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Referee Dallas Edwards suffered an injury while working as a referee during a match in OVW just a few days ago, and word quickly spread along with video of the incident. This was aided by the unacceptable handling of the situation, as Edwards was convulsing on the mat for far too long before he was tended to, even with wrestlers in the ring kicking and pushing him out of the way.
Eventually, he was taken out of there and ended up in the hospital, where he has since released a statement saying he is going to be okay and hoping the entire industry will take note of his situation to improve safety measures across the board in professional wrestling. It would seem, at least from OVW co-owner Al Snow’s statement on the situation, Edwards’ situation will lead to some improvements in exactly that.
The statement:
“Hello everyone, this is Al Snow. I want to speak directly to our fans and the wrestling community regarding the incident involving Referee Dallas Edwards at last week’s event.
Professional wrestling has always carried an inherent risk of injury for everyone who steps into the ring. On March 12th, during a live OVW television event, Dallas was involved in a planned moment of physical contact with a wrestler that resulted in him suffering a head injury.
Traditionally, when an in-ring injury occurs, the referee is the central point of communication, assessment, and decision-making. In this unprecedented situation, the person who would normally make that assessment was the one who needed assistance. That unforeseen breakdown in communication contributed to a delay in stopping the match and concluding the show.
We are relieved to hear that Dallas is recovering and receiving the medical care he needs. Our thoughts are with him, and we’re hoping for his continued improvement.
At OVW, the health and safety of our performers and officials has always been our top priority. We are proud of the standards we’ve maintained over the years, but we also recognize that there is always room to strengthen and improve. With that in mind, we are reviewing our existing procedures and updating several of our in-ring and ringside protocols to ensure we continue to meet the highest expectations for performer safety.
These updates include enhanced communication systems, additional referee training, and expanded ringside response measures to help ensure that a situation like this is identified and addressed as quickly as possible.
We appreciate the concern and passion from our fans, and we understand the importance of transparency during moments like this. We will continue to share updates when appropriate, and we ask everyone to keep Dallas in your thoughts as he continues his recovery.
Thank you.“
That’s much better than OVW’s initial statement, which made no mention of how the entire incident was handled. Here’s to hoping actual change comes from this, and all performers involved in the show will be safer for it.
