Nick Patrick discusses WCW Souled Out 97'.
At the WCW Souled Out pay-per-view in 1997, Nick Patrick had the honor of being the referee for the entire show. The card featured matches such as The Outsiders vs. The Steiner Brothers, Eddie Guerrero vs. Syxx, and 'Hollywood' Hulk Hogan vs. The Giant.
In a new exclusive interview with Fightful Select, Patrick revealed that Souled Out was the first time that he officiated an entire pay-per-view by himself.
“Back in the day, a lot of times referees had to do the whole show and it got to where finishes became where they were bumping the ref so much, they couldn’t just get away with having one guy so they start using other refs. I had done the whole show many times before [Souled Out], but never a pay-per-view. That was the first time I’d ever done a pay-per-view, that was work man. That was work."
Patrick went on to talk about how he prefers to let the talent dictate matches when he's a referee, noting that it's the most fun way for him to work.
"I just kinda try to remember the highlights because I couldn’t remember everything from start to finish. That’s how I did it, I just got with each match and said, ‘Look, I’m gonna follow you guys.’ Cause I’ve been doing it all my life, and I can do that. But I think when I know the basic outline of what you want me to do, and there’s nothing specific you need me to do bump wise, I can follow and do whatever you want and that way you get a spontaneous reaction. That’s the way I grew up and for me that’s the most fun way. Times change, there’s only a few guys that can do that anymore. I was fortunate when I got to work in WWE, I got to do some Undertaker/JBL matches. They had a framework, but a lot of that stuff was off the cuff, on the fly man. I loved [officiating] that because that was my old school way of doing it. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to do that again, there I was at the biggest level with the biggest company doing it the way we like it. That was fun.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Patrick chatted about the return of Deep South Wrestling. Fans can learn more by clicking here.
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