Nick Patrick Talks About Life On The Road As Referee In Pro Wrestling

Former referee Nick Patrick logged a lot of miles in WCW and WWE, but on the latest "Monday Mailbag" podcast, Patrick admitted WWE nearly broke him.

"Most of my time in WWE I felt burnt out but I had to keep plugging," Patrick recounted. "It's hard emotionally to do that grind and I had things going on with my family, I had things going on with my marriage, I had a son that — I'd never even heard of autism, now I got a son that I found out has autism and I was trying to deal with it from the road. Living out of a suitcase is very hard and I just did a 12-year run with WCW and that's a fiend in itself." 

Patrick says he had a brief respite once Vince McMahon bought WCW, a break which he enjoyed immensely, but then was back on the road as part of the Invasion angle in 2001.

"I got to be at home and spend a little bit of home time but then I got out on the road again," Patrick said. He explained that WWE was more intense on the road than anything he'd been a part of, noting that the company had more non-televised events and international events. It was a harder road for Patrick, without any kind of break or time to breathe, as runs in Asia would usually be preceded and followed by stints on the western coast of the United States. 

Along with the travel, Patrick also felt that the "ball-busting" atmosphere of WWE could grind him down as well, citing the company's reputation for wanting to test people's spirits and commitment. Despite the strenuous schedule, Patrick worked another seven years in WWE, leaving the company in 2008.