Ohio Valley Wrestling has issued an update after a frightening incident during its March 12, 2026 Rise taping in Louisville, Kentucky left referee Dallas Edwards hospitalized with a brain injury.
The incident occurred during the main event when OVW Rush Champion Brendan Balling attempted a flying forearm from the top rope aimed at Tony Evans. Evans moved out of the way and pulled Edwards into the path of the dive, leading to a collision that caused the referee to strike his head hard on the mat.
Edwards immediately appeared to lose consciousness, and the broadcast was eventually stopped due to the severity of the situation. Following the incident, OVW released an official statement providing an update on Edwards’ condition and asking fans to keep him in their thoughts.
“Last night during Rise, referee Dallas Edwards – a member of our OVW family – experienced a medical emergency during the broadcast. OVW takes the health and well-being of all our performers extremely seriously, and as a company we are all distraught to see an injury to one of our own.”
The promotion confirmed that Edwards is now alert and showing signs of improvement.
“Dallas is alert and doing much better. We ask everyone to keep him in your thoughts and prayers and respect his and his family’s privacy at this time.”
OVW also stated that more information will be shared when it becomes available while expressing hope that Edwards will return once he has fully recovered.
“We will provide an update as soon as it is available, but in the meantime, we wish Dallas a speedy recovery and we can’t wait until he’s back with our OVW family very soon.”
Shortly after the promotion’s statement, Edwards’ girlfriend also addressed the situation publicly and confirmed that doctors are continuing to monitor the referee following the injury.
“Please keep Dallas in your thoughts as your day begins. I am not going to provide much more information at this time except to the parties who already know, but last night resulted in a brain injury that is being monitored and will continue to be monitored by doctors here.”
She also thanked fans and members of the wrestling community for the support that began pouring in after news of the incident spread online.
“Seeing all the support you guys have already given is amazing and I didn’t want to leave everyone without some kind of update.”
Footage of the incident has circulated online, though viewers are being warned that the content may be disturbing.
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