Despite an impeccable work ethic, tremendous “ring sense” and an unwavering dedication to his craft, one man on the WWE payroll seems doomed to forever languish on the mid-card unless he gets a much-needed push.

Referee John Cone, pictured at right raising the arm of Roman Reigns, is is one of the world’s best sports-entertainment referees, but for reasons unclear he has never achieved the fame of a Hebner, a Robinson, or even a Chioda.

Cone is a veteran of in-ring officiating, having learned the ropes working in the Ohio River Valley for Harley Race from 1999 to 2006.

Cone has officiated matches for both the SmackDown and Raw brands, and even refereed for the immensely popular WWE reboot of the ECW brand.

But it seems Cone is unwilling to play politics behind the scenes, because he is consistently overlooked for main-event stardom, always living in the shadow of major stars like Chad Patton and even the young up-and-comer Drake “Younger” Weurtz.

Cone was even upstaged by his own son, Nicholas, who was given an enormous push in his debut match by winning the WWE tag titles with Roman Reigns.

Cone says the highlight of his career was refereeing a match with Roman Reigns, pictured above.

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