Demetrius Korderas (born March 19, 1962), better known by his referee name, Jimmy Korderas, is a Canadian

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

, commentator and television personality who currently works for Canadian TV sports network

Sportsnet Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then ...

. He is best known for his 22-year tenure in

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

from 1987 to 2009.

Professional wrestling career

Early career

Korderas began working as a

professional wrestling referee In professional wrestling, a referee is an authority figure present in or near the ring during matches. The referee's purpose is similar to that of referees in combat sports such as boxing or mixed martial arts, that is, as an arbiter of the rul ...

in 1985 at

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...

. At first, he was hired as a driver by his friend Elio Zarlenga. At the time, Zarlenga was second in command only to Jack Tunney, and suggested making Korderas a referee. His first match was between Special Delivery Jones and Red Demon.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (1987–2009)

On May 23, 1999, Korderas was the referee at Over the Edge for the match between "Blue Blazer" Owen Hart and

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, ...

. He was in the ring when Hart fell 75 feet from a harness tethered above the ring and died. According to reports, Hart yelled to Korderas to move because Hart did not want to land on Korderas, but Hart's foot still made contact with Korderas' shoulder. During a

kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe, as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged. ...

strike by the WWF referees in late 1999, Korderas was the only regular referee who did not join the strike, which led to him being attacked by the striking refs at

Unforgiven ''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American Revisionist Western film starring, directed, and produced by Clint Eastwood, and written by David Webb Peoples. The film tells the story of William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job, ...

in 1999. In 2006, the WWE pulled Korderas off the road briefly due to health issues, but he returned to work shortly thereafter. In November 2008, referees, and thus Korderas, were made no longer exclusive to particular WWE television shows, or brands. On January 9, 2009, Korderas was released from WWE.

Ring of Honor (2012)

On May 12, 2012, Korderas refereed a match at Ring of Honor's Internet Pay-Per View entitled Border Wars. Jimmy was heralded by fans chanting "Thank you, Jimmy" when he entered the ring.

Personal life

After leaving WWE, Korderas began spending more time with his wife and family, as well as taking classes in

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...

. After meeting

Arda Ocal Arda Ocal ( tr, Arda Öcal; born May 7, 1981) is a Canadian television personality, broadcaster, announcer, and writer. He previously worked in WWE under the stage name Kyle Edwards, as well as the host of Aftermath TV on Sportsnet 360 and The MSG ...

, then of

Sportsnet 360 Sportsnet 360 (SN360) is a Canadian discretionary specialty channel owned by Rogers Media. The channel was launched in 1994 as the licence-exempt service Sportscope, which featured a display of sports news and scores. In 1997, the network was ...

, Ocal brought him on as an analyst on "Right After Wrestling" on SIRIUS Radio, and also secured him a spot on the Aftermath Television Program, which Korderas is still a part of today. Korderas published a book on his life and career, called "The Three Count - my life in stripes as a WWE referee" The foreword was written by

Adam Copeland Adam Joseph Copeland (born October 30, 1973), is a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Edge. He is considered to be one of the greatest professional wr ...

(Edge) and was released on April 1, 2013 by

ECW Press ECW Press is a Canadian book publisher located in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded by Jack David and Robert Lecker in 1974 as a Canadian literary magazine named ''Essays on Canadian Writing''. They started publishing trade and scholarly book ...

Championships and accomplishments

New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame The New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame and Fan Fest is an American professional wrestling hall of fame. It was established in January 2008 to honor select wrestling personalities who have made significant contributions to professional wrestlin ...

**Class of 2015

Notes

External links

Profile at onlineworldofwrestling.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Korderas, Jim 1962 births Living people Canadian people of Greek descent Professional wrestling referees