Referee Nick Patrick: What REALLY Happened At Starrcade 97, WCW Invasion, nWo, Taking Ref Bumps

Nick Patrick is a retired professional wrestling referee known for his time in WCW and WWE. He joins Chris Van Vliet from his home in Atlanta, GA to talk about how he started his career as a wrestler and then became a referee, getting hired by WCW, turning heel as part of the nWo, what really happened at the end of the Hulk Hogan vs. Sting match at WCW Starrcade 97, was he told to do a fast count or a slow count?, his match with Chris Jericho where Jericho had one hand tied behind his back, being part of the WCW Invasion angle in WWE, teaming with The Dudley Boyz against Mike Chioda, The Rock and Y2J, the art of taking a ref bump, why he believes WWE doesn't highlight referees anymore and more!
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00:00 Intro
00:26 Referee’s having names in wrestling
02:08 Starting his career as a wrestler
07:18 Who helped develop his skills as a referee?
09:02 What do referee’s do that fans don’t see?
12:25 When did he realize WCW was getting popular?
14:13 Did he believe WCW being on top would last
15:52 Vince Russo signaling the end of WCW
17:38 Working in wrestling since childhood
19:37 What REALLY happened at Starrcade 97’?
31:40 Is he surprised Sting is still wrestling?
33:07 His wrestling-related injuries
37:19 Taking care of his autistic son
39:40 Ref bumps vs Wrestler bumps
40:49 What was the hardest finish to take?
42:14 Who’s idea was the nWo referee?
43:49 How did he think about cutting promos?
45:52 He looks JUST like Kenny Powers!
46:36 Match with Chris Jericho
49:28 Memories of Brian Pillman
51:56 Scott Hall making his WCW debut
53:21 The last episode of WCW Nitro
58:35 Memories of WCW Invasion
1:20:00 Teaming with the Dudley Boyz
1:01:34 What is the difference in referees today?
1:04:30 Is Charles Robinson ageless?
1:05:30 Stories running Deep South Wrestling
1:08:20 Booker T’s Hall of Fame comments
1:14:23 John Cena vs JBL at Wrestlemania
1:15:38 Biggest matches he’s ever been a part of
1:18:00 First meeting Vince McMahon
1:21:09 3 Things Nick Patrick is grateful for
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#wrestling #nwo #nwo4life #wwe

[@AmandaRogersarock1988]

Chris has this insane talent to get people excited about speaking about their passions and steering the conversion without making it all about himself. Yet STILL managing to show and engage his own excitement and ask great questions. I'm so happy I stumbled onto his channel.

[@ChrisVanVliet]

I really appreciate that!

[@rafalladysz2531]

His match with Earl Hebner at the Invasion PPV was, if nothing else, great comedic relief on that show. Another great interview from CVV.

[@Andrew-Antioch-Kim]

Nick Patrick is a true (WCW) legend!

[@trustnoone3007]

Wow, an hour & 25 mins. What a treat! I guess it's safe to say that Chris' platform is the place to be for anyone who's been in the wrestling business should come on here and share their story. Chris is a highly respectable interviewer whenever he conducts these interviews.

[@bxkennedy134]

💯

[@flamethrowerflufsalisbury]

The way Nick genuinely lights up when he talks about his father is awesome.

[@adambysko1787]

he was so good at making us hate him

[@ChrisVanVliet]

The ultimate heel ref!

[@makaveli4205]

He looks like Jim Cornette with them glasses

[@georgiosgiannoukas3319]

lol I remember LOATHING his guts during the invasion angle

[@aztecwrrior1997]

Nick Patrick defined early SmackDown brand split days he was the boss of the SD Refs thank you sir for your experience and commitment for the craft

[@AsimKhan-oy1ei]

I love how Chris asks the question and listens closely without interrupting. Keep up the good work brother. Yours truly, a wrestling fan.

[@supermorph]

I used to watch wwf and wcw & as a kid i used to despise nick Patrick as a character. but hearing and seeing this interview, he has inspired me hearing great background insights into how things went down. id like to personally give heartfelt respect to the troubles he and his family is and has gone thru. I loved the referee vs referee match, that's one of my best memories of the invasion era. was sad to hear the other side of the buyout, all those behind the scenes families facing tough times. I follow you on big ol' Facebook, and i came to this channel because you pointed a link in one of the fb videos recently. such a great interview.

[@torrentialdownpourmondays5510]

Man wrestling is so nostalgic for me and seeing Chris do this is awesome. I always feel like I missed out in the 2000s bc I had a chance to go to wrestling school for free and never did it. I regret it to this day.

