This is my first year as a wrestling official. I've been involved in football for about 10 years, and since I wrestled in jr high and high school, I thought it'd be fun to branch out. It is nice to see things (other than the weight classes) haven't changed much since high school, and I'm having fun with it. I have two questions though.

My question is on stalling. I don't have the books in front of me, and it mentions that an overpowered wrestler cannot stall. How is this statement interpreted? Do they mean a wrestler on their back? What if one wrestler is obviously stronger, and the weaker guy just cannot compete (i.e. cannot overcome a strong rider)? I remember in high school (I guess about 15 years ago) I was cautioned for stalling because I bridged out of bounds. The official said I had to try and get out of the hold and could not use the out-of-bounds to escape the hold.

Second is on bleeding. Say the top wrestler has a pinning combo and is going for the fall. One of the wrestlers starts bleeing. Is the match stopped immediately? Or only when the hold is broken or a fall is earned? If you stop it early, how do you handle near fall? Is there a point awarded for stopping the match? What if there is not an imminent fall? Is there a point for stopping the match?

Suudy - Welcome back to the mats. I would disagree that not much has changed but that is a different topic.

Overpowered - He just can not get out or move because of the strength of his opponent. If he is looking to get out but is stuck in place by his opponenet, the head turns, the eyes turn, the shoulder moves a little, but he dosn't go anywhere. He is overpowered. This is a judgment, more by feel than by objective criteria. Face down or face up doesn't make any difference.

Bridging out of bounds is leaving the mat to avoid wrestling. This is a TV, unless, near-fall has been earned in this situation. The offended wrestler gets either the point(s) from the TV or the near-fall he has earned but not both.

Blood/Injury
Bleeding - a continuous flow of blood from a wrestler.
If near-fall is imminent, stop the match, award 2NF.
If a 2NF has been earned, award 3NF.
If a 3NF has been earned, award a 4NF.
What was a stoppage point last year is now included in the NF award.
Use your judgment. A fleck or spot of blood would not be bleeding. A puddle or smear (big enough to be seen by the fans)would be. Somewhere in between is where you have to make that decision. Once you decide it is bleeding, the match stops there.