Joseph Nicholas Patrick Hamilton Jr. (born November 9, 1959), better known by his ring name Nick Patrick, is a retired American

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 or ...

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 tit ...

. He is a former referee for

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nati ...

and

World Wrestling Entertainment 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 var ...

. He has also served as head referee for former WWE developmental territory

Deep South Wrestling Deep South Wrestling (DSW) is a professional wrestling promotion in the state of Georgia. Deep South worked in tandem with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a developmental territory from September 1, 2005, until April 18, 2007. Deep Sout ...

until that company's closing, and is former head referee for

Florida Championship Wrestling Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until 1987. From October 2007 to August ...

Early life

Hamilton is the son of wrestling legend The Assassin, who is better known in the wrestling industry as Jody Hamilton.

Career

Georgia Championship Wrestling (1980–1984)

He was a referee in the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a ...

(NWA)'s Georgia Championship Wrestling starting in 1980 under the name Nick Patrick, as he wanted to make a name for himself without his father's help.

Brief wrestling career (1984–1985)

In June 1984, Patrick transitioned into a wrestler, teaming with his father and wearing his mask, going by the name Assassin #3 in

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promot ...

as part of Paul Jones' Army. By August 1984, he was wrestling as Assassin #3 in the Mid-Atlantic, while wrestling as Nick Patrick in Championship Wrestling from Georgia. In CWG, Patrick was in a feud with

Bob Roop Robert Michael Roop (born July 22, 1942) is an American retired amateur wrestler and professional wrestler whose career spanned high school, college, the United States Army, amateur and professional wrestling. He was an American heavyweight Grec ...

, which resulted in a series of Lights Out matches, where they traded victories. In 1985, he moved to the Gulf Coast for

Continental Championship Wrestling Continental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Dothan, Alabama from 1985 until 1989, owned by Ron Fuller. The promotion evolved out of the NWA-affiliated Southeastern Championship Wr ...

, frequently teaming with Steve Armstrong, feuding with The Nightmares. By October 1985, he moved on to Mid-South Wrestling, where he was used as a enhancement talent. By the end of 1985, Patrick suffered a knee injury that ended his wrestling career.

Deep South Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling (1986–2001)

After his wrestling career was cut short due to a knee injury, Patrick would help his father out in his promotion,

, as an announcer/color commentator. In 1988, when

Turner Broadcasting Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (alternatively known as Turner Entertainment Networks from 2019 until 2022) was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner ( ...

bought JCP and renamed it

, Patrick was brought in as a referee. After Tommy Young retired in November 1989, Patrick became WCW's senior referee. When the New World Order (nWo) formed in 1996, he joined and became their official referee. He would allow the nWo wrestlers to cheat and he would show a clear bias towards the nWo. Because of this, he was forced into a match against

Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Jerich ...

at the World War 3 pay-per-view on November 24, 1996 in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia B ...

. Jericho had one arm tied behind his back and still defeated Patrick. Patrick's biggest night with the nWo was refereeing every single match on the nWo

Souled Out Souled Out was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in January from 1997 through 2000. The 1997 and 1998 WCW Souled Out PPV events were held on Saturdays due to the Super Bowl played t ...

pay-per-view on January 25, 1997 in

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River, north of Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City and north ...

. His nWo tenure came to an end at Spring Stampede 1997.

Scott Hall Scott Oliver Hall (October 20, 1958 – March 14, 2022) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under his real name and under the ring name the Diamond Studd and with the ...

and

Kevin Nash Kevin Scott Nash (born July 9, 1959) is an American actor and retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) where he performed under his ...

were scheduled to defend the

WCW World Tag Team Championship The WCW World Tag Team Championship (previously NWA (Mid-Atlantic) World Tag Team Championship) was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) ...

against

The Steiner Brothers The Steiner Brothers are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Robert "Rick Steiner" Rechsteiner and Scott "Scott Steiner" Rechsteiner. The brothers wrestled as amateurs at the University of Michigan. The team ma ...

. Due to out-of-ring attacks and such, combined with Hall failing to show for the event, the title match eventually became a singles match between Nash and Rick Steiner. Nash was allowed to appoint a referee and he chose Patrick. During the match, Nash removed the padding over the turnbuckle and dropped Steiner's face on it. However, in a turn of events, Patrick was starting to become visibly uncomfortable with how Nash was treating Steiner, and would soon have a change of heart. Fellow nWo associate,

Ted DiBiase Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE working in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship ...

