When was the last time you saw a wrestling match without a referee? Probably never because that doesn’t happen. Referees are mostly unnoticed, but they play one of the biggest roles in the industry. A recently released WWE official shared the story on why referees’ names aren’t mentioned anymore.

Sadly, as of late, Referees are not part of major storylines. In the past, WWE has done many spin-off stories of referees. Names such as Charles Robinson and Earl Hebner certainly ring a few bells. 

One icon among referees, Mike Chioda, was in Chris Jericho’s ‘Talk is Jericho’ podcast. He spoke about the incident that led to a new change in the company.

The answer to why WWE doesn’t name the referees

As with most cases in WWE, the decision was taken by Chairman Vince McMahon. He wasn’t fond of the referees’ name coming up too much and decided that won’t be the case anymore.

“I believe it was because they were saying the referee’s names too much. It wasn’t with me, it was with another referee, and [Vince] didn’t recognize their name and he was like, ‘Who is this?’ They said, ‘Oh, it’s the referee.’

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“He goes, ‘Goddamnit, I’m done hearing the referee’s name. I don’t want to hear his name no more.’ They were putting him over too much and he didn’t recognize the name,” Chioda said.

Chioda’s revelation was followed by Jericho mocking Vince stating that it appears to be “Classic Vince”.

Chioda’s relationship with Vince McMahon

Chioda explained his relationship with the Chairman as ‘Awesome’. Current referees might not share the same opinion, but being at the company for over 35 years, we expect nothing less.

“It was always a good relationship, on the fly, Vince is a very busy man. There was a time years ago when we would have more conversations. Not so many in the last so many years.

“Vince comes out of the office, goes to Gorilla, will be there for some rehearsals. My relationship with Vince was awesome over 35 years

“Vince said, ‘I need you to put these rules into effect with young talent. Whatever you do, I will back you up.’ He would always tell me, ‘If you ever have to count him out, I don’t give a damn. You do your job and make them work around you.'”

Chioda was released from WWE as part of budget cuts due to the current world pandemic. Maybe, once things settle down, we could see him don the black and white stripes again.