| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jason Marc Ayers (1982-01-13)January 13, 1982 (age 43) Havelock, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Jason Ayers Jason Harding |
| Billed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Billed weight | 170 lb (77 kg) |
| Debut | 1998 |
Jason Marc Ayers (born January 13, 1982) is an Americanprofessional wrestlingreferee. He is currently signed toWWE where he referees matches onWWE SmackDown. He also produces NXT.
Ayers started refereeing independent wrestling matches in 1998, with Hoosier Pro Wrestling inColumbus, Indiana, under the name Jason Harding.[1] He also refereed for DREAMWAVE Wrestling, AAW, and many other organizations throughout the Midwest.
Ayers began as a referee forRing of Honor in May 2005 atNowhere to Run, officiating the match betweenJames Gibson andB. J. Whitmer.[2] Ayers left Ring of Honor in September 2007. In July 2006, Ayers made his Japanese debut withDragon Gate Pro Wrestling during their WrestleJAM tour. The tour featured several Ring of Honor stars, includingAustin Aries,Matt Sydal, and more.[3] After leaving ROH in 2007, Jason toured nationally withMicro Wrestling Federation.
In January 2010, Jason began with bothDragon Gate USA andEvolve, refereeing theDavey Richards vsKota Ibushi main event at the debut EVOLVE event.[4] He traveled with both companies, serving as head referee on all events until November 2011.
In February 2012, Ayers signed a contract withWWE,[5] and started inFlorida Championship Wrestling in early March. In mid-2012, FCW was rebranded asNXT,[6] and Ayers became head referee shortly thereafter.[7]
Ayers refereed the finals of theNXT Tag Team Championship tournament, crowning the first champions,Adrian Neville andOliver Grey on January 31, 2013. On May 2, Ayers refereed the match betweenLuke HarperandErick Rowan vs Neville andBo Dallas where Harper and Rowan became NXT Tag Team Champions. Ayers debuted onRaw on August 6, refereeing the match betweenKaitlyn andLayla.
In his time with WWE, Jason has refereed atWrestlemaniasXXX,31,32,33, and34. Ayers was also the official forArrow starStephen Amell's WWE debut match atSummerslam 2015, as he teamed with Neville to faceStardust andKing Barrett.
With theWWE Brand Extension that took place in July 2016, Ayers became a SmackDown Live exclusive official, officiating theWWE Intercontinental Championship title-vs-career match betweenDolph Ziggler andThe Miz at 2016'sNo Mercy event as well as theWWE SmackDown Women's Championship Six-Pack Challenge atWrestleMania 33. 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 inauguralcruiserweight classic and became an official on the 205 Live roster.