John Cone
| John Cone | |
|---|---|
 John Cone in April 2013 | |
| Born |
November 16, 1974 Kansas City, Missouri, United States[1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | John Cone |
| Billed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 174 lb (79 kg)[1] |
| Debut | August 1995[1] |
John Cone (born November 16, 1974) is an American professional wrestling referee who works for the WWE under the Raw brand.[1][2]
Professional wrestling career
Independent circuit (1995–2006)
Cone started refereeing independent wrestling matches in August 1995. He worked for Harley Race World League Wrestling from 1999 to 2006 and got his big break when a WWE official attended a match he refereed.
World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE (2006–present)
Cone tried out for WWE and was quickly signed. He was sent to WWE developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling and later Deep South Wrestling.
Cone refereed the main event of WrestleMania 33 on April 2, 2017 between The Undertaker and Roman Reigns. This was his first WrestleMania main event.
On the April 17, 2017 episode of Raw, as Cone refereed the main event between Braun Strowman and Big Show, the match ended in a no contest when the ring collapsed. Cone was seen holding the ropes before the ring collapsed, having nothing else to hold on to and ended up tumbling out of the ring. He was escorted to the back by other officials and received treatment while he was being interviewed about what he saw before the ring collapsed. He confirmed that they went to the top rope and next thing he knows is that he was tumbling out of the ring as the trainer was seen putting ice on Cone's neck. He did not appear on the April 24 episode of Raw and returned on April 30 at Payback to referee the Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss match for the Raw Women's Championship which Bliss won.
Personal life
Cone had said he is most proud of his performance in the boxing match between Matt Hardy and Evander Holyfield, which took place in August 2007 in front of a sold out crowd at Madison Square Garden on Saturday Night's Main Event.
Cone and his wife are the owners of Donut King, located in Kansas City.[1]
At WrestleMania 34, Cone's son, Nicholas, was chosen out of the audience by Braun Strowman to be his tag team partner to challenge for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship.[3][4] They won their match, making Nicholas the youngest champion in any category in WWE history,[5] but relinquished the title the following night on Raw.[6]
In other media
Cone appears as a referee in the video games WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2010, WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 and WWE 2K15, and as a back up referee in WWE 2K16. In 2009, Cone appeared in the documentary KC on the Mat: The History of Professional Wrestling in Kansas City. Cone is the referee for the WWE Game Night series on WWE's YouTube channel.
Filmography
Web series
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–2015 | The JBL and Cole Show | Himself, #OfficeRef | Recurring (season 1); Guest (seasons 2-3); Main (season 4-5) |
| 2016–present | WWE Game Night | Himself | Referee |
| 2017 | Southpaw Regional Wrestling[7] | Chip Henderson | Referee |
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "John Cone Profile". WWE. Archived from the original on January 4, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2014.
- ↑ WWE referee John Cone makes his dollars in doughnuts and pro wrestling
- ↑ "IDENTITY OF NICOLAS THE NEW RAW TAG TEAM CHAMPION | PWInsider.com". www.pwinsider.com. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
- ↑ "Braun Strowman's tag team partner is a WWE ref's son". SI.com. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
- ↑ "Braun's 10-year-old partner, Nicholas, has ties to the WWE". 9 April 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- ↑ Keller, Wade (April 9, 2018). "KELLER'S WWE RAW REPORT 4/9: The Day After WrestleMania 34 Edition with Reigns-Lesnar and Rousey fallout". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
- ↑ "Southpaw Regional Wrestling: Who's Who In WWE's Comedy Special". 17 March 2017.