By Ross Blair: Referee Clark DeBenedetto broke ground at the recent GWH awards by taking home both Referee of the Year & Rookie of Yea...
By Ross Blair:
Referee Clark DeBenedetto broke ground at the recent GWH awards by taking home both Referee of the Year & Rookie of Year honors. This is even more astounding when you factor in that he did so as an 18-year-old high school student. Add in the fact that he resides 5 hours away from the Atlanta wrestling scene while maintaining two full time jobs, and another thing is abundantly clear: Clark is one dedicated, hard working young man with a bright future. GWH caught up with Clark via telephone during a recent 5 1/2 hour commute from his home in Kingsland to a Southern Honor show in Canton.
GWH: Let’s start with your thoughts on winning both Rookie & Referee of the Year.
GWH: How did you get started as a pro wrestling referee?
CD: When I was 14, on the day of my birthday, I started to train to be a wrestler with my dad (Kevin Kantrell). When I was 17, I rode to a show with my dad and they needed a ref and I stepped up to fill the role that night. After that, I refereed at a small show in Jacksonville. Then my dad got me on at a Coastal show in Savannah. The initial idea was to get in as a ref at Coastal in order to maybe wrestle there one day. I started to ref at other shows in Georgia and, before you know it, I had a ton of bookings as a ref. After a while, I started to really take pride in my craft and was like there's no reason to change from here because this is going pretty good thus far. Everyone has a very similar end goal and that's to make a living in this business, so I decided the best route for me was to become a referee. It's something that I enjoy, and I've had a lot of opportunities with it thus far.
GWH: Your father, Kevin Kantrell, is a veteran wrestler. How was it having a pro wrestler for a dad?
CD: A lot of people think it's a weird profession because wrestling is quote/unquote not real, but it's an artform to me. It's been very beneficial getting into my dad's profession because I've spent time in locker rooms with guys like Jon Davis since I was 9 years old. It's been awesome, and I look up to my dad very heavily. He's got one of the best minds for this business than anyone I've ever met. Being able to have that connection has been super beneficial to me. Anytime we're in the car, we don't talk about school or chores or whatever -- we talk about wrestling. We bond over two things: pizza & wrestling.
GWH: I understand that you & your dad are now running a wrestling promotion together, United Pro Entertainment. How did that come about?
CD: My dad started United Pro around 2012, and they closed their doors in 2017. When he started training me, he started talking about bringing it back. And that's just what we did. We started it back up in January, and it's been very successful thus far. We have a great venue at Axes & Eights in Kingsland, Georgia. We've been super happy with the talent we've had, and the crowds have increased with each show. We take pride in our match quality and the quality of stories we're producing. It's only a 5-match card. It starts at 5 o'clock on a Sunday, so you're out of there by 7...it's an easy day & a fun time. We aim for a very sports-driven/competitive wrestling as well because that's something we both love -- like early ROH or shoot style where everyone is trying to be the best.
GWH: What's your role exactly in United Pro?
CD: My dad handles booking the talent and everything like that, and I'm more on the creative side, which I love doing. It's just one more thing on my wrestling resume. Some guys have to work 20 years in the business before being able to work on the creative end, so I consider myself very fortunate to be in that position.
GWH: When is the next United Pro show & how is the card looking?
CD: We’ve got our biggest show to date on May 31st at 5pm at Axes & Eights in Kingsland. Our main event is the big Championship Rumble, where we're gonna crown our first champion. Entrants thus far include Tyler Stevens, Bryce Cannon, Hunter James, Sal Rinauro, Dominic Stuckey, Michael Walker, and more will be announced soon. We've also got Aaron Berry versus the Killerweight Joe Black. Aaron Berry is someone we're very excited about. I think he's a special talent, and I think Georgia is gonna find that out real soon. He's a great guy, and in the ring he's a killer. He calls himself "The Closer", and I think he could close just about every show in Georgia.
GWH: You’re straddling referee gigs all over the state, two regular jobs, and high school. What’s a typical week or month look like for Clark DeBenedetto?
CD: Starting on Monday, I'm going to school at 7am. I get out at 11 and go to my first job, which is at a coffee shop. Then I go & bartend at night. That'll repeat through Thursday. Friday I'm usually on the road, travelling from where I'm at, which is the Georgia/Florida line, for about 5 hours to a wrestling show in Georgia. I'll do shows Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and then I'm back and I'm repeating. It's a constant.
GWH: That's quite a grind. Are you comfortable with it?
