Beloved WWE referee Charles Robinson has been in the wars as of late. But instead of big bumps, this time round it’s a big bite.
Robinson, who has been the lead referee on SmackDown since 2002, revealed on his Instagram earlier today that he’d been bitten by a bat and hospitalized as a result. “Great way to start the morning. 2:00am and got bit by a bat. That’s right a bat! 4 hours later in the ER and six shots,” wrote Robinson to his 300,000 Instagram followers.
It’s unclear at this moment as to whether Robinson will be taking an extended absence to recover from the incident. However, based on the image accompanying the post, the 61-year-old seemed in good spirits following his visit to the emergency room.
Robinson has developed a cult following in the world of professional wrestling, having first started out in PWF and WCW in the 1990s. After WWE’s acquisition of WCW in 2001, Robinson officially joined the company, officiating on SmackDown.
Since starting out in the business over 30 years ago, Robinson has officiated a number of iconic matches. These include both Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair’s retirement matches, the final ever WCW match between Sting and Flair, as well as Cody Rhodes’ WWE title-winning victory over Roman Reigns at WrestleMania XL.
An Eventful 2025 for Charles Robinson
A hospital visit courtesy of a bat bite would be newsworthy in isolation but, for Robinson, this seems like business as usual for him in 2025. Robinson was wiped out by John Cena in June during his WWE Championship defense at Night of Champions.
Robinson did his trademark sprint to the ring to facilitate a Seth Rollins Money in the Bank cash-in, but sadly for Charles, Cena had other ideas. At full tilt, hurtling down the ramp toward the ring, Cena appeared out of nowhere, stopping Robinson in his tracks with a Pounce-style maneuver.
Just two weeks later, at Saturday Night’s Main Event, Robinson took one of the most dreaded bumps in professional wrestling: a Goldberg Spear. Robinson inadvertently took the devastating finisher after Gunther managed to move out of harm’s way. He suffered a broken rib for his troubles, later receiving an apology from Goldberg.
Robinson is no stranger to injuries though. During the acclaimed 2017 Royal Rumble title match between John Cena and A.J. Styles in 2017, Robinson tore the plantar fascia on his left foot early on in the match.
Robinson somehow managed to continue, but was out of action for two months following surgery. Just six months later, Robinson fractured his left index finger while officiating a SmackDown match between Shinsuke Nakamura and Baron Corbin.
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