Referee Dallas Edwards suffers medical emergency during OVW spot
Referee Dallas Edwards was taken to the hospital on Thursday night after suffering a medical emergency at an Ohio Valley Wrestling event.
During a multi-man tag match, there was a spot where Edwards entered the ring as the second referee after the initial ref was taken out in a ref bump. Edwards then took part in a planned spot where one of the competitors shoved him in the way to take a Phenomenal Forearm. The spot went wrong and Edwards hit hard. He stayed down on the mat until convulsing in an apparent seizure. As that happened, the match continued around him — with one of the wrestlers even moving Edwards out of the way and pushing him with his foot so that Edwards wouldn’t be in the path of the next move.
The match was then finally stopped and the show went off the air as Edwards received medical attention. He was taken to the hospital but is said to be awake, coherent, and in good spirits. OVW wrestler Jake Lawless shared a photo of Edwards in the hospital giving a thumbs up.
Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp shared a statement from Edwards’ girlfriend, who is asking everyone to keep him in their thoughts. She noted that Edwards suffered a brain injury that is being monitored at the hospital.
In a Facebook post, ROH wrestler Beef/Gnarls Garvin expressed how angry he is with everyone who did not help Edwards as he was suffering the medical emergency.
“This is a very serious post from me. Dallas Edwards is one of my best friends in this world. I spend time with him almost every single day. What happened last night at OVW Wrestling was and is complete total negligence and 100 % avoidable,” he wrote. “I am beyond anger right now and everyone involved with not helping him while having a seizure, needs to burn their boots or go back to training day one.
“Accidents happen, what we do is very dangerous. I am very ashamed in all of the wrestlers who didn’t put safety first of all involved. Say a prayer for Dallas today.”
WWE referee Jason Ayers was among those who responded to the post from Beef/Garvin.
“Absolutely infuriating,” Ayers wrote. “I sent him a message but if you talk to him please tell him I’m sending prayers for a speedy recovery”
As of now, OVW has not publicly addressed the situation.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.