CD: Ya know, you live in your own comfortability. That's the way you get better. If you lay down, sometimes it's hard to get back up. So if you just keep going, it's a little bit easier. You gotta stay going if you have goals, and I'm starting to make them happen.
GWH: I bet you rack up a lot of miles on your vehicle.
CD: I bought a car in July, and it had about 20,000 miles on it. By December, it had 65,000.
GWH: You seem to pop up everywhere in Georgia. Do you have a favorite promotion that’s perhaps the most fun to work for?
CD: I don't like to choose favorites, but I will say United Pro is doing pretty good. (laughs) No, I'm just messing around. Honestly, I've had great experiences at all the shows in Georgia. A lot of the talent rotates between multiple promotions, which is one of the great things about Georgia. You see new & familiar faces everywhere you work. Some weekends, I'll discover a new show to work at, which is a lot of fun -- a new town, new booker, fresh faces.
1FW is doing big things in Georgia. They're all over the place, running about 4 times every weekend. They've given me great opportunities, so I honestly can't thank them enough. Coastal has obviously had their tenure over the last couple years in Georgia. They've been at the top of their game, so they're always a great one to go to. WrestleMerica in Forsyth is another one I always enjoy going to. Kraken helps a lot of talent that is underutilized in Georgia get their moments. Southern Honor has that big production & is always a good time. They're bringing in a lot of great talent. I know I'm missing a few more that are at the top of their game because there's so much talent across Georgia. My weekend's not filled just because I need to fill dates...it's because it's dates I WANT to make. If I miss one, I feel like I'm missing out.
GWH: Do you venture into Florida much?
CD: I've done a show called Guardian's Legacy in Panama City. I've done a show called USWA in Jacksonville. I've done Atomic Legacy in Daytona Beach, where Nic Nemeth kicked my head off (superkick). That was a great time. Florida is definitely more spaced out, just because it's so large and sometimes it's hard to find promotions there. Just recently, I worked the Ring of Honor tapings in Jacksonville. That was the easiest drive I've ever had for a wrestling show -- 30 minutes. I actually went to high school earlier that same day. That was fun.
GWH: Getting to work Ring of Honor is quite a feather in your cap. How did that come to be? Tell us about that whole experience.
CD: It was a great experience. I couldn't give a complaint about it if I tried to.
GWH: In your opinion, what makes a good referee? What are some of the do’s and don’ts?
CD: I think the most basic thing that makes a good referee is a willingness to do the job. People sometimes get a bit prideful, and I just don't think that's the role you're in. I think you're in a role to serve. I know my role. I don't overstep in it. I'm the referee. I'm there to officiate & lay down the rules of the match. That's my job. Their job is to entertain the crowd. No one's buying a ticket to see me, but I can help the show out & help make those tickets mean something. I can make this match mean more. You have to know your role & how you can progress that match farther…and I think there's also insights of knowing how much involvement you should have in a match. You have to feel it out. It's a mindset of knowing "should I step in here, or is it a moment for them?". Don't make it all about yourself. It’s more of a mental task sometimes because there aren't really guidelines for it. You don't book a show going "man, what am I gonna have the referee do tonight?". You don't have that direction, so it's on you to know what to do and when to do it.
GWH: You’ve taken quite a few bumps as a ref, including being speared through a door by Bryce Cannon in Savannah. What are some of your most memorable beatdowns?
CD: That door spot was certainly memorable. Nic Nemeth kicking my head off was pretty memorable.
Growing up, he was one of my favorites, so that was a really cool moment for me.
We did a show in some gym in I think West Jackson where there was a bunch of chaos in the ring & I was already on the floor at ringside from a bump...Simon Sermon was on the outside & says "Get up!" and he just picks me up & slams me back down on the ground. That was pretty memorable. It shocked me for sure, but that one was fun. Honestly, anytime with Simon is a blast.
When I first started with Southern Honor, I went on a roll of getting bumped on 4 shows in a row. As soon as I got on with them, I guess they were like "hey, how much can we beat this kid up?".
GWH: I guess they figured you were young, so you could take it. (laughs)
CD: For real. (laughs) Seriously though, Southern Honor is great. They've been so kind to me, and they put out a great product.
GWH: Last December, you made your in-ring debut as a wrestler as a participant in the CEW Casino Rumble. How did that come about, and how was that experience?