[@bgfarm857]

So what im getting from this so far is Hogan and Bischoff screwed Sting thinking that it would make him look bad in the end(bc Sting got a little out of shape when they had him not wrestling for a year....what did they think was gonna happen) but instead its one of the biggest things fans point to that kill the legacies of Hogan and Bischoff while one of the things that makes Sting look good lol

[@TheAJUniverse]

Great guest! Awesome interview, Chris!

[@mikeledger2614]

Damn Chris…always impressing. You have an incredible talent knowing when to listen and when to talk. I loved listening to Nick just go. He’s a man with so much history. I felt like I got a real moment with the man. He was my favorite ref. Stay strong Nick!! One day Danny McBride needs to take your history and make a WCW series for HBO.

[@TonyStarks718]

Ahhh my wish came true!! Always wanted you to interview Nick Patrick. I loved his unique way of counting a pin with the slight arm wiggle.

[@aztecwrrior1997]

I tried that count style once man my arm hurt

[@oozemacheesemo8656]

Nick Patrick was the man. When he reffed title matches he held the title with such a stern and serious face. The best

[@hersheybarber1424]

Nick Patrick is where Kenny Powers got his look from.

[@Berserker_2024]

Chris thank you so much for all your amazing interviews. You stand out as the best interviewer for me. The Conversations going so deep. You are such a great human. Thank you for all the hard work you put in for so many years. Nick Patrick is one of my all time favourite refs. Dear Greetings from Germany

[@freakshowfilmfestival3591]

I was backstage, and I was watching an interview with Kevin Nash on the truck (they wouldn't let us into the arena until Nitro was over) Nick comes over standing next to me in plain clothes smoking a cigarette. I turn and look and I am like "Oh $#!+, Nick Patrick." Super nice guy to talk to. So amazing. I only saw like 3 wrestlers (Jericho, Rey, and David Flair) so talking with Nick Patrick really made my night.

[@tannerreese6983]

Your interviews are so great, but your interviews with the referees are hands down my favorites in the series. Great work!

[@gerren41]

This was such a interesting and informative interview along with all the interviews thank you cvv.

[@bxkennedy134]

One of my all time favorite refs lol, glad to see he’s doing ok

[@THE_GOONIES_FANATIC4lyfe15]

I've been waiting for years to see Nick Patrick !! I got to see him when I lived in Richmond VA when WCW visited .

[@jamesfierro94]

The Finger Poke of Doom was WCW's demise and indeed Mankind's WWF Title win did in fact " put butts in seats" airing on the same night

[@clachapelle]

Nick Patrick was a great referee, and is a very nice guy.. Now you should interview Charles Robinson...

[@leoflomusic1281]

Mannnn chrissss we need to advocate for nick Patrick for 2024 hall of fame he definitely deserves it! Who else agrees?

[@rogregg29445]

Him and Hebner would be awesome

[@WhatwouldRoddyPiperdo]

Hell yeah! Dont this nk ive ever actually seen a Nick Patrick interview thisll be good i was looking for more interviews to watch cheers Chris 🤘

[@Uskdr97]

Nick Patrick is an awesome guy. I train at this garage, he taught me some chain wrestling holds just last week

[@dalbertorodriguez3028]

Wow I thought the nick Patrick shoot interview was it. Let’s go!

[@nathanjones5653]

I can’t be the only one that thinks he looks like John Goodman in The Big Lebowski

[@ericdravenX00X]

Great interview, Nick tells the Stories of his Very well.. Thanks Chris!

[@thedude1982]

Good to hear from Nick Patrick. Great interview.....but man did it make me feel old lol

[@MR-RED428]

Honestly one of smartest referees because he caught Eddie Guerrero a few times cheating

[@vanalbright9868]

CHRIS YOU'RE THE GREATEST, BEST SHOW ON KZbin...I PROMISE 🖐🏾

[@keenondavis7955]

What a class act. Love how he takes care of his family and has integrity.

[@TyMarshall007]

one of the greatest Referees in Wrestling and has one of the greats bumbs ever The Patrick Flop

[@JustMike0787]

Chris, Cena wrestled Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 23. Maybe you were referring to WrestleMania 21?

[@edwinbarrera2]

Yup your right. He got those mixed up

[@TheClandestineConnection]

Much respect to Nick Patrick. He sounds like such a great dude.

