WWE Referees Jason Ayers and Shawn Bennett Commemorate Big Night at Money in the Bank

– The referees in the world championship matches at Money in the Bank commemorated what was a pretty huge night for the both of them. Jason Ayers posted a picture to Instagram of himself and Shawn Bennett, relating a story about how they met at their first, unsuccessful, WWE tryouts and became friends. Ayers said the two of them reconnected after joining WWE in 2012 and 2013, rising to the point that they officiated the WWE Championship and WWE Universal Championship nights at last night’s PPV:

Pretty special night tonight at #MITB – tonight was the first time @refbennett and I officiated the world championship matches of our respective brands on the same show.

I know that doesn’t sound like much, but stick with me here. ***SPOILER ALERT*** Long-winded sappy story-time ahead.

In 2008, at the beginning of both our journeys to @wwe, I was lucky enough to run into Shawn at a tryout we both attended at the FCW Arena in Tampa. Clicked immediately. Just two dudes with a dream.

Neither of us were hired from that tryout.

Neither of us gave up.

We sort of lost touch over the years, but in 2012, I signed my first contract with WWE. Just about a year later, I got word that Shawn would also be joining the team.

We picked up like no time had passed.

I jokingly call him my little brother, but that’s really how I look at him. Family.

As we’ve both progressed in our careers, through developmental and into the main roster, I’m glad to have shared the road.

And now here we are, at the peak of our profession, in the world title matches on pay per view.

A long way from a sweatbox warehouse in Tampa and a $1000 t-shirt.

Here’s to many more.

View this post on Instagram

Pretty special night tonight at #MITB – tonight was the first time @refbennett and I officiated the world championship matches of our respective brands on the same show. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but stick with me here. ***SPOILER ALERT*** Long-winded sappy story-time ahead. In 2008, at the beginning of both our journeys to @wwe, I was lucky enough to run into Shawn at a tryout we both attended at the FCW Arena in Tampa. Clicked immediately. Just two dudes with a dream. Neither of us were hired from that tryout. Neither of us gave up. We sort of lost touch over the years, but in 2012, I signed my first contract with WWE. Just about a year later, I got word that Shawn would also be joining the team. We picked up like no time had passed. I jokingly call him my little brother, but that’s really how I look at him. Family. As we’ve both progressed in our careers, through developmental and into the main roster, I’m glad to have shared the road. And now here we are, at the peak of our profession, in the world title matches on pay per view. A long way from a sweatbox warehouse in Tampa and a $1000 t-shirt. Here’s to many more.

A post shared by Jason Ayers (@jasonayerswwe) on May 19, 2019 at 8:40pm PDT