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A wrestling referee was kicked aside by performers while having a seizure in the ring at an event in Louisville, Kentucky.
Dallas Edwards, a referee for Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), experienced a “medical emergency”, according to a statement by the promotion, after he collided with a wrestler who had jumpedoff the top rope.
Edwards lay motionless on the mat and was checked on by one of the performers, but other performers soon entered the ring and the match continued.
The referee began to convulse in the ring with one of the wrestlers trying to pull him away in to the corner and then moving him away with his foot.
“Referee Dallas Edwards is in some trouble here, guys,” one of the commentators said as the camera panned away from his body.
“We don’t want to put this on camera. Our referee, Dallas Edwards, is having a medical situation.”
One of the performers appeared to try to kick the referee out of the way. Photo / OVW
The broadcast soon came to an abrupt end.
A statement by OVW the day after the event said the referee was doing “much better” and the promotion “takes the health and wellbeing of all our performers extremely seriously, and as a company we are all distraught to see an injury to one of our own”.
Showrunner Al Snow posted a separate statement about the incident on social media and said the referee took part in a “planned moment of physical contact”.
Wrestling referee Dallas Edwards was struck by a performer jumping off the top rope. Photo / OVW
“Traditionally, when an in-ring injury occurs, the referee is the central point of communication, assessment, and decision-making,” Snow wrote.
One of the wrestlers appeared to check on the referee just after he was hit. Photo / OVW
“In this unprecedented situation, the person who would normally make that assessment was the one who needed assistance.
One of the wrestlers attempted to drag referee Dallas Edwards in to the corner of the ring while he was convulsing. Photo / OVW
“That unforeseen breakdown in communication contributed to a delay in stopping the match and concluding the show.”
Snow said existing procedures are being reviewed and several in-ring and ringside protocols will be updated, including expanded response measures to ensure similar situations are addressed as quickly as possible.
Edwards said he appreciated the support he had been offered and confirmed he had a concussion and a brain bleed.
The referee encouraged people to take on training to assist others in danger instead of donating to him and said he will be out of the hospital if his next scan goes well.
OVW wrestler Brendan Balling wrote on Facebook he felt “horrible about everything” and that “Dallas will be back and better than ever”.
