Rita Chatterton Reveals She Was Signed To AEW For One Year

Former WWE referee Rita Chatterton has revealed she was under contract with All Elite Wrestling for a year, during which she did "absolutely nothing."

Chatterton appeared on the Power & Glory The Podcast in November 2024 and she revealed that Tony Khan wanted to contact her a few weeks after she received the International Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame’s Trailblazer Award in 2021. After a phone call with Khan, Chatterton signed with AEW as a talent scout.

"I turn around and I do this event for [International Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame President Seth Turner]. I get the Trailblazer Award. And, you know, it's kind of like riding a Harley. It's in your blood. And it started creeping back into my blood. Well, a few weeks after that, Seth calls me and says, 'Umm, Rita, there's this guy that's trying to get ahold of you. He wants your phone number.' And I said, 'Who’s that?' And he says, 'Well, his name is Tony Khan.' [Chatterton responds] 'Who the hell is Tony Khan? That doesn't even sound right.' He says, 'No, Rita, you should probably take his call.' And I say, 'Why do I want to take his call?' He says, 'Well, he owns the Jacksonville Jaguars.' [Chatterton responds] 'Why the hell would anyone who owns the Jacksonville Jaguars want my phone number?' He says, 'Well, he also owns AEW Wrestling.’'[Chatterton responds] 'Okay, so give him my phone number,'" Chatterton said.

"So he gives him my number and I don't hear anything. And a couple of weeks later, I get this phone call and I look and I don't know the number. Then I get thinking about it, I say, 'Let me call that number back.' So I call it back, it's Tony Khan. So Tony and I had a nice long talk, and I was under contract with him for a year. Very nice man. Gentleman. Very, very nice man," she continued.

"You know what, I was under contract with [Khan] for a year and I did absolutely nothing. I did absolutely nothing [laughs]. But he wanted me under contract, so I was under contract with him."

While she didn't do anything with AEW, Chatterton attended a couple of Jacksonville Jaguars matches, including a game in the 2024 season.

Rita Chatterton was the first female referee in WWE. In 1992 Chatterton accused Vince McMahon of raping her in the back of a limousine in 1986 after McMahon allegedly told her to satisfy him if she wanted a contract worth $500,000 with WWE.

Chatterton and McMahon reached a multimillion-dollar settlement in December 2022 after Chatterton filed a lawsuit against McMahon one month earlier. McMahon has continued to deny that he raped Chatterton.

McMahon previously sued Chatterton in 1992 over the allegations, claiming that she was induced to make a false rape claim by a wrestler with an axe to grind. The lawsuit was withdrawn in 1994.

H/T F4WOnline