Tim White (wrestling)
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Tim White (born March 25, 1954 in Cumberland, Rhode Island) is a former professional wrestling referee. He currently works with World Wrestling Entertainment as a Producer on the SmackDown! Brand. During the 1980s and 1990s, White worked as Andre the Giant's assistant in addition to his referee duties.
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[edit] Career
White was formerly a referee for WWE until, in 2002, he suffered a shoulder injury when he took a bump in a Hell in a Cell match between Triple H and Chris Jericho at Judgment Day 2002.
At WrestleMania XX, in 2004, White returned to referee the match between Chris Jericho and Christian. He reinjured his shoulder during the final three count of the match, thus ending his referee career.
On December 18, 2005, White made an on-screen appearance at the Armageddon 2005 pay-per-view in one of the most controversial storylines for WWE to date.
In the segment, a "despondent" Tim White was interviewed by SmackDown! reporter Josh Mathews inside his local bar he ran called "The Friendly Tap" in Providence, Rhode Island. He was depicted drinking large amounts of alcohol. He then preceded to take a shotgun out from under the bar and, off screen, fired the gun, apparently intending to kill himself.
This resulted in Connecticut police receiving an estimated 1,000 phone calls about the "suicide" depicted on the pay-per-view. Friends of White showed up to the bar to see a sign that read "family emergency." The door of White's bar was torn off the hinges by local police, causing $3,000 in damages. In addition, the e-mail address to White's bar received roughly 4,000 e-mails from friends and fans sending their condolences to White.
Some called the event, which happened merely a month after the death of Eddie Guerrero, tasteless. In an official statement, the web master of friendlytap.com said
| Did morals play a part in Tim's decision? We, and he, believe so. Unfortunately, with the recent passing of WWE Superstar (and friend of Tim White) Eddie Guerrero, people have been outraged at what transpired. Please be aware, that sometimes storylines are created over a long period of time. Just because this angle happened after the death of Eddie Guerrero doesn't mean that Tim or the WWE is disrespecting his memory. |
On January 6, 2006, it was revealed that White had shot his foot accidentally during the "ordeal". But when asked by Josh Mathews about his new year's resolutions, he proceeded to scarf down a box full of rat poison, and subsequently fell over in his chair. This segment was leaked onto the internet several days earlier, and included was the uncut footage of the post-segment which included the producers as well as White goofing around using some mildly foul language. On the date of the airing, WWE was somehow able to get the footage removed from the Internet. On January 15, 2006, White was interviewed by Josh Mathews again, but this time he tried to hang himself; fortunately, the rope broke.
For weeks following that, WWE's official website uploaded a new video showing Josh Mathews trying to interview Tim White who is about to commit suicide each week in a different way. The segment became a regular segment on WWE's website and was given the name of "Lunchtime Suicide", uploaded every Thursday at lunch time.
On April 6, 2006, WWE.com uploaded a video where Tim White didn't attempt to end it all. In fact, he invited Josh Mathews to a party at the Friendly Tap Bar to take place the following week. He would then softly laugh like a crazy man. The next week Tim White invited Josh to a party for only him and Josh. They drank and went through a drunken montage that included the duo imitating the WrestleMania III poster, shooting pool, playing arcade games, and even Josh inhaling helium and saying, his now catchphrase, "That's not wise, Mr. White!" When Josh awakes after excessive drinking, him and Tim look at the old shotgun from when it all started. A teary montage set to the tune of the WWE produced song "Tell Me A Lie" (which had been used for Shawn Michaels' 1996 music video) highlights the most infamous moments of the Lunchtime Suicide. Josh then wished to go outside and play with the shotgun that White used at Armageddon, but Tim decided that life is worth living and shot Josh instead. As blood splattered across his face, he maniacally cackled and said "Josh, that was not wise!". It seems that Tim was never really out to kill himself, but, rather, to rid himself of Josh once and for all. The video signalled an end to the "Lunchtime Suicide" segment.
[edit] Non Playable Character
He is seen as one of the Backstage Crew in Smackdown Vs RAW 2006 in the background in the Backstage Brawl match
[edit] Suicide attempts
- Shooting himself with a shotgun, accidentally shooting himself in the foot
- Ingesting rat poison
- Hanging himself, luckily rope broke
- Electrocuting himself with a toaster inside a tub full of water
- Slitting his wrist with a razor blade
- Suffocating himself with a Ziploc Bag
- Drowning himself in a fish tank by using a chain with a brick attached
- Shooting himself with a pistol to the head
- Getting hit by oncoming traffic on a street in Trenton, New Jersey
- Drinking mad cow disease
- Strangling himself with a telephone cord while on the phone with the suicide hotline
- Pumping an exhaust pipe into a car while sitting inside
- Trying to cut his head off in a sharp fan
- Holding a sign saying "Hitman" (originally thought by Josh to be referring to Bret Hart), attracting him to get shot by a sniper
