This clip adds some context and considerable footage after the punch. The match was in SV, and that was the winning score.I'd like to think that I'd be proactive, and get between the wrestlers.
In truth, I have no idea how I would have handled this. Face mushes can be really tough to anticipate. I've have matches where both wrestlers were behaving quite normally, and there was absolutely no reason to expect a mush. And yet, at the end of the match (or end of whatever the situation), an unexpected face mush takes place. Face mushes usually take me by surprise, so my reaction to them is usually kind of slow. Plus, if they take place at the end of the match, the ref is usually taking a quick look at the score (if it's a close match) to make sure they know who won, and also signaling the stoppage of the match, and then awarding points if they were being held (and possibly checking potentially PD situations, or in or out when on the boundary; lots of other possibilities). In short, there are several things the ref is, or might be, addressing at the end of the match that do make it tough to handle situations like in the video.
I know if you showed this sequence at a refs chapter meeting to see how they'd react, a lot of refs would want to see the entire match, so that they'd have a better sense of what the temperament of the wrestlers was before that time. The video that Mineo posted really doesn't provide that info.
5.8K views · 445 reactions | This video is certainly making the rounds today, thoughts?? | Colby Crank
This video is certainly making the rounds today, thoughts??
The ref was a little slow to react after the face mush, but to be fair, he was also on a knee and behind the action, and he was starting to move in that direction -- just the puncher was much quicker. Ref did react quickly after the punch, to get the puncher off the mat and then to restrain the other team. That very easily could've been a benches-clearing brawl, had the ref been slower toward the other team.