Among the presentation changes we saw during tonight’s January 6 WWE Raw on Netflix was a new look for the referees.
Wrestling referees have become synonymous with the zebra-esque black and white striped shirts, but it seems that least for Raw on Netflix, that has changed.
Chad Patton, the referee for the opening match between Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa tonight, was wearing a brand new shirt, not the usual black and white design.
Instead, Patton was donning a shirt similar to a gray bowling shirt, with just two black stripes down the left hand side rather than across the whole shirt.
During the match Patton was taken out and another referee – Shawn Bennett – came out to replace him, also wearing the new gray shirt.
It was Bennett who counted the fall as Roman Reigns picked up the win following run-ins from the new and OG Bloodlines, Kevin Owens and Cody Rhodes.
Post-match, The Rock came back out to the ring to place the symbolic Ula Fala on Reigns to crown him the true Tribal Chief.
It remains to be seen whether this change will carry over to WWE NXT and SmackDown – there were a number of years in the past where Raw referees had the aforementioned typical black and white shirts, while SmackDown referees had blue shirts.
Another noticeable presentation change for Raw was the ring mat, which instead of being plain white, is now black with sponsor logos for Riyadh Season, Snickers, Fortnite, Netflix, Cricket and Hulk Hogan’s Real American Beer.
On SmackDown this past Friday, the ring mat was changed from white to blue, but with no sponsor logos.
The WWE referees have new shirts! #WWERAW pic.twitter.com/33cmpXQQKU
— Wrestle Features (@WrestleFeatures) January 7, 2025
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