Epitaph
05-05-2004, 12:44 PM
Shoulder problems sideline senior official Earl Hebner
by Phil Speer
May 4, 2004
RAW senior referee Earl Hebner had surgery on his left shoulder two weeks ago and has been told he will need four months of rehabilitation before he can don the zebra stripes again.
Hebner flew to Birmingham, Ala., on April 19 -- Monday morning right after Backlash – and had surgery, performed by Dr. James Andrews, the next day.
The veteran official had been having problems with the shoulder since last November at Survivor Series, when Triple H inadvertently dropped an elbow on him during the main event.
Hebner suspects that he partially tore the shoulder at that time, but as is often the custom among people involved in the sports-entertainment business, he essentially shrugged it off and opted to try to fight through it. Looking back today, Hebner realizes that may have been a mistake. “If I’d have gone and had it done then, they could have just scoped it,” Hebner said, referring to arthroscopic surgery, which would have only kept him out a few weeks.
But he continued refereeing. He officiated the main event of the last RAW of the year – Dec. 29, 2003 in San Antonio, Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H. During the match, Triple H once again collided with Hebner, who fell to the canvas and could be seen clutching his left shoulder. Moment later, Triple H kicked Michaels, who went flying into Hebner, throwing him through the ropes and down to the floor.
Hebner said his momentum carried him so fast that he didn’t get a chance to break his fall at all. He landed squarely on the shoulder “at about 150 miles an hour.”
“That’s when I really think I did all the damage,” he said. “Tore all the meat off the (rotator) cuff.”
But Hebner, who missed eight months in 1998 when he suffered a brain aneurism leading up to WrestleMania XIV in Boston, is loathe to take any time off work, and he continued even after that. Plus, he still didn’t know just how bad he was hurt.
In subsequent months, the pain became unbearable. “Flying was killing me from pressure in the cabin,” he said. “(The shoulder) would throb like a toothache. I guess in March, I could tell that I couldn’t wait any longer.”
Surgery was scheduled for late April, meaning Hebner had the opportunity to continue to referee through Backlash. In fact, he ran down the ring late into the main event at that pay-per-view – an interesting development to the Canadian fans, indeed -- and called for the bell after Chris Benoit forced Shawn Michaels to tap out to the Sharpshooter.
“It was great,” Hebner said. “They certainly thought I was going to screw Chris, but the match was good and the people … I guess their feelings were so-so. Still no love for me in Canada whatsoever.”
The next morning, it was off to Birmingham.
Hebner, twin brother of agent Dave Hebner, described the day he had surgery: “Andrews said, ‘Well, we’ll try to scope this thing and get you back in two weeks.’ After I woke up (post-surgery), he said, ‘I got bad news for you. It was torn way more than we anticipated. We had to make an incision. You’ll probably be out four months.’”
Too weak to fly after a surgery that he described as “10 times worse than what it should have been,” Hebner didn’t return home to Virginia until two full days later, on April 22. The next day, he started therapy.
He spends at least two hours in therapy at HealthSouth three times a week, and two more hours on his own, at home, twice a week.
Therapists have actually been trying to get Hebner to slow down; after all, he still can’t raise his arm, and he’ll still have to wear a cumbersome brace for a few more weeks. But he’s anxious to get back on the road with WWE as soon as possible.
“It’s horrible when you’re sitting at home on the couch watching something you want to be doing or should be doing,” he said. “It’s awful. It’s depressing. The only thing I want to do is hurry up and get well.”
In spite of the four-month projection, Hebner’s goal is to return in time for June’s Bad Blood pay-per-view in Columbus, Ohio. He’s planning to return to Birmingham later this month for a follow-up with Dr. Andrews.
In the meantime, Hebner said he’s been touched that so many Superstars have called – many of them once every week or two – to see how he’s doing.
And he adds that he’s still involved with RAW. As senior official, he talks with John Laurinaitis, vice president of talent relations, every Monday leading up to the show.
Hebner said he knows that the RAW referees are more than capable in his absence. He realized that once again watching Shawn Michaels battle Chris Benoit on Monday Night RAW, a match officiated by another well-respected veteran, Mike Chioda.
“That was great,” he said. “Mike Chioda did a great job. I think that the RAW refs are just outstanding and do a great job, every one of them. There’s not one bad ref on that roster.”
Hopefully he'll recover OK, he managed to come back from that brain surgery in March 1998. Which i imagine this could be a problem at the age that he is.
by Phil Speer
May 4, 2004
RAW senior referee Earl Hebner had surgery on his left shoulder two weeks ago and has been told he will need four months of rehabilitation before he can don the zebra stripes again.
Hebner flew to Birmingham, Ala., on April 19 -- Monday morning right after Backlash – and had surgery, performed by Dr. James Andrews, the next day.
The veteran official had been having problems with the shoulder since last November at Survivor Series, when Triple H inadvertently dropped an elbow on him during the main event.
Hebner suspects that he partially tore the shoulder at that time, but as is often the custom among people involved in the sports-entertainment business, he essentially shrugged it off and opted to try to fight through it. Looking back today, Hebner realizes that may have been a mistake. “If I’d have gone and had it done then, they could have just scoped it,” Hebner said, referring to arthroscopic surgery, which would have only kept him out a few weeks.
But he continued refereeing. He officiated the main event of the last RAW of the year – Dec. 29, 2003 in San Antonio, Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H. During the match, Triple H once again collided with Hebner, who fell to the canvas and could be seen clutching his left shoulder. Moment later, Triple H kicked Michaels, who went flying into Hebner, throwing him through the ropes and down to the floor.
Hebner said his momentum carried him so fast that he didn’t get a chance to break his fall at all. He landed squarely on the shoulder “at about 150 miles an hour.”
“That’s when I really think I did all the damage,” he said. “Tore all the meat off the (rotator) cuff.”
But Hebner, who missed eight months in 1998 when he suffered a brain aneurism leading up to WrestleMania XIV in Boston, is loathe to take any time off work, and he continued even after that. Plus, he still didn’t know just how bad he was hurt.
In subsequent months, the pain became unbearable. “Flying was killing me from pressure in the cabin,” he said. “(The shoulder) would throb like a toothache. I guess in March, I could tell that I couldn’t wait any longer.”
Surgery was scheduled for late April, meaning Hebner had the opportunity to continue to referee through Backlash. In fact, he ran down the ring late into the main event at that pay-per-view – an interesting development to the Canadian fans, indeed -- and called for the bell after Chris Benoit forced Shawn Michaels to tap out to the Sharpshooter.
“It was great,” Hebner said. “They certainly thought I was going to screw Chris, but the match was good and the people … I guess their feelings were so-so. Still no love for me in Canada whatsoever.”
The next morning, it was off to Birmingham.
Hebner, twin brother of agent Dave Hebner, described the day he had surgery: “Andrews said, ‘Well, we’ll try to scope this thing and get you back in two weeks.’ After I woke up (post-surgery), he said, ‘I got bad news for you. It was torn way more than we anticipated. We had to make an incision. You’ll probably be out four months.’”
Too weak to fly after a surgery that he described as “10 times worse than what it should have been,” Hebner didn’t return home to Virginia until two full days later, on April 22. The next day, he started therapy.
He spends at least two hours in therapy at HealthSouth three times a week, and two more hours on his own, at home, twice a week.
Therapists have actually been trying to get Hebner to slow down; after all, he still can’t raise his arm, and he’ll still have to wear a cumbersome brace for a few more weeks. But he’s anxious to get back on the road with WWE as soon as possible.
“It’s horrible when you’re sitting at home on the couch watching something you want to be doing or should be doing,” he said. “It’s awful. It’s depressing. The only thing I want to do is hurry up and get well.”
In spite of the four-month projection, Hebner’s goal is to return in time for June’s Bad Blood pay-per-view in Columbus, Ohio. He’s planning to return to Birmingham later this month for a follow-up with Dr. Andrews.
In the meantime, Hebner said he’s been touched that so many Superstars have called – many of them once every week or two – to see how he’s doing.
And he adds that he’s still involved with RAW. As senior official, he talks with John Laurinaitis, vice president of talent relations, every Monday leading up to the show.
Hebner said he knows that the RAW referees are more than capable in his absence. He realized that once again watching Shawn Michaels battle Chris Benoit on Monday Night RAW, a match officiated by another well-respected veteran, Mike Chioda.
“That was great,” he said. “Mike Chioda did a great job. I think that the RAW refs are just outstanding and do a great job, every one of them. There’s not one bad ref on that roster.”
Hopefully he'll recover OK, he managed to come back from that brain surgery in March 1998. Which i imagine this could be a problem at the age that he is.