Former WWE referee Mike Chioda, who has been in the company for 35 years prior to recently being released, finally revealed all the details behind his WWE departure on an episode of Talk Is Jericho podcast with top AEW Star Chris Jericho.
According to Chioda, he was never actually given an explanation from the WWE of why he was released and he was surprised by being fired by the company.
Below are the highlights from the interview:
On his WWE release catching him off-guard:
“Yeah Chris, it took me by complete surprise. I had surgery in October first, in Alabama. And I had a torn rotator cuff and a torn bicep. So I went though surgery in Alabama, Dr. Dougas, and surgery went great. I’m healed up great, and I was ready for WrestleMania. I actually signed a new contract in the middle of March, my contract was up. I actually got a little bump in pay. And then I get a phone call on Tax Day, April 15th. So yeah, it took me by complete surprise.”
On not being given a reason for his WWE release:
“No, there was no reason. He — I asked if it came from certain people like Vince and Stephanie, and he said no. It didn’t, it’s not like they pulled me out of a hat and said, ‘Okay, we have to cut the company and Mike Chioda’s salary is the start of the thing, you know? It was just — I think something completely different. I don’t know if it’s heat, or — but how can you have heat if you have been off 6 months rehabbing? And you know, I hadn’t even been on Twitter or Facebook since 2015. So yeah, it took me by complete surprise.”
On his career not being over yet:
“My career is definitely not over. I definitely got plenty left. Whether it’s inside the ring or outside the ring, in training referees or working with talent and so forth.”
You can check out Mike Chioda’s full interview on Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast in the embedded audio player below:
