Jason Marc Ayers (born January 13, 1982) is an American

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

referee. He is working for

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...

refereeing matches on

WWE SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes sim ...

and

205 Live ''WWE 205 Live'' is an American professional wrestling streaming television program that was produced by WWE. It premiered on November 29, 2016, and ended on February 11, 2022. The show originally aired exclusively on the WWE Network until March ...

. He also produces NXT.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1998–2012)

Ayers started refereeing independent wrestling matches in 1998, with Hoosier Pro Wrestling in Columbus, Indiana, under the name Jason Harding. He also refereed for DREAMWAVE Wrestling, AAW, and many other organizations throughout the Midwest. Ayers began as a referee for Ring of Honor in May 2005 at ''Nowhere to Run,'' officiating the match between James Gibson and

B. J. Whitmer Benjamin Whitmer (born January 25, 1978), better known by the ring name B. J. Whitmer, is an American professional wrestler, producer, trainer, and color commentator. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a producer. He is bes ...

. Ayers left Ring of Honor in September 2007. In July 2006, Ayers made his Japanese debut with Dragon Gate Pro Wrestling during their WrestleJAM tour. The tour featured several Ring of Honor stars, including

Austin Aries Daniel Healy Solwold Jr. (born April 15, 1978), better known by his ring name Austin Aries, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently signed to the Control Your Narrative wrestling promotion. He is best known for his ...

Matt Sydal Matthew Joseph Korklan (born March 19, 1983), better known by the ring name Matt Sydal, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Prior to signing with AEW, Sydal wrestled in WWE as Evan Bourne, and was ...

, and more. After leaving ROH in 2007, Jason toured nationally with Micro Wrestling Federation. In January 2010, Jason began with both

Dragon Gate USA Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2009 as an international expansion of the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate. Gabe Sapolsky, former head booker of Ring of Honor, served as the promotion's Vice P ...

and Evolve, refereeing the Davey Richards vs

Kota Ibushi is a Japanese professional wrestler and martial artist signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), but is currently inactive due to suffering a shoulder injury. In March 2021, he became the company's inaugural IWGP World Heavyweight Champion by ...

main event at the debut EVOLVE event. He traveled with both companies, serving as head referee on all events until November 2011.

WWE (2012–present)

In February 2012, Ayers signed a contract with

, and started in

Florida Championship Wrestling Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until 1987. From October 2007 to August ...

in early March. In mid-2012, FCW was rebranded as

NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...

, and Ayers became head referee shortly thereafter. Ayers refereed the finals of the

NXT Tag Team Championship The NXT Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on January 2 ...

tournament, crowning the first champions,

Adrian Neville Benjamin Satterley (born 22 August 1986), better known by his ring name Pac, is an English professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he was the inaugural AEW All-Atlantic Champion. He is one-third of the ...

and Oliver Grey on January 31, 2013. On May 2, Ayers refereed the match between

Luke Harper Jonathan Huber (December 16, 1979 – December 26, 2020) was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Luke Harper (later simply Harper) from 2012 to 2019, and in All E ...

and or AND may refer to: Logic, grammar, and computing * Conjunction (grammar), connecting two words, phrases, or clauses * Logical conjunction in mathematical logic, notated as "∧", "⋅", "&", or simple juxtaposition * Bitwise AND, a boolea ...

Erick Rowan Joseph Ruud (born November 28, 1981) is an American professional wrestler performing as Erick Redbeard. Having previously wrestled in Japan, where he trained and performed for Pro Wrestling Noah, Ruud signed a contract with WWE in 2011. He was s ...

vs Neville and

Bo Dallas Taylor Michael Rotunda (born May 25, 1990) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Bo Dallas. Rotunda is a third-generation professional wrestler; his grandfather Bla ...

where Harper and Rowan became NXT Tag Team Champions. Ayers debuted on ''

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

'' on August 6, refereeing the match between Kaitlyn and

Layla "Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally recorded by Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their only studio album, ''Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs'' (1970). Its contrasting movements were compos ...

. In his time with WWE, Jason has refereed at Wrestlemanias XXX, 31, 32, 33, and 34. Ayers was also the official for Arrow star

Stephen Amell Stephen Adam Amell (born May 8, 1981) is a Canadian actor. He came to prominence for playing the lead role of Oliver Queen on The CW superhero series ''Arrow'' (2012–2020). Amell also appeared in subsequent Arrowverse franchise media, along wi ...

's WWE debut match at Summerslam 2015, as he teamed with Neville to face Stardust and

King Barrett Stuart Alexander Bennett (born 10 August 1980) is an English-American professional wrestling commentator, actor, and former professional wrestler who holds both British and American citizenship. He is currently signed to WWE, where he is a colo ...

. With the WWE Brand Extension that took place in July 2016, Ayers became a SmackDown Live exclusive official, officiating the

WWE Intercontinental Championship The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, currently defended on the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roste ...

title-vs-career match between

Dolph Ziggler Nicholas Theodore Nemeth (born July 27, 1980) is an American professional wrestler and stand-up comedian. He is currently signed to WWE under the ring name Dolph Ziggler, where he performs on the Raw brand. After a prolific career in amateur ...

and

The Miz Michael Gregory Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name The Miz. Mizanin first gained fa ...

at 2016's No Mercy event as well as the

WWE SmackDown Women's Championship The WWE SmackDown Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two women's world titles for WWE's main ros ...

Six-Pack Challenge at

WrestleMania 33 WrestleMania 33 was the 33rd annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on April 2, 201 ...

. At WrestleMania 34, he refereed the SmackDown Women's Championship match between Charlotte Flair and Asuka. He was also one of the referees assigned to the inaugural

cruiserweight classic The Cruiserweight Classic, formerly the Global Cruiserweight Series, was a professional wrestling tournament and WWE Network event produced by WWE. All participants were billed at a weight of 205 lbs or less to determine the inaugural WWE Cruis ...

and became an official on the 205 Live roster.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ayers, Jason 1982 births Living people People from Havelock, North Carolina Professional wrestling referees Sportspeople from Florida