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Not counting the times they put wrestlers in black booty shorts and fitted striped tops, we don’t see a lot female referees in WWE... or pro wrestling, for that matter.
That may be about to change, however, as Squared Circle Sirens is reporting WWE has signed indepedent wrestler Kennadi Brink with the intent of using her an in-ring official.
The 25 year old Baltimore native has wrestled for her home state’s Maryland Championship Wrestling (MCW), Ring of Honor, Shimmer, Shine and others - including a couple enhancement matches with NXT where she was billed as Kennedy Lewis. She’s worked as a referee for NXT on Florida house shows on a couple occassions, as well.
It’ll be interesting to see if the Duane Gill (aka Gillberg)-trained winner of the 2014 Reid Flair scholarship follows the Drake Wuertz (fka Drake Younger) path and refs full-time, or if she and WWE also see a future for her as a wrestler.
Also worth pondering... if the company plans to use her as an official for women’s matches only - something they may be about to have more of, given the signings for this Summer’s Women’s Tournament show - or if she might officiate men’s matches, as well.
No matter how it ends up working out, congratulations Kennadi!