Scott Vodrey and Robert Wells are two of the most respected referees in the state of Texas. They represent all that is unique about King of Sports Championship Wrestling. Respecting the rules of professional wrestling has become passé over the last twenty years, thus many “wrestling” shows have become stunt shows in the style of Evil Knievel. Not so with KOS and certainly not so with Vodrey and Wells.
Senior Referee Scott Vodrey can date his time in professional wrestling all the way back to 1992. As a young, skinny teenager he slipped his way into a tryout program led by Chris Adams, Rob Price, and Manny Fernandez. This early experience working with legends lit the fire of wrestling in Vodrey. Although he was not allowed to finish that training session, since he was vastly underage, it was a defining moment. As Vodrey went on to work for the Department of Defense in electronics warfare programs and gain success in various other fields, it was always wrestling that would spark a passion.
2013 was another turning point for Vodrey. Chavo Guerrero reached out to have Vodrey referee a charity event for the town of West, Texas, following the fertilizer plant explosion. Vodrey was hooked and fully back in. Linking up with Hernandez, a star for TNA Wrestling, Vodrey began working the entire southern states. Mentored along the way by legends such as Necrobutcher, a hardcore wrestling legend that is surprisingly technical when he desires, and Eddie Mansfield, an 80’s Georgia Wrestling star, Vodrey was initiated into the ways of old school, legitimate wrestling.
“Rules mean something. Rules matter. Ten counts matter,” Vodrey explained to me. As the Senior Referee for King of Sports Championship Wrestling, Vodrey’s task daunting. Responsible for ensuring the rules in a territory as wild as KOS can be infinitely challenging. If anyone is up to that task, it is Scott Vodrey.
Junior Referee Robert Wells followed a similar path. Wells grew up as a fan of local wrestling: World Class, Mid-South, Mid-Atlantic, and the NWA. However, he came to the wrestling industry only after having a successful career apart from the rough and tumble world of the squared circle. Having just celebrated ten years as an in-ring referee, Wells has gained the experience and respect of all of those in King of Sports.
Wells began his career working many of the local wrestling shows in East Texas. Doing everything from setting up the ring to running errands, Wells paid his dues until the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame brought him in to their annual show that accompanied induction ceremonies. From this background, he was trained by the classic wrestlers in and around the PWHF. They educated Wells early on what it took to enforce the rules and stand your ground in the face of the behemoths of professional wrestling.
“Legitimacy matters. If the referee doesn’t enforce the rules, then how can it be a match?” Wells opines. Often the third man in the ring in the much anticipated Super Heavyweight Division, Wells job literally gets larger by the day. As the competition gets larger, Wells has found himself face to face with the very best of the big men and still enforced the rules.
Without officials that know, enforce, and communicate the rules of real professional wrestling there can be no professional wrestling. King of Sports and President Joe Briscoe have contracted the very best referees in Texas to keep control of the ring. Without Vodrey and Wells, there is no “Texas Strong Style” and there is no King of Sports.