[@danjure3959]

This was a fun one. Hoping to find a local signing someday or a mail in option. I’ve been looking to complete a project for a couple years!

[@gordonirvine726]

19:37 is where he talks about Starrcade

[@phenomenalelitebasketball2124]

John Cena won the WWE Championship for the first time at WrestleMania 21 not WrestleMania 23

[@Rssco]

Love the timestamps

[@JosB1991]

Love these Referee ones!

[@chrisr6776]

Great interview.

[@shaolinthechef]

Been putting out some bangers CVV.

[@K0NVICTx]

Awesome get! I remember when I was a kid, this dude pissed me off so much.

[@jjclaxton1652]

This is funny because Daddy Magic Matt Menard cut a promo about him on Monday

[@trustnoone3007]

Chris, small request. See if you can get that super WWF fan Vladimir Abouzeide on here. His documentary called Superfan was never released by WWE back in 2021 and I don't know why... His story still hasn't been told and it would be great if you can pull that off by interviewing him where he can finally tell his story.

[@bxkennedy134]

That would be pretty cool

[@NoneofYabiz-rx3zi]

It's out

[@THE_GOONIES_FANATIC4lyfe15]

Part 2 of my commenting . I can see the love in his eyes when he was talking about his son having autism. Myself who has autism aspbergers please love him as much as you can . Tell him you love him and care for him. My mom and dad told me this all the time. I take care of my mom as well. She has stage 3 breast cancer. My dad left her to live with his mistress and his son. Dad passed away last year on father's day. My mom has struggled a bit . But I am doing everything I can help

[@chaotictherory]

Chris, one thing that got missed was how did Nick feel about being the man who counted 3 for when Ron Simmons won the world title and being apart of history.

[@TimLoyalToWifeHaterFreeZoneA]

Love It Chris Van Vliet Bro

[@DarrylNarbeMLM]

Great shoot !!!

[@rivernorthhomes]

would have never guessed that was nick patrick

[@ryanfromm715]

Exactly! He looks nothing like he used to 😂 I guess aging will do that to a person.

[@MaxLujan]

WrestleMania 21 not 23 that JBL vs Cena was at

[@Ucey365]

Wonderful video!

[@ChrisVanVliet]

Glad you liked it!

[@shilledoutbyfers2445]

Eric Bischoff doesn’t get the credit he deserves for starting soo many of the 90’s wrestling trends. Like the referees becoming a big part of the show instead of just being referees. Not to mention, the boss becoming the heel. The NWO really created the attitude era. DX…..

[@JeffBird86]

Nick Patrick was a great heel referee.

[@bryanmack4054]

What makes the Starrcade finish even more silly, is the fact that they had Sting win (almost clean) at superbrawl two months later, so what’s the point?

[@Matt-cr4vv]

Because there never was a point of it. Bischoff and Hogan finally came clean about Hogans impact on the finish of the match. It’s kinda the story of sting honestly. He never got a true long run with the title. Sting is a six time WCW champion but the total length of his reigns is 251 days. It just sucks that they invested a year and a half to have this guy be the top dude and then didn’t follow through. But the reality is Hogan tanked it.

[@bavarianrocker7621]

Man, he brings back memories, most hated referee back in the day but great interview and wish him and his family all the best

[@anish3183]

Chris, JBL vs Cena was wrestlemania 21

[@jessegarcia5385]

His match with Jericho was good lmao !! So funny and golden

[@rpsullens911]

Big Nick is The Man ! Love There Facebook Post !

[@erictate5135]

A very nice person

[@ChaseSchleich]

People still talk about Starrcade 97' because it just doesn't make sense. It makes no sense to screw Sting and still put the belt on him at the end of the night. I'm sure Hogan didn't want to lose clean and wanted a visual pinfall, but it made everyone look stupid. Blaming Sting for not being mentally ready makes no sense because they still put the belt on him so the excuses don't make sense. The only thing i can think of is Hogan wanted to ice Bret as soon as he arrived and he was willing to sacrifice the biggest main event in company history to do it. Bischoff agreeing to it is just idiotic though.

[@darthsebio1726]

Hogan wanted to hold Sting & Bret down..yes..but even this started earlier..he put Luger over only a few weeks before the Sting match..that made the title win for Sting not that big...

[@cjrocks4481]

Nick Patrick was the Earl Hebner of WCW

[@adultswim000]

Please try to interview Tony Chimel!!!!!

