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Q&A with Jessica Hitchens

If you’re a fan of the local professional wrestling scene here in Canberra, then you may already be familiar one of the only women referees,  Jessica Hitchens. The 29-year-old is a life-long fan of the craft and while she’s unfortunately unable to compete in the ring, she’s still able to play one of the most crucial roles in the business. Jordan McSweeney got the chance to sit down with Jessica and ask some burning questions.  

Jessica with NJPW superstar Kenny Omega. Photo credit: Jessica Hitchens

How long have you been a professional wrestling referee and what led you to pursue this career path?
I have been refereeing for almost a year now. One of the requirements for training with the promoter I work for is that you assist with shows. Early on that amounts to ring crew, refereeing, and being a “gofer” where required. About 8 months into training I discovered that previous injuries and surgery have rendered me unsuitable for working as a wrestler due to the physical nature of the business. While I was initially gutted, that has led me to refereeing on a more permanent basis.
Wrestling often blurs the line between fiction and reality. From your experience, how much of it is staged?
All of it. It is all staged. Having said that, “it ain’t ballet”. Bumping hurts. Being thrown hurts, especially when you land incorrectly. Serious injuries have been documented over decades and in wrestling rings around the globe. However, there are steps you take to avoid injury to yourself and your opponents and no matter how you feel about someone in the ‘real world’, once you step between those ropes, their safety becomes your number one priority.
You did your training at the Stockade Training Centre. What was that like?
Hard. But the level of expertise of the trainers makes it so worthwhile. The trainers there have worked extensively in Australia, America, Japan and Europe, one of them even trainied in Japan. Others have sat under the learning tree of Lance Storm, or have worked with a huge range of local and international talent, bringing together a massive array of styles, tips and advice that is invaluable to any who train with them.
You’ve met some of the biggest wrestling stars outside of WWE, including Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes and the Young Bucks. What did meeting them mean to you?

I cannot say enough positive things about any of these performers. They are exceedingly humble, friendly, and willing to go the extra mile to ensure the fans leave with a smile. Cody, for example, signed my poster at the New Japan Pro Wrestling tour in Melbourne earlier this year.

Kenny Omega too, offered to sign an extra piece of merchandise for me – we were only meant to have one item each signed to keep the line flowing, so I elected to have an 8×10 signed instead of the tour poster, but he insisted on also signing the poster for me.
I have met the Young Bucks twice now, and no matter which room they’re in, they’ll always be the friendliest guys in it. It’s the little things, and they get that.
One of your biggest moments as a referee was crowning not one but two heavyweight champions on the same night at Insane Asylum 17. Can you describe that experience?
It’s generally a rush refereeing title matches. Because of the nature of them, there are often more ‘spots’ to remember. You need to keep an eye on any injuries that might occur in the excitement, convey any messages the performers can’t between each other for whatever reason, and sometimes even have to change the outcome because of what has happened in the course of the match.
Title matches are always exciting, because despite whatever plans you make beforehand, you never know how it’s going to play out until you’re out there. As an official, it’s my role to referee what actually happens, not what we planned to happen. It’s things like that which keep up the realism in what is so often portrayed as a ‘fake’ sport.
 


Do you think the ideas of masculinity that are conveyed by professional wrestling are harmful to young men or women in any way?
If you look at most of our performers few, if any, resemble the traditional wrestling Adonis-like physique. Yes, they all train hard but they’re more focused on learning the business than obtaining or maintaining ‘the body’ so often shown on TV.
As an impressionable young person who grew up watching the Attitude Era, constantly being faced with WWE’s bikini model performers made me think I could never break into the business. I would imagine the same would be true of any masculine presenting person who grew up watching Chris Masters, Batista and the likes.
You soon learn nobody looks like that by accident, so you either become more accepting of imperfections in yourself and others, or you develop eating or body dysmorphic disorders (usually both). It’s down to the individual and not really something any company or promotion can plan or mitigate for.

As for how men and women are presented, I think that’s for the most part up to the promoter or booker and how they use their talent. In two of the companies I work for women compete in the same matches as men for the same titles. There are no “men” and “women”, only wrestlers.

Even storylines which would be predominately misogynistic in the wrong hands can be made into a powerful feminist message. An old trope like: ‘wedding is invaded and bride accidentally marries the interloper’ turned into ‘but actually they were working together to betray the groom’ and I can’t wait to see how the story unfolds over the coming months.
How different are wrestlers away from the guise of their macho-ness?
They’re mostly a great bunch of people. We operate like a family, and while all families have their ups and downs, at the end of the day we’re all there for one another and do our best to support one another in both life and the business.

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