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Billy Caputo, who had a long career working as a referee for The WWWF/WWF and a slew of other promotions before transitioning into an official for the New York State Athletic Commission, passed away this afternoon, his daughter Kate Caputo Miley announced via her Facebook Page.
"It is with the heaviest of hearts that we want to share that we lost our Dad today, " wrote Miley. "I don’t think there are any words that can describe the man he was and the mark he is leaving on this world. He fought a hard fight. Thanks to hospice, we were given a year with him that we will forever be grateful for. He passed peacefully surrounded by all of us. He is loved and will never be out of our hearts. RIP Billy J Caputo, Referee."
In September 2018, Caputo was diagnosed with aggressive lymphoma of the bone marrow.
Caputo, 72 years old, lived an amazing life, including a long career as an iron worker, even surviving a 30-foot fall that nearly killed him in 1973 where he was actually declared dead while in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Caputo amazingly survived and even returned to work before being laid off in 1975.
Seeking work, he applied to become a referee via the New York State Athletic Commission, which at the time held the power over promotions to determine which referees would work which live events. This opened the door for Caputo to begin refereeing and he worked every major and minor arena in the New York City area.
Caputo, when he started, was so new to the business when he started that when he was refereeing his first bout and was told the finish ahead of time, thought he the subject of a practical joke and called the bout as legitimate, almost counting a pinfall that wasn't supposed to happen until he was reminded of the finish by the combatants, Manuel Soto and Kevin Sullivan.
In 2010, Caputo recalled his first night as a referee to the New York Daily News, commenting, "I was 27 years old, and after the match Gorilla Monsoon said I did a great job and thereafter they (WWE) called me personally to do more of their matches. I was so excited I forgot to get my $25 fee."
Caputo was a great referee, so great that he actually ended up in the middle of a riot in Madison Square Garden. During a January 1978 match featuring Dominick DeNucci & Dino Bravo vs. Yukon The Lumberjacks, Caputo was doing the traditional referee spot of making sure there was "only one competitor" in the ring and was removing DeNucci from the ring. This, naturally, allowed the Lumberjacks to double team Bravo. The team got so much heat that the audience turned on Caputo for his terrible officiating, including fans throwing things and trying to charge the ring. Caputo left MSG with a police escort that evening.
Caputo, in an 2013 interview with PWInsider.com, noted that working in professional wrestling was like entering "Wonderland", loved telling stories about his unique life experiences, which included once stepping in to add to the ambiance when Roddy Piper pulled out his full-blown heel character on a fan during a flight after the fan began harassing him, being in the middle of Bruiser Brody vs. Abdullah the Butcher brawls and being the referee who counted the pinfall in the Dominican Republic when Jack Venano defeated Ric Flair for the NWA title when it became apparent the building was going to riot if they went through with the original finish, which was to see Flair retain in a screwy finish.
Caputo also had the distinction of being brought to Puerto Rico as a heel referee. Unfortunately for him, he arrived on the Island thinking he was just being brought there to officiate, learning rather quickly from how he was treated by the locals that WWC's TV series had built him up for weeks as a heel referee in the pocket of the villains, out to screw Carlos Colon. During a time period where fans especially believed in that time period, he literally left his home expecting an enjoyable, easy trip to the Island but instead walked into a world where the fans wanted to murder him - without knowing that was what he was in for.
"I've suffered four broken noses and had several shoulder and knee operations, but I loved refereeing," Caputo told the Daily News.
After retiring as a referee, Caputo became an inspector for the New York State Athletic Commission. When Caputo was assigned to a promotion's event, the promoter would always breathe a little easier. There's been an ongoing situation in the New York independents where depending on the inspector that shows up, some of the modern wrestling aspects such as dives, tables, chairs and even heels insulting the audience would be forbidden. If the "wrong" guy shows up, the wrestlers and the promoters all collectively sigh. While Caputo wouldn't let anyone get away with doing everything they wanted, his decades of experience working within the business as a referee allowed him to have a keen insight into whether something would work or not for the show and allow more leeway. That gave the talents and promoters someone who was overseeing them that not only made sure the shows were run correctly but also allowed talents the proper creative freedom to give the fans the best show possible. He should be commended and remembered for always going above and beyond what was expected of him by the letter of the law.
Outside of professional wrestling, Caputo was very active in the Stolzenthaler Council of the Knights of Columbus and had for years hosted the Council’s “Wounded Warriors” program. He and his wife Jane were married 50 years and were the most warm and welcoming people one could ever hope to meet in life, much less professional wrestling. I especially want to send Janie the best.
Caputo was survived by Janie, his children Susan, Kate and Billy, and four grandchildren.
Everyone at PWInsider.com sends our deepest condolences to the family, friends and fans of Billy Caputo, someone who certainly helped make professional wrestling a better place through his involvement in the business.
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