[@gigglemaniarunninwild2207]

Timestamp please for strcde 97

[@PAXBISONICA]

Great interview. I have to be honest. Until I watched this interview I couldn't stand Nick Patrick. I disliked EVERYTHING about him. From his look to the way he did his 3 counts with that hand flapping motion he always did. Oh it bothered the hell out of me. I was always a WWF/WWE fan since childhood (now 41) so I'm sure that had much to do with it. I will say that after watching this interview, my opinion of Nick Patrick has Completely changed. Sounds like a good guy and decent human being. He was just Really good at his job making me hate him. I wish nothing but good things for him and his family. Great Interview. (as always)

[@derekvietro784]

Your next interview needs to be the all time legend......the total package lex luger

[@franklin8618]

"When your package arrives, your package.....arrives. 😏 Mmhmm" lmaooooo

[@ChrisVanVliet]

😎

[@peterlopez7317]

John Cena and JBL was actually wm21 not 23, I love all your interviews don't stop what you're doing ​@@ChrisVanVliet

[@bryanmack4054]

Nick couldn’t talk to Eric right before or right after Eric’s match with Zbysko?

[@Matt-cr4vv]

He always says that but the reality is he did what Hogan told him to do because everybody knew Eric didn’t have the final word - Hogan did. Eric has taken a ton of the shit for it through the years but on the NWO Bio they finally came clean about Hogan using his creative control. The truth is Hogan told him to count slow and that’s all that matters. He could’ve talked to Eric but if Higan wanted a slow count then a slow count was happening.

[@ColbyONE]

Great get getting NP. I will NEVERRRRRRRR understand how you don’t get everyone in the room for the biggest wrestling match in the history of the business.

[@BigJasonMc]

I always wanted to see someone interview Nick Patrick. Him and Earl Hebner are the GOATS.

[@NoneofYabiz-rx3zi]

honorable mentions Randy Anderson, Dave Hebner and Tim White

[@JonathonGreen-yb4ct]

Nick Patrick is the truth!!!

[@secondbest2877]

A ref WITH A NAME🎉

[@CosmicChris410]

Anybody have a name for Nick Patrick’s podcast? He said it so fast i have no clue what he even said

[@lav7161]

Pretty much, he was afraid of losing his job at Starrcade. He went with the opinion of the people who had more power.

[@SuperFriday]

nWo 4 Life! Nick Patrick the referee! 2 Sweet brotha!

[@MrEntertainment2x]

is it me or does nick look like tony chimmel

[@kingmagick8165]

I popped for this, nick patrick my all time fav referee he was a dick with the nwo, great ref overall dont know why he aint in the hall of fame as a ref there was earl hebner known for the screwjob but nick patrick was actually in storylines, randy anderson was a good one too in wcw

[@rogregg29445]

Literally only know the names of three refs in Wwe

[@frankielasvegas5756]

The one ref that if he was officiating someone was getting screwed over. Especially in the WCW days.

[@kvinche8120]

Sucked as a wrestler but one of the greatest refs all time

[@storysnob1022]

It’s amazing how grown men can’t cooperate on such a grand stage. Couldn’t work it out before the big moment. *sigh* 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@NoneofYabiz-rx3zi]

Sounds like Eric crumbled under the pressure of being the boss, hid and hoped for the best. Difference between Eric and Vince

[@springer90]

The Nick Patrick Flop for the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame!

[@kdxtreme7479]

For some weird reason i though he like died in the 2010s

[@MondoMiami]

Chris, please do future interviews shirtless. Thanks.

[@kylesantos8190]

The nWo REF 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@violentbryan21]

The patrick flop!

[@BVking509]

Heel ref such a great idea, that's when wrestling was entertaining. Hate the product today, they just want to be famous not wrestlers

[@BlueWingedPanther12]

Todays fans should know the refs names by doing their own research it aint hard

[@migangelpreciado]

Let me guess, Charles Robinson, Earl Hebner and Mike Chioda right?

[@brandi33]

I wonder if his Son is autistic?

[@NestorS3]

1:14:30 WrestleMania 21 you weaseling historian how you botch that and it was the WWE Championship not the world heavyweight championship.

[@andrewhanleywencw]

I don't feel bad for Bret Hart one bit he got what he deserved he was and still is an overrated cry baby

[@funtclaps77]

The HHH of refs! Loving it so far!

[@bobbybblazing5357]

@ChrisVanVliet At the next premium live event thats held in Australia, it would be awesome if you could come over as well and ask us aussies some hard hitting questions. Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, O.i, Oi, O,i 😎🇦🇺