[Note: interview originally conducted in Jan. of 2000]

A night club in Danville, Illinois isn’t necessarily the place one would expect to bump into a WWF referee, let alone two. However, on that particular Saturday evening, Jack Doan (Oakwood, IL) and Chad Patton (Champaign, IL) were relaxing before starting the WWF Tour Jan. 17. For Jack, it was returning to the business that he loved; after a one -year hiatus, he had received a call from the WWF the previous evening asking him to rejoin the company. Two subsequent interviews with Jack proved not only great insight into the business, but honest reflections and genuine passion for the wrestling industry.

Jack's start with the World Wrestling Federation began because of his relationship with Danville native Bill Kruger. “This fellow named Jack Kruger used to wrestle and when he retired, he refereed a bit, then started driving semis for [the WWF],” Jack recalls. “He got his brother, Dad and other brother Bill driving semis and setting up the ring," he added. "I became friends with the younger brother who graduated from the University of Illinois this past year and he got me on, driving and setting-up. Basically I was a roadie.”

The younger Kruger eventually became a WWF referee but left after six months to pursue a college degree; with Kruger gone, the WWF needed a replacement. “I started refing a little bit, learning, taking it nice and slow. I did a couple of matches on TV and unfortunately ... Joey Morella (WWF referee and son of WWF personality Gorilla Monsoon) got killed after a TV taping in Ocean City, MA,” recalls Jack. “That kind of opened up a slot for me to become a full-time TV ref and to start doing more house shows.”

Jack's training came not from a wrestling school, but a gradual on-the-road training with Senior WWF Official Earl Hebner. “I worked with him for about a month and then I learned as I went [and after that point] they'd tell me what I was doing wrong after each match.” Jack has been with the WWF since October of 1991 with a year off between January of 1999 and Monday, Jan. 16 of this year. Over the years, Jack has seen quite a few wrestlers enter and leave the Federation. Not only has he seen a plethora of injuries befall “the boys,” but he has suffered his fair share of in-ring battle scars as well.

“With Lex Luger, I took stitches in my lip ... They were in the corner and I was trying to get them out ... and he went back to throw a punch and he caught me in the lower lip,” recalls Jack. “Kevin Nash, back when he was Diesel, threw me over the ropes and I came down and broke my wrist.”

Approximately five years ago, Jack was out of action for about a month with stretched ligaments in his knee after “Gigolo” Jimmy Del Rey, one half of the Heavenly Bodies, clipped him during a tag match. But being on crutches for a month wasn't as severe as his accidental concussion. “The most serious one I took was at the Royal Rumble, three years ago. Ahmed Johnson was thrown over the ropes and as I was standing over him telling him to leave, Phineas Godwinn (Mideon/Fake Mankind) came over the top and kicked me in the back of the head. I ended up finishing the Rumble but when I went backstage, I was having a lot of neck pain [and subsequently lost consciousness]. I ended up spending the night at the hospital and they released me having had a concussion. I went back to the arena the next day and I was having a lot of neck problems. So they took me back to the hospital and found out that I had a bulging disk, my C3. I was off for about three weeks recovering from that and it was disappointing because I missed working with [Mike] Tyson.”

Vader's WWF RAW debut was an unhappy one—after attacking then WWF "President," the late Gorilla Monsoon and a fellow ref—Vader assaulted Jack. “I went back stage ... and I was coughing-up blood. I saw a doctor back stage and he said that I had probably broken blood vessels ... I coughed-up blood for another 24 hours and I was OK after that.”

Jack's life on the road is obviously a hectic one. At the time of our phone conversation, he was awaiting a call from the airport regarding his lost luggage and resting after an exhausting trip home during the Jan. 19 snow storm. “One of our rules ... is always to carry at least one outfit on every flight because (lost luggage) has happened at least seven times to me. At least once a year, my bags will be lost completely.”

Less than one month before his WWF return, Jack received a late night phone call requesting his services. “I was contacted the Saturday night before Starcade '99 at about 1 a.m. by Jeff Jarrett, who said that WCW wanted to use me in its pay-per-view,” Jack said. “I was a little leery—I didn't want to come in and do one show and I really wanted to get back to the WWF, where my family and heart was. But I wanted to get back to work too. So, I flew into Washington to talk to them. I went to the arena and spoke with Vince Russo, who was doing the writing. He told me what they had in mind ...” Jack battled Russo's proposal, stating, “Just from ... being there—my gut feeling—I was almost sick to my stomach [and] I just didn't feel as though it was right to do...”


