Aubrey Edwards On How Messing Up a Match Finish Helped Her Get Into AEW, When She Signed Full-Time

Referee Aubrey Edwards appeared on Talk is Jericho and discussed how she came on board AEW, and how messing up the finish of a match actually helped factor in. Edwards has worked for AEW since Double or Nothing, and she told Chris Jericho how Frankie Kazarian got helped her get in contact with the right people after he was impressed with how she reacted after messing up the finish to a match of his elsewhere right before AEW was announced in late 2018. Highlights and the full audio are below:

On first getting on AEW’s radar: “It was definitely like, right place right time. It was about three weeks before AEW was announced. And I told you, it was a little bit all-star and I met Frankie Kazarian. I reffed one of his matches. I actually f**ked up the finish. He was getting the pin, [the] heel had the foot on the ropes and I didn’t see it, so I called for the bell. Saw it, waved it off and said, ‘Nope, we’re restarting.’ And if you ask Frankie, he’ll say the match ended up better, because the crowd had that dip, and then come back because he’s like the babyface … I was supposed to catch the foot and not count it, but I totally missed it. So it was 100% on me, like, I f**ked it up. But I did what I could to save it, and it has to be like, in the moment. So Frankie said that he really appreciated it, he liked it.

“And we had chatted a bit, whatever. And I’m just trying to like, get to know people. I just want the show to be good — not just my matches, I want the show to be good, so I’m trying to help everyone I can in the back. And Frankie apparently got my name, and gave it to the Bucks and Brandi. I ended up seeing him at a show at ECCW, I think it was January 11th? So it was two weeks after AEW was announced. We were supposed to have Brian Cage, and then Impact pulled a lot of people because their dates got announced, whatever. So Frankie filled in for Brian Cage. Like, ‘Oh, this is convenient. Okay.’ So I put together my resume, promo shots, and matches. I’ve got an email ready to go. I’m like, ‘He doesn’t know, but we’re gonna have this conversation.’ And we show up and he’s like, ‘Yeah, I need all your stuff.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, good. This is smart.’ So we had a match again, he liked it, I sent him all my stuff.”

On being offered Double or Nothing: “Literally a week later I was at a DEFY show in Seattle. And that was the first one where the Young Bucks were doing the thing where they show up at a bunch of random indie shows? That was the first one they ended up doing that at. And the match I had was all of SCU vs. three other guys. So I did a match with all of SCU, I get through the curtain, and then [Christopher Daniels] immediately offers me Double or Nothing. So it was just like, ‘Oh, crap, okay, we’re doing this.”

On when she got her full-time AEW contract: “It was just the one show. I’m backstage at Double or Nothing, my matches were all done, and Cody’s walking around, covered in blood, right? I’m like, ‘Hey man, dope match’ … He says, ‘Thanks, you’re doing the next one.’ I’m like, ‘Does he know [laughs] this is a one-show thing?’ So I had to send that awkward email of ‘Hey, Cody said this. I don’t know what we need to do.’ So they brought me on for the next three, and then my full-time contract was offered to me the day after Fight for the Fallen. So I technically wasn’t full-time until after the title match in Chicago.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Talk is Jericho with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.