Nick Patrick (referee) 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 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 Steve Austin and Rock, and favoring wrestlers like Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle. After Wrestlemania, Patrick started portraying a down-the-middle, neutral referee once again. After the brand extension, Patrick was used as
Professional wrestling match types eliminates the usual "countout" rule. As the match may take place in various parts of the arena, the "falls count anywhere" provision is almost always accompanied with a "no disqualification" stipulation to make the match a hardcore match, so as to allow wrestlers the convenience to use any objects they may find wherever they wrestle. A variation of the rules states that once a pinfall takes place, the pinned wrestler would lose the match if he is unable to return to the ring within a specific amount of time — usually a referee's count of 10 or 30. If the