Rick Knox

[1.0] "Ok. I really didn't think I'd need to seriously explain why this awful excuse for a referee is bad, but the system won't except anything too short. So here it goes. As far as I'm concerned, rating a referee is simple. If they can do the job even slightly well, they deserve a 10. If they are completely incompetent, and spend most of the match either standing around doing nothing and watching, or actively help wrestlers with unbelievable and dangerously stupid spots, then they deserve a 1. Guess which one of those camps this idiot is in? That's right. He's a one. AEW already has a reputation for having the worst referees in the business, but this goof is the poster boy for everything wrong with them. He literally only has a job because of who his friends are. If they didn't help found the company, he would be back in front of 40 or 50 people playing referee in the worst so called "promotions" imaginable. Total garbage."

[1.0] "Nah, Rick Knox fucking sucks. So, yes, wrestling is fake, and referees aren't there to actually make sure wrestlers follow all the rules, they're there to keep the match flowing and make sure everyone is safe. Rick Knox is not good at those things. He doesn't really... *do* a lot when he's in the ring. I can't even hear what his voice sounds like in my head and I've been watching AEW religiously since day 1 and have seen many PWG shows. As for keeping wrestlers safe, this dude did NOTHING when it was clear Alex Reynolds had a serious head injury. And we all know about the Mox/Fenix fiasco, where Moxley changed the finish on the fly and straight up told Knox to count him out and Knox, like a moron, faked a two-count while Mox didn't kick out, leading to the *already injured* Moxley having to take another piledriver from Fenix. There's no presence of mind, it's like he's just constantly baked all the time or something. He doesn't understand how and where to position his body for pinfalls and submissions. Like, day-one stuff like being able to see both shoulders while counting. There's also the whole "he's bad at being a kayfabe referee" thing too and yes, incompetent referees are the backbone of pro wrestling; that's a trope as old as the hills. But there's a difference between being tricked by some dastardly heels and just not bothering to do anything at all and knowingly let the heels get the advantage because you are complacent and lazy. It kills any legitimacy the promotion is trying to project by allowing him to act like an apathetic buffoon. This might not be a real sport but there's still suspension of disbelief. Compare him to Bryce Remsberg, who in kayfabe is pretty dumb but at least he knows when he's been duped by the heels. If this dude wasn't best friends with the Bucks he'd be lucky to have a refereeing job at all."

[0.0] "I have said that AEW has the worst referees in the history of wrestling. Rick Knox is part of why I made that comment. I still think that Bryce Remsburg is worse, with all his mannerisms. But Knox is horrible in his own, unique way. He comes off as having no spine & lacking any authority - which considering the position, is the most important attribute for a ref to possess. He's botched plenty of spots & calls & just seems dimwitted. I know he had some fans back during his earlier career in the SoCal indie scene. I live in LA & though I never went to a PWG show, I think I remember seeing him at Joey Ryan's old Bar Wrestling show once. I get why he may have been more popular then, as a lot of indie stuff is meant for a live crowd & nothing more than that. So he would be silly & try to be part of the show. But those antics don't work for a nationally televised show, which is trying to be taken seriously. So since he can't get away with assing off for popularity in AEW, he's fallen completely out of favor. At this point, he actually damages the product, as he continues to be a mainstay on the programing."

[4.0] "Going off his days in AEW, this guy sucks. Whenever he's refereeing, he seems lost a lot of the time and sucks at maintaining the rules (especially in tag team matches). The most infamous example of how bad this guy can be is Jon Moxley vs Rey Fenix, completely unprofessional on his part and should have been in big trouble for that alone. It was a terrible moment all around and pretty much is why people don't like Rick Knox. I should add, I'm only going off his days in AEW, could be an amazing referee in Lucha Underground and PWG for all I know (it's been a long time since I've watched LU), but as of now? This guy is clearly not good."

[3.0] "My experience with Knox is simple : watched tons of matches with him in AEW, just a few matches in PWG, and nothing from what he did on Lucha Underground. I respect the fact that he may have been a good referee before...? However, his work in AEW is absolutely horrendous. Tag team match specialist ? This is exaclty the type of match I would NEVER put him on. Rick Knox looks completely clueless and lost every time, can't exist and can't apply the rules. What drives me insane is how long he takes to start the count on the mat, he needs a full second (sometimes two) to start it. I'm just tilted everytime he does that."

[6.0] "I cannot comment on his early days, as when he was younger he might have been a good referee. These days, he is passable at best, but looking horribly inept as a referee at worst. It's not about missing Mox's injury, as that could have happened to anyone (even if it shouldn't), it's that whenever something is off in the ring, he has no idea how to cover for the wrestlers. As a passive accessory to high-octane tag matches he might be fine, as he knows how to count a pinfall and to get out of the way (mostly), but if you prefer believability and a level of standard in regards to the rules, Knox is unfortunately not your guy (anymore? )."

