Pin (professional wrestling) Pin (professional wrestling) A pinfall is a victory condition in various forms of professional wrestling that is met by holding (pinning) an opponent's shoulders on the wrestling mat, usually until the referee counts to three. In professional wrestling, a pinfall is a common method of winning a match. The count is broken (a near-fall) if the opponent manages to raise one or both of his shoulders off of the mat, commonly by "kicking out" (throwing their legs up to cause their shoulders to rise from the mat). In some positions, a wrestler may "bridge" (arching their back so that only
Referee (professional wrestling) the two referees, Jim Korderas and Mike Chioda, used the "X" sign. Flair re-entered the match minutes afterwards, showing he was not legitimately injured. After the X sign is given, the officials backstage would communicate to the referee, if necessary, revised plans to end the match quickly. There is also a "blow off" sign, raising both arms straight up, if a wrestler seemed injured but feels he can continue. Most professional wrestling promotions have a kayfabe rule that referees do not make decisions based on anything they do not personally witness. Because of this, distracting or incapacitating the referee is