Part 2


After a late night phone call from Jeff Jarrett, Jack flew to the WCW pay-per-view, Starcade to discuss a possible role with the company. After a conversation with then-WCW booker Vince Russo, Jack contemplated Russo’s proposed angle before declining the offer. Starcade’s main event featured then world champion, Bret Hart facing Goldberg. The finish saw referee Roddy Piper immediately calling for the bell once Hart placed Goldberg in the sharpshooter, a la the 1997 Survivor Series. But this time, Goldberg was on the other end of “the screwing.”

“They wanted me to play the part of Earl Hebner and screwover Goldberg for the belt,” Jack said. “Three refs would be taken out and I would come down and the announcers were going to say, ‘Here comes Referee Jack Doan who was with the WWF’ to draw the affiliation between me and Bret Hart. We were going to kind of wink at each other and when he put Goldberg in the sharpshooter, I’d call for the bell and screwover Goldberg. My feeling was that I didn’t want to come in and help them out for one pay-per-view and help their ratings, while my heart and my loyalty was with the WWF. Just from being there—my gut feeling—I was almost sick to my stomach (and) I just didn’t feel as though it was right to do ... I went to Vince Russo and said that I just didn’t feel right about doing this. He was really good about it—said he understood—and wished me the best of luck.”

Jack’s WCW experience also yielded an observation and comparison between the locker rooms of both companies. “With the WWF, we have a family atmosphere and everyone’s really friendly towards one another. There [WCW] they seemed to be really cliquish. And while we are still a business—WCW is more ‘work and business’ versus having fun as well. In the WWF, the referees and the boys, we are all working together to achieve something. But down there, it seemed like the referees were treated at a lower standard than the wrestlers. Some of the [WCW] refs felt as though they were treated a little less just because they’re the referees—we’re an important part of the show too.”

While not working for the WWF during Droz’s paralyzing accident, Jack still remembers the pleasure of working with Droz. “It’s hard to be in this business and have everyone like you, but I don’t think there is one person in the WWF who has anything bad to say about Droz,” said Jack. “It makes you wonder why God chooses who he does—to take Owen away from us, then to have this happen to Droz, it makes you wonder why. You don’t question it—you learn to live with it—but it doesn’t make it any easier.”

From the referee’s perspective, the in-ring action is tough not only on officials like Jack but on the athletes who perform. “These guys try to stay in good physical shape but just the demand night after night, taking bumps, it wears on you,” he said. “Their bodies get conditioned to the beatings ... no one wants to see anyone else get hurt. Everyone has a family to go home to. Being that they do 200 shows per year, people are going to get hurt. It’s like any sport, no one wants to see it but it’s just part of being in the game. The wear and tear take it’s toll...”

As a local celebrity, Jack has used his WWF career as a vehicle to talk to local schools and raise money for charities. “I go to local schools, talking to kids about wrestling. I enjoy doing that. I volunteer my time, and they really enjoy it as well. I go about seven, eight times a year. I also go to Catholic schools, and I participate when they have celebrity readers to read stories to the kids. They did a tribute to the veterans at the Veterans’ Administration last year and brought in Darren Fletcher and the mayor, and we stopped by and talked to the patients and it was really gratifying to do that.”

Several years ago, the son of Jack’s best friend was tragically killed after being struck by lightning. Since then, Jack has been involved with raising funds for the Kirk Jentrup Scholarship Fund. “Every year, we have a scholarship they give out in his name and auction the items off. The WWF has been very generous in giving me things to donate. The wrestlers read the story and have been really great autographing items for the auction.”

Jack has donated many WWF items over the years, including three autographed turnbuckles and a signed chair. “They take the money and it goes towards a scholarship fund for local high school students to help them out with their college tuition. It’s for a great cause ... and I enjoy doing anything I can to help.”

While Jack could tell dozens of stories about backstage life and travel with the WWF, some of his fondest memories turn to the late Owen Hart.

“Everyone’s probably heard this a thousand times, but without a doubt Owen Hart was probably the funniest guy to ever be around. When you’re on the road travelling, town-to-town, hotel-to-hotel, it takes a toll on you. He never did a practical joke to ever hurt anybody, but to keep everyone smiling, laughing and having a good time. I wasn’t around when Owen got killed, but his great personality is one thing that is missing from the locker room. He’s really missed a lot by the guys.”