March 2006, the UWF announced that it had signed a deal to promote TNA-branded house shows in the Mid-Atlantic States, with the first shows being promoted in conjunction with NASCAR's April 2006 race in Martinsville, Virginia. UWF ceased co-promoting shows with TNA in early 2007, although the promotion continued to use TNA talent.
==Personal life==
Hebner was married to his wife Rebecca for 43 years. His identical twin brother, Earl, and nephew Brian (Earl's son) are also wrestling referees. Hebner suffered from Parkinson's disease.
In July 2016, Hebner was named part of a class action lawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that performers incurred "long term neurological injuries" and that the company "routinely failed to care" for them and "fraudulently misrepresented and concealed" the nature and extent of those injuries. The suit was litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE. In September 2018, US District Judge Vanessa Lynne Bryant dismissed the lawsuit.
Dave Hebner died on June 17, 2022 at the age of 73 from Parkinson’s disease.
==External links==
* Profile
Category:1949 births
Category:2022 deaths
Category:Referees
Category:Promoters
Category:World Wrestling Entertainment alumni
Category:United Wrestling Federation alumni