“Does bro not know it’s being filmed?”- Wrestling fans shocked after AEW referee is caught helping helping female star pin her opponent at WrestleDream

Wrestling fans witness another major botch at at AEW WrestleDream after referee helps a wrestler pin their opponent.

“Does bro not know it’s being filmed?”- Wrestling fans shocked after AEW referee is caught helping helping female star pin her opponent at WrestleDream

Referee helps Anna Jay pin her opponent at AEW WrestleDream (via AEW and @nycdemond1va/X)

There is no doubt that professional wrestling referees have an incredibly tough job. Apart from their on-screen duties of regulating the match, they have to ensure no competitor gets hurt, relay backstage messages to the wrestlers, and communicate between all parties involved. While their hectic jobs often lead them to make mistakes, what happened at AEW WrestleDream was inexcusable.

During the AEW WrestleDream Zero Hour, Anna Jay faced Hayley Cameron in a singles match. After a decent performance, the returning superstar was able to pick up another win on the Jacksonville-based promotion. However, as she was going for the match-winning pinfall, one of her opponent’s shoulders was slightly elevated off the mat.

The match official noticed this and pushed her shoulder down before counting till three and declaring Jay as the winner. This move obviously caught fans’ eyes, and the clip went viral on social media. Funnily enough, this is not the first time an AEW referee has pulled off such a stunt.

AEW Referee Bryce Remsburg did something similar a few weeks ago. At AEW All Out, Jack Perry challenged Bryan Danielson for the AEW World Championship. During the match, the official seemingly pushed the challenger out of a pinning predicament, helping him kick out.

This incident turned into a huge controversy on X, and Mark Henry even called him out for this botch on social media. The AEW referee later went on to claim that it was the camera angle that made it seem like he had helped Perry against Danielson, but that was not the case.

The wrestling world is stunned after AEW referee helps Anna Jay pin Hayley Cameron at AEW WrestleDream

Wrestling fans were astonished to see that such a major botch would take place at the second biggest wrestling promotion in the world. These events may be excusable at an indie show, but not for AEW. Such incidents often break the immersive experience of professional wrestling that makes the sport fun to watch. A fan joked that the referee didn’t know he was being filmed and thought nobody would find out.

AEW WrestleDream
AEW WrestleDream (via AEW)

Many fans brought up that AEW referees were generally terrible at their jobs. Such an incident has now happened at two AEW PPVs in a row. Even Hall of Famer Bully Ray has shared this sentiment in the past. Match officials often do not count out an opponent who is on the floor or count to five when someone is using the ropes to gain an unfair advantage.

Some netizens did come to the rescue of the referee. They claimed that it was the competitors’ job to ensure that the pinfall took place properly. If that was the planned finish for the match, there is not much that the referee could have done. Other social media users noticed that Cameron was having trouble with her wardrobe, and the referee simply pushed her to help her out.