While Henson refereed his first WWE match in October 2005, he actually refereed his first match in 1987. He broke into the business with the help of Steve Keirn, Mike Graham and Gordon Solie in Florida Championship Wrestling, but like many referees, Henson didn’t start refereeing matches right off the bat. Instead, he had to pay his dues.
“Basically, I pretty much started driving the ring and putting the ring up,” recalled Henson. But before long, he was in the thick of things for the Florida promotion and his career as an official in sports-entertainment was underway.
Even though his career began almost two decades ago, Henson remembers his first match like it was yesterday.
“My first match was in Orlando, Fla., at the Eddie Graham Sports Complex. I think it’s been turned into apartment buildings now,” he said. “The match was between Bob Cook and a young Mike Awesome. I wasn’t really all that nervous. I had watched it on television forever. I paid attention to the referees, and when I got out there I kind of just fell into it. I was lucky enough to learn from some of the best workers of the time like Dick Slater and Mike Graham so it was pretty easy to catch on.”
When Mr. McMahon bought WCW in March 2001, Mickie Henson was out of a job. After almost 15 years of officiating, Henson’s career was seemingly over.
But then, after more than two years of being out of sports-entertainment, he resurfaced in WWE and his career was rejuvenated. Henson said that he heard WWE had an opening for a referee, so he inquired within the company. He received a tryout and the rest was history.
Now that he’s in WWE, Henson says there’s no comparison between WCW and WWE, and he’s glad that his career is back in full swing. Henson said that almost every match he’s officiated since coming to WWE has been a great experience, but one stands out the most.
“I’ve been involved in quite a few big ones. Triple H vs. Ric Flair at WWE Homecoming was probably one of my biggest in WWE and I had butterflies before that one,” said Henson.
As much as Henson enjoys his job, it can be a hazardous occupation at times. He said that he’s been lucky enough not to endure any serious injuries, but one incident stands out in his mind.
“The worst thing that ever happened to me was back at the Eddie Graham Sports Complex. I was refereeing a tag team match between Micke Graham & Steve Keirn and Black Bart and Bobby Jaggers,” he said. “Black Bart had a branding iron called the BB. He was running across the ring with it and hit me right between the eyes. I just remember waking up in the dressing room. I don’t remember much about it, but I know I had a big headache after that.”
Being inside the ring is definitely one of Henson’s passions, but outside of the ring, he also likes to go fishing. He was able to do plenty of fishing at home since he lived in Key West, Fla., for about 16 years.