CD: It just kinda happened on the fly. They asked me if I wanted to do it, and I was like yeah, I'll give it a shot. I don't think anyone realized, including me, that it was an actual in-ring debut. The next day, I started getting texts congratulating me on my in-ring debut, and was like what are you talking about? When did that happen? Because, to me, it was just another referee bump. It was a great time though. Especially because I was in the ring with Simon, Bryce, and my dad. ..and I love the part where my dad ran in to save me. That’s storybook telling right there. I love all those guys at Coastal, and that was certainly a memorable moment.
GWH: You mentioned earlier that you originally trained to be a wrestler. Is your ultimate goal still to become a wrestler, or do you prefer the referee position?
CD: Sometimes goals outweigh preference. I know the route that is going to be the best for me to take, and I think that's the referee route. I love wrestling. I think my biggest pride in wrestling is the art of it & putting things together. So I think that's more where I find pride in...that's where I've found myself in United Pro, where I've been able to do that creative side. Honestly, that's what I've had the most fun doing lately…sinking my teeth into the creative side of the business.
Back to your point, I wouldn't say in-ring wrestling is on my radar. I won't say it'll never happen because you never say never in this business, but it's not something that's currently on the radar. I'm not working toward some secret in-ring debut. I'm ref'ing right now and having a great time. I'm happy and content at the moment.
GWH: I attended that 1FW show in Jefferson, Georgia where Jeff Jarrett put you in the spotlight by putting his ring jacket on you & raising your arm in the center of the ring. That brings to mind the question: what are some of the highlights of your career as a referee?
GWH: Who are some of your biggest influences thus far in your wrestling career?
CD: QT, obviously, but also Jacked Jameson and that whole crew at 1 Fall Wrestling, who gave this young kid so many opportunities. Opportunities that I'd assume I would've gotten in 10 years but I'm getting right now.
Obviously my dad — I can't give enough big props to him. Without him, I probably wouldn't even know what wrestling is. I'll never be able to put into words of how thankful I am to him, and how much I love him for everything he's given me. My whole family together, really -- like my mom...I mean, she doesn't see her kid on the weekends. That's another big thing -- my family doesn't see me. It’s tough on the family life because dad's gone during the week and I'm gone during the weekends. That's a hard schedule for a family that's already impending on losing their kid to college. It's an unwanted casualty to this journey, but it's a journey they understand. Modern technology helps a lot though. Right before this, I was on the phone with my dad. So it's not like we have no contact on the weekends, so that's nice.
Another big influence is Bryce Cannon.
He's a huge part of why I'm on some of the biggest shows in Georgia...because he brought a 17-year-old kid on the road with him and introduced him. I really can’t thank him enough. He's still so young into his own career. He's doing such great things and for him to be giving & helping other people out is such a big thing. He's the one who goes unnoticed for Mentor of the Year. He's always willing to help out. He's obviously a big part of Coastal, where he's been giving people opportunities & always looking for young talent to boost up.
William Huckaby is someone who opened doors for me when I started. He made me head referee in his promotion (Kraken Pro Wrestling), so he's someone I'll always be thankful for -- him & Sam Skaggs.
Sal Rinauro is someone that's always been so great to me. There's so many guys across the wrestling locker room that have helped me...like Marvelous Michael Stevens...people that are friends now. I'm sure I'm leaving many names out because there’s a lot of people who have helped me throughout my wrestling journey.
GWH: What are you passionate about outside of wrestling?
CD: I'm a big sports guy. I love football, and I'm huge into basketball. I'm a big Cleveland Browns fan, even though we're the worst. Just like a referee, we're not very competitive all the time, so it's a good fit. (laughs) I don't really have a favorite basketball team, although I kinda favor the Cavs. I have guys that I like. I like certain players. I just love watching the sport of basketball. Beyond that, my schedule doesn't really allow for any outside hobbies…but I enjoy playing Madden (video game) whenever I get a free moment.
GWH: What are your plans for the future, in wrestling & life in general?
CD: I graduate this week, and then I'll be going to Georgia Southern in the Fall, which is in Statesboro. As far as ref'ing, I'm just gonna stay on the same path, working the same strong shows that I'm working now. It's gonna be a very similar path but adding being away from home & in college. I have goals as a ref that I've set for this year. Some of those I've been able to accomplish already, so I've been very fortunate with that. I'm gonna continue to build upon what I did last year and hopefully have another successful year.
One of my main goals obviously is to work for a big company as a referee, but that's not my final goal. One of my end goals that I'm going to strive for is landing a top job in creative when my time as a ref comes to a close.
————————-
Special thanks to Alex Snider for the artsy graphic at the top of this article.
