Former WWE & WCW referee Mickie Jay passes away

Former WWE, WCW and ECW referee Mickie Jay died Monday evening due to complications from pneumonia related to COVID-19.

Mike Mooneyham first reported the news on Tuesday. He was 59 years old at the time of his passing and had lived in Key West, Florida, for nearly 20 years.

Born Mickie Jay Henson in Tampa, Florida, in 1963, he was trained by Steve Keirn and Mike Graham, refereeing his first match in 1987 in Florida’s Championship Wrestling. He also wrestled, even competing as an enhancement talent in 1992 on WWF Superstars and Wrestling Challenge.

He began with WCW in 1992, but was not brought over when WWE bought the company in 2001. However, WWE did hire him in 2005 where he worked for Raw, SmackDown and ECW over nearly four years, named head official for both SmackDown and ECW during his tenure. 

Due to health issues in 2008, Jay was pulled off the road and was released in January 2009.

He was honored by the Cauliflower Alley Club with the Charlie Smith Referee’s Award in 2018.