WRESTLING NEWS
Mike Chioda Was Shocked Top AEW Star Left For WWE
By SHAUN RANFT
With the ongoing current investigation into the backstage fracas following AEW All-Out, questions have been raised about the company's atmosphere. Former WWE referee Mike Chioda discussed this perceived tension during a recent episode of The Universal Wrestling Podcast, admitting that one case of an AEW member jumping to WWE surprised him.
"AEW's got a hell of a lot of talent over there right now," Chioda said, "I was shocked to see Cody go back, I really was," referring to Cody Rhodes. "When Cody started with Tony Khan, this whole starting AEW, I was just shocked that Cody went back and Tony Khan let him go. So you knew there was things going haywire up on the top already before all this."
Chioda notes that it probably wasn't all smooth sailing for AEW then either, but he does have an idea for how they can go forward. "I think they'll work it out," he continued. "You got a lot of old-school talent [...] you need a guy that's always been there to take the heat like Johnny Laurinaitis or Jim Ross and so forth to handle your talent."