[1.0] "I only knew of Rick Knox for many years because of his mini-feud with the Young Bucks in PWG that culminated in him clotheslining them in one of the promotion's best-ever matches. I didn't even realize (or at least remember) he worked for Lucha Underground or other promotions with TV prior to AEW but apparently he did, and I didn't even notice he worked for AEW when I first watched them. I've only just noticed he has a page here. I've realized that this is because he doesn't DO anything when he refs unless the Bucks have given him a spot. I always notice what other refs do in and out of AEW, and AEW has good and bad examples of refs that show personality, but at least I NOTICE them, which is kind of the point of a ref in what's supposed to be a contest. The role of the ref is often unnoted but important, and Knox seems to only be around because the Bucks and other PWG veterans like him. Maybe being kind of lazy as a ref wouldn't be enough to give him a low rating, but having seemingly no care for the health of Jon Moxley in a match and not just letting him go when he was showing signs of a concussion after a few minutes but NOT counting the three on a clear audible call from the workers and essentially forcing Fenix's hand to hit another move to end it is just awful. In the moment I didn't think much of that moment, but with time I've realized that Knox could've been responsible for MUCH worse happening to Mox by doing nothing. This 1 is on the back of the good work he did in the heyday of PWG, and I feel like if I went back and actually watched him I'd bring it down to a 0, but that just gives me an excuse to go back and watch that era."

[0.0] "The worst referee in the history of wrestling. He fails to do anything. He is a spectator who should be counted toward attendance totals. He enforces nothing, let's everything go, offers no authority in his matches. He is strictly there to count to 3. I am unconvinced he knows how to count to ten as being outside the ring or non legal tag entrants being in the ring seldom get a count that goes past 4 before he just stoped counting. Awful. A stain on the business. I can't remember the last match I've watched that knox officiated where it actually felt like he meant something. He does so little that he becomes extremely noticeable. You watch wrestling for years where its a reflex: someone comes in the ring, the ref will come over. someone is pulling an illegal move against the ropes, the ref comes over. entrants are outside the ring, the ref counts. Knox does none of these things."

[0.0] "I was shocked to find that this guy had a page on this site. Rick Knox is an absolutely terrible referee. In every single match he "officiates", he just stares blankly into space. He doesn't enforce rules, he doesn't do ANYTHING really. There's a reason he's always the ref for Bucks matches, because heaven forbid if they had to bide by RULES. Terrible."

[3.0] "Rick Knox might be one of the most recognizable referees in wrestling right now but he's also one of the worst. I liked his comedy with the Bucks in PWG because at least that was restricted to a small indie audience. But since he's on national television he shouldn't be doing the same shtick because it ruins the psychology and rules of matches. He will not enforce a single rule in tag matches and just stands there and watches the action. He's a non-entity when it comes to officiating. Knox isn't helped at all by JR constantly burying Knox on commentary and rightfully pointing it out. Knox seems as if he's placed in the ring just as an excuse to let cheating be allowed and to not bury any other referees while doing so. There's a reason why he's always the referee for Young Bucks matches after all."

[5.0] "Rick Knox's work was acceptable in the PWG, where he basically just didn't interfere with a bunch of spots and made counts. His rare interventions in the course of the match, for example when he did a move over top rope during match Lucha Underground, caused a sincere smile. Now he works as a referee in a big league, where there should be slightly different requirements, but he does the same thing. He doesn't care about the rules and everything that happens in the ring. He looks completely useless in matches."

[7.0] "I do agree with a lot of the complaints about him, that he doesn't enforce the rules, that he lets anything happen in the ring where in other places it would be an instant DQ. But honestly, if you look at it from a different perspective it's mostly AEW's fault, since that's how they choose to book their matches that he referees, with the rules a bit looser. Yeah, he does have a tendency to be more lenient, but he does his job pretty well and has to be given props for his work as a referee in PWG and throughout the indies, his previous work can't be discredited. If you wanna watch more serious matches, chances are he won't be the referee but if you wanna just sit back and not overanalyze the match he's the guy who'll referee it, and I seriously mean that, spot wrestling can be fun sometimes too!"

[1.0] "Probably one of the absolute worst referee's in the business today. He has never had any control in the ring. He allows whatever to happen. At least Paul Turner or Bryce Remsberg know what their doing. He mainly does the bucks matches so they could just do spot after spot after spot."

[2.0] "He's awful. He's a prop. That he's rated this high is a disgrace. Worst ref in the industry right now. He stands there and watches everything happening around him and does nothing. I can't stress enough how bad he is, and should have been fired several times for his lack of action. He makes matches worse, which is the exact opposite of what you want from a referee."

[0.0] "THIS F*CKING JOKE OF A REFEREE PISSES ME OFF Professional Wrestling is supposed to be taken as a sport and the referee plays an important part in maintaining the illusion. Rick Knox spends his time in the ring not enforcing the rules in anyway shape or form making everything about his matches into a joke. This guy is majorly responsible for ruining most Young Bucks matches for me. HE IS SHIT AND NO I DON'T GIVE A F*CK ABOUT HIS PWG STUFF"

[10.0] "A great referee and commentator. A staple of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and Lucha Underground. We might see him in Global Force. Wrestling someday."