Aja Smith becomes first full-time African-American female referee signed to WWE

Updated Jun. 18, 2020 12:58 p.m. ET

Referee Aja Smith has signed with WWE and reported to the WWE Performance Center, becoming the first African-American full-time female referee signed to WWE.

Smith competed across the United States, Japan and Mexico under the name Aja Perera, and has held the SHINE Nova and Tag Team Championship. She will now don the stripes and join the crew of referees who enforce the rules for NXT every week on USA Network.

For more on Smith’s journey to WWE, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at her tryout, check out the below video from the WWE Performance Center’s YouTube channel.

And for more info on the WWE PC, visit WWEPerformanceCenter.com.