Former WWE Veteran Referee Earl Hebner Joins AEW, Former NXT And ROH Referees Also Signed
All Elite Wrestling announced that Earl Hebner, Paul Turner and Aubrey Edwards have signed with the promotion as referees.
Hebner is a veteran referee who is best known for his run with WWE from 1988 through 2005. He made his debut as the evil twin of his real-life brother Dave Hebner on the February 5, 1988 edition of The Main Event, where he was paid off by Ted Dibiase to secretly replace Dave and steal the WWE Championship away from Hulk Hogan. He is probably best remembered for his role as the referee in the Montreal Screwjob, where he called for the bell when Shawn Michaels had then-WWE Champion Bret Hart in a Sharpshooter, despite Hart never submitting. Both Dave and Earl were fired from WWE in 2005 for selling unauthorized WWE merchandise without the company's knowledge. Earl worked for TNA from 2006 through 2017, and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2015.
Edwards has been a referee on the independent scene, and also worked briefly in NXT last year as their second-ever female referee.
Turner is a veteran ROH referee who had been with the company since its inception. His profile is still listed on ROH's website as of this writing.
You can check out the announcements for all three referees below:
Please help us welcome @RefTurnerAEW to the team.
Paul Turner is #AllElite pic.twitter.com/vMknCyh4Tn— All Elite Wrestling (@AEWrestling) May 14, 2019
. @RefAubrey is #AllElite
Welcome to the team Aubrey Edwards pic.twitter.com/OemzQeNZwt— All Elite Wrestling (@AEWrestling) May 15, 2019
Welcome to the team....#EarlHebner is #AllElite pic.twitter.com/uLpeo2Ey8B
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEWrestling) May 15, 2019