Earl Hebner

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Earl Hebner

Role	Referee
Hometown	Richmond, Virginia

Earl Hebner is best remembered as the former WWE Senior Referee and the official referee for the SmackDown! games up until his release from the company. In Hebner's time at the WWE, he had several feuds with the likes of Triple H. Hebner is also known as being involved in the Montrel Screwjob against Bret Hart in 1997. Because of this, Hebner was booed anytime WWE went to Canada.

WWF SmackDown!: Just Bring It

Earl Hebner watches on as Tajiri battles Steve Austin in WWF SmackDown!: Just Bring It.

Earl Hebner makes his first appearance in the series as the referee, a role previously filled by a voice in WWF SmackDown! and WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role.

Aside from holding order in the ring, you can talk to Earl backstage and ask him to referee a hardcore match for you to try to win the Hardcore Championship.

WWE SmackDown!: Shut Your Mouth

Earl Hebner helplessly watches as Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam battle their way into the subway in WWE SmackDown!: Shut Your Mouth.

Earl makes his second appearance in Shut Your Mouth. It's now a lot easier to knock Hebner out. He'll be down for an extended period of time which you can use to cheat, such as using weapons and staying outside for well past the allotted countout time.

There was also a glitch in the game that people attempted to use to cheat the DQ system. You would go outside, get a table, and set it up in your corner. You would then continiously run into the table and wait for your opponent to pick you up and slam you through it. If Earl Hebner is concious, you would see this and disqualify your opponent.

WWE SmackDown!: Here Comes the Pain

Earl Hebner raises a victorious Batista's arm in WWE SmackDown!: Here Comes The Pain.

After getting knocked around, Hebner seemingly decided to take a lot of steroids before Here Comes the Pain was released. Hebner was nearly invincible in this game. Every move you attempted on him usually was reversed. This may have been a response to people taking advantage of the referee being so easy in SYM, so people cheated in every match.

In a glitch, it's possible to have Earl Hebner win a match. Play a first blood match and give your wrestler a powerbomb finisher. Make sure your wrestler's head is red and attempt your finisher on Hebner. He'll reverse it and DDT you. You should get busted open. Instead of your opponent winning, it'll show Earl Hebner celebrating in the ring.

WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW

How is Earl Hebner possibly going to retain order with The Undertaker and Kane as they show off the new staredown meter in WWE SmackDown! vs RAW?

This is the last game Earl Hebner appeared in as he was released the following year. Thankfully he was toned down a lot and the invincible Earl from HCTP was no longer a factor. There were also several imporvements to referee interaction such as being able to have a manager distract him so you could use a weapon - an action that would previously get you distracted whether he had his back turned or not.