, also had a change of heart and attempted, with Patrick, to get Nash to stop. When Nash refused, DiBiase left to get help for Steiner. Nash covered an unconscious Steiner and Patrick didn’t want to make the 3-count until Nash forced him to, awarding the contest to Nash. Patrick then told Nash to stop as he would also leave to get help for Steiner. After the match, Nash kept performing the maneuver on Steiner. Later that evening, Patrick served as referee for the main event match between nWo member

Randy Savage Randall Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestl ...

and

Diamond Dallas Page Dallas Page (born Page Joseph Falkinburg Jr., April 5, 1956), better known by his ring name Diamond Dallas Page (often stylized as DDP), is an American actor and retired professional wrestler. In the course of his wrestling career Page has wre ...

, counting a proper pin for Page. After the match, Nash came out and attacked Patrick, for all intents and purposes, kicking him out of the nWo. On the April 21, 1997 edition of ''Nitro'', he unexpectedly appeared in the announce booth with

Tony Schiavone Noah Anthony Schiavone (, ; born November 7, 1957) is an American sports announcer, professional wrestling commentator and podcaster currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a play-by-play commentator and senior producer. He has pr ...

and

Larry Zbyszko Lawrence Whistler (born December 5, 1951), better known by the ring name Larry Zbyszko, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his feud with his mentor, Bruno Sammartino, during the early 1980s as well as his w ...

. Wearing a green WCW polo shirt, he cut a promo explaining that he was sick of Eric Bischoff and the way the nWo did business. He explained that he never wanted to fight fellow referee Randy Anderson and asked for his job back. Both Schiavone and Zbyszko were skeptical, especially Zbyszko, who was intensely critical. They went to a commercial break with Patrick and Zbyszko arguing. The next week on ''Nitro'', WCW executive J. J. Dillon announced that Patrick was being re-hired on a probationary basis. Patrick was a neutral referee from that point on and never sided with the nWo again. Patrick created massive controversy over the

WCW World Heavyweight Championship The WCW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally used in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the original world title of ...

at Starrcade 1997 when he made a "fast count" in the Sting-Hollywood Hogan match; although that was the planned finish to the match, Patrick botched it by counting three at normal speed.

Bret Hart Bret Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legend's contract. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling back ...

stopped Patrick from giving Hogan the title, claiming the fast-count, and restarted the match claiming that he didn't want to see Sting get screwed like he was by

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the ...

. After a subsequent rematch, the title was declared vacant. Patrick would referee another rematch for the vacant belt, taking over for Charles Robinson (who had been knocked out during the bout). Sting would win that match and WCW management upheld Patrick's ruling.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (2001–2008)

When WCW was bought by the WWF, he was one of three WCW referees who had their contracts purchased, along with Charles Robinson and

Billy Silverman William Daley (born February 21, 1962) better known by his ring name Billy Silverman, is a professional wrestling referee who worked for World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation and later World Wrestling Entertainment. P ...

. He became a referee for The Alliance of WCW/

Extreme Championship Wrestling HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...

(ECW) wrestlers trying to take over the WWF. He even had a match against

Earl Hebner Earl William Hebner (born May 17, 1949) is an American retired professional wrestling referee who last officiated for All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is best known for his time as senior referee for the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) from 1 ...

at the WWF Invasion pay-per-view on July 22, 2001 in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S ...

. Patrick lost to Hebner and

Mick Foley Michael Francis Foley (born June 7, 1965) is an American actor, author, retired professional wrestler, and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE under the company's Legends program, acting as a company ambassador. Foley worked for m ...

, the special guest referee, gave him " Mr. Socko" after the match. During the time of the Alliance, Patrick would continue to play a

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exer ...

referee, siding with the Alliance wrestlers over the WWF wrestlers. For example, during a WCW Championship handicap match between The Rock and

Booker T Booker T or Booker T. may refer to * Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century ** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T." * Booker T. Jones (born 1944 ...

and

Shane McMahon Shane Brandon McMahon (; born January 15, 1970) is an American businessman and professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he was a wrestler, producer and minority owner. He is the founder and executive chairman of Idean ...

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, ...

, Patrick would refuse to count when the Rock had Booker or Shane pinned down. At

Survivor Series Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the se ...

, Patrick knocked out Hebner to take over as referee during the "Winner Take All" elimination tag match. After he gave a normal "slow count" for The Rock,

Stone Cold Steve Austin Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, and retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most ...

became enraged, knocked Patrick out, and brought Hebner back in as referee. After the Alliance angle ended, Patrick became an official WWF referee. At first he was a heel referee, refusing to count to three for face wrestlers as Austin and Rock, and favoring wrestlers like

and

Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler, Olympic gold medalist in American freestyle wrestling, and former collegiate wrestler. He is best known for his tenures in WWE and Total Nonstop Action ...

