Mike Chioda Recalls Conversation With Triple H Prior To WWE Release

During this week's episode of the Monday Mailbag on AdFreeShows.com, former WWE referee Mike Chioda spoke about his release from the company two years ago.

Chioda was the longest-tenured WWE referee in history at the time, having first worked for the company in 1989. The legendary ref revealed a conversation he had with Triple H before being let go, where the two talked about the perfect plan for his retirement.

"I had talked to Triple H, we had talked about it, it was a couple of years prior [to my release]," Chioda said. "That's why [me and my wife] made the move to Florida and he said to me, 'I don't want to see you refereeing when you're 60-something years old.' [I said], 'I don't want that shit either, I definitely want to go out strong.' At that point, the pandemic hit and everything. That blindsided me getting released by WWE. With the pandemic, I was still rehabbing my shoulder and I was not cleared to go back to work, so I got released."

Mike Chioda revealed after his release, he had surgery on a torn rotator cuff before his release and moved to Florida to better deal with the situation. The longest-tenured WWE referee still believes he has a few more years left as a referee and doesn't plan on retiring just yet.

"Making the move closer to Orlando, and if I had to work at the PC and do stuff down there or on the road with WWE, it didn't matter. I told them too, 'I don't want to be refereeing till I'm 60-something years old. I got a good few more years.' At this point, I definitely got a couple more good years in me. I still go with the good, young kids and can still move around in that ring. I've got a couple more years but I want to be training or doing something else at that point [at 60]."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Monday Mailbag with Mike Chioda with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.