Former WWE referee Dave Hebner passes away at age 73

Former WWE referee Dave Hebner passed away yesterday at the age of 73. The news was announced by his nephew and fellow referee Brian Hebner.

“I’m so sad. Just don’t really know what to say. Today we lost one of the good ones,” he wrote. “My uncle David. He was one of the best humans in the world. Thank you all for all the outpouring of messages and support. This is a tough one. I Love You Uncle David. God got a good one.”

His twin brother Earl also addressed Dave’s death on Twitter. “Yesterday I had to say my last goodbye to my other half, my partner in crime, my road buddy for years, my brother for 73 years. I love you David, I’ll never count you out,” Earl wrote.

A photo of Dave Hebner was recently published by Hermie Sadler, showing the legendary referee in bad state, suffering from dementia and Parkinson’s.

The Richmond-native began working for the WWF in 1986 and became the top WWE referee at the time, officiating the biggest main events.

Perhaps the most famous one came in early 1988 when he was supposed to referee the Hogan vs Andre match on The Main Event and his brother Earl took charge, quickly counting the pinfall on Hogan, declaring Andre the new champion. At the time, no one knew Dave had a twin brother, who eventually also became one of the most famous WWE referees.

Hebner’s time as a referee in WWE came to a stop after a knee replacement surgery and became a producer until he was released in July 2005 along with his brother after both were accused of running a scheme where they sold fake WWE merchandise.

He was married to his wife Rebecca for 43 years.