. After

WrestleMania X8 WrestleMania 18 (stylized as WrestleMania X8) was the 18th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on March 17, 2002, at the SkyDome in Toronto, ...

, Patrick started portraying a down-the-middle, neutral referee once again. After the brand extension, Patrick was used as the head referee on the SmackDown! brand. Patrick officiated the World Heavyweight Championship match at ECW One Night Stand 2006 between champion

Rey Mysterio Óscar Gutiérrez (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Widely regarded as one of the greatest prof ...

and Sabu. Patrick left the SmackDown! brand on February 9, 2007 and Mickie Henson took over as senior referee. Patrick remained with WWE, officiating matches in their new developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). Patrick returned to the SmackDown brand on February 8, 2008 and refereed a tag team match between

Jesse and Festus Jesse and Festus, also once known as The Dalton Boys, were an United States, American professional wrestling tag team made up of Ray Gordy (Jesse) and Doc Gallows, Drew Hankinson (Festus). History World Wrestling Entertainment Ohio Valley Wrest ...

and

Deuce 'n Domino Deuce 'n Domino is an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of Deuce Shade and Dice Domino, who were managed for the majority of their run by Cherry Pie and briefly by Maryse. The pair teamed together in World Wrestling Entertain ...

. However, he quickly disappeared again due to his injuries. Patrick was released from the WWE on August 8, 2008 after seven months of inactivity due to a chronic back injury.

Retirement (2009–2010)

On February 15, 2009, Patrick officially returned to wrestling when he was introduced as the on-camera commissioner of Rampage Pro Wrestling, an independent promotion based out of

Warner Robins Warner Robins (typically ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located in Houston and Peach counties in the central part of the state. It is currently Georgia's eleventh-largest incorporated city, with an estimated population of 80,308 in ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. Patrick portrayed a neutral commissioner. Patrick refereed his first match since his WWE release at RPW's "Showdown" supercard at the

Macon City Auditorium The Macon City Auditorium is a historic structure in Macon, Georgia, United States, that has hosted performances, meetings, and events for the community since 1925. It was designed by New York architect Egerton Swartwout. It was listed on the Nati ...

on April 10, 2009, officiating a no-holds-barred, hair vs. hair contest between Cru Jones and Doc Gayton. In April 2009, Patrick became RPW's television show director, replacing his father, Jody Hamilton, after the promotion released Hamilton due to financial cutbacks. The promotion re-hired Hamilton later in the year in October. In September 2009, Patrick became the promotion's legitimate general manager . When Patrick took over, he and Hamilton became the primary forces behind the booking. In June 2010, the promotion was temporarily closed down due to internal disputes he and his father were having with others in RPW. The company decided to move forward, but not before firing everyone involved in the disputes, including Patrick and Hamilton. A few days later, Patrick signed on to become the general manager of Great Championship Wrestling, an independent promotion based out of

Phenix City, Alabama Phenix City is a city in Lee and Russell counties in the U.S. state of Alabama, and the county seat of Russell County. As of the 2020 Census, the population of the city was 38,817. Phenix City lies immediately west across the Chattahoochee R ...

. However, Patrick resigned from GCW after only two weeks. Aside from occasionally officiating matches at Ron Gossett's Universal Championship Wrestling shows in Georgia, Patrick no longer has any involvement in professional wrestling.

Promoting (2021–present)

In February 2021, Patrick announced that he is reviving his father's old promotion,

. He announced the death of his father on August 3, 2021.

Video games

Nick Patrick is featured in the WWE video game series with appearances in ''

WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2007 ''WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by THQ in 2006. It is the third game under the '' WWE SmackDown vs Raw'' name, the eighth game overall in the video game series based on the Wo ...

'', ''

WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2008 ''WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008'' (sometimes subtitled with ''featuring ECW'') is a professional wrestling video game published by THQ in November 2007, and developed by Yuke's for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation Por ...

'', and ''

WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 ''WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009'' (sometimes subtitled with ''featuring ECW'') is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by THQ for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii, and Xbox 360 video game ...

''.

Job titles

* Senior Developmental Referee and Referee Trainer *

(NWA) Referee *Former

(WCW) Referee *Former

(WWE) Referee *Former

(DSW) Referee *Former

(FCW) Referee *Rampage Pro Wrestling TV Director/General Manager/On-Camera Commissioner/Occasional Special Referee *Great Championship Wrestling General Manager *

Owner/Promoter

Awards

* ''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four W ...

'' ** Best Gimmick (1996) – nWo ** Feud of the Year (1996) New World Order vs. World Championship Wrestling

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Patrick, Nick 1959 births Living people People from Lakeland, Florida Professional wrestling referees New World Order (professional wrestling) members American male professional wrestlers