Aubrey Edwards has carved out a remarkable career in All Elite Wrestling, becoming the first female referee to officiate a main event on both television and pay-per-view. Over the years, she has called countless matches, from high-flying tag team bouts to brutal no-disqualification brawls. Yet, one stipulation stands out as the most demanding to prepare for: Blood and Guts.

In a candid conversation with the podcast "Pro Wrestling Proverbs," Edwards was asked which AEW match type poses the greatest challenge for referees. Her answer was immediate and emphatic: Blood and Guts, the company's signature steel cage war that pits two teams against each other inside a ring surrounded by a cage, with a second ring placed adjacent to the first.

"Blood and Guts is probably the hardest one because you've got two rings that are stuck together, the cage around it," Edwards explained. "The cage is not too big of a problem, we've sort of adapted what Blood and Guts was every year. So the first year we didn't have referees inside the cage, so yelling time cues from 20 feet away to somebody is really difficult and you're out going 'WE HAVE FIVE MINUTES LEFT!' We're trying not to break the fourth wall completely."

That logistical nightmare of communicating time limits without breaking the illusion of the performance is just one layer of difficulty. Edwards also highlighted a sensory element that caught her off guard during her first Blood and Guts assignment. "The other thing that you're not prepared for is the smell," she said. "The amount of blood, because it's literally in the title Blood and Guts, but blood smells a lot like iron. So it's just like 'Where did all those pennies come from?' They're just kind of not used to it."

Her remarks paint a vivid picture of the unseen challenges that referees face backstage—and inside the ring. While wrestlers take the physical risks, officials like Edwards must remain calm, focused, and professional amid the chaos. The scent of blood, the noise of the crowd, and the pressure to keep the match moving smoothly all add to the intensity.

Edwards' career has been defined by breaking barriers. She joined AEW in 2019 and quickly became a fan favorite for her no-nonsense officiating and sharp instincts. Over the years, she has handled some of the promotion's most complex matches, including multi-man ladder bouts and exploding barbed wire deathmatches. But Blood and Guts, she says, remains in a league of its own.

Her comments also shed light on how AEW has evolved the stipulation each year. The first Blood and Guts match in 2021 featured referees outside the cage, which made communication nearly impossible. Later iterations placed officials inside, improving the flow but still demanding a high level of split-second decision-making.

For fans, the spectacle of Blood and Guts is pure entertainment. For Edwards, it is a grueling test of endurance, adaptability, and professionalism. As she continues to officiate at the highest level, her insights remind us that referees are far more than just scorekeepers—they are the silent architects of every match's rhythm.