5 Incredible WWE matches you may not know Mike Chioda was the referee for

In a week that has not been the best for professional wrestling, in any sense of the term, WWE releasing Mike Chioda is something that has stuck out to many as the unbelievable occurrence of the week.

Chioda has been appearing in wrestling matches in WWE since the company was known as World Wrestling Federation. He is possibly the longest-tenured WWE referee and had been around for upwards of 31 years.

His first appearances for the company were around 1989.

Since then, he has been the principal voice of authority during matches as a referee innumerable times. As a result, some of the most famous matches in WWE history has seen Mike Chioda as a referee.

With that in mind, in this article, we are going to be talking about 5 of the most incredible matches in which he was the referee.

Without any further ado, let's get into it.

#5 WrestleMania XIV — Shawn Michaels vs Steve Austin

WrestleMania XIV is one of those nights that Shawn Michaels would like to forget — not because he dropped the title, but his attitude going into the match. This was an altogether different version of The Heartbreak Kid that we know today.

This was the big crowning moment for 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin where he would truly become the face of WWE. Unfortunately, his opponent was coming into the match with quite a few issues. At that year's Royal Rumble, Shawn Michaels had broken his back in a match against the Undertaker and was in incredible pain during this whole period.

Not only that, this was during the time that Michaels was also fighting his demons with substance abuse. As a result, the other wrestlers were worried, with The Undertaker famously standing in the Gorilla Position silently as a warning to Michaels to drop his belt as had been planned. There were worries that he would take things into his own hand, as it was clear that he was reluctant to let the strap go.

Another man who had a small but important role to place in the match was the referee, Mike Chioda. In what may seem quite an unimportant role, the referee was to take a bump and be knocked out, so that Mike Tyson could come in believably and count the final fall of Shawn Michaels, raising Stone Cold's hand as the Champion.

Chioda did his job and after refereeing a contentious match where Michaels was cheating for all he was worth, he took a bump where he was squashed in between the turnbuckles by the combined bodyweight of Stone Cold and Michaels, not once, but three times.

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#4 WrestleMania X8 — The Rock vs Hulk Hogan

Known as one of the most iconic matches of all time, The Rock and 'Hollywood' Hulk Hogan met in the ring at WrestleMania X8. It was a clash between two generations of wrestlers. The two were the leading faces of wrestling in their time, and after having been separated by the Monday Night Wars, Hulk Hogan and The Rock were finally meeting in the ring.

It was every bit as legendary as it could have been imagined, and the crowd was surprisingly in favor of both Superstars, cheering for both at different times of the match.

The Rock started acting like a heel and it was one of the best moments, despite being a babyface for the brand. He could read and react to the crowd, and at that time, that was exactly what worked for him.

Chioda has even talked about having goosebumps during this match due to the incredible reactions by the crowd. It was something that was unthinkable, and being the referee in such a match, he did his job extremely well. There was no controversy and he helped both Superstars put on an incredible encounter while remaining comparatively invisible during proceedings.

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#3 SmackDown — Brock Lesnar vs The Big Show

The ring collapsed under the weight of the two Superstars

There are very rare moments in the history of wrestling which will always be remembered throughout. With so many bumps and spots in every match, moments are no longer as special as they once were. However, everyone who watched this match will know what is meant by an unforgettable moment.

Brock Lesnar in his first run with WWE, was the completely dominant Superstar that he is today. His skills and his physique put him in a different league from everyone else. However, one of his main feuds was with the largest athlete in the world, The Big Show.

The Giant and Lesnar had several matches, but it was during a SmackDown, that Lesnar went ahead to do the unthinkable. He hit Big Show with a top rope Superplex, and what followed is still remembered.

The ring utterly collapsed, with both Superstars apparently knocked out. The crowd was stunned for a few moments as the looked on at the completely destroyed structure, not sure what they were seeing.

With both Superstars out, it was left to Mike Chioda, who was refereeing that match, to sell what was happening. At first, he fell too and appeared to be knocked out, but later, he would get up and look around with the same disbelief that was permeating the audience. His performance in this role made that moment even more memorable.

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#2 WrestleMania 23 — Shawn Michaels vs John Cena

The other time on this list that Mike Chioda was in charge of a Shawn Michaels match, HBK was not in the best of places in his life.

This time, however, it was the complete opposite, as Michaels had returned to WWE for his second run, and had dedicated his time to have the best possible matches with Superstars, and to help put them over and become better at what they were doing.

John Cena was rising and becoming the face of WWE during this time, and the match that took place between these two Superstars at WrestleMania showcased exactly why they are known as the two greatest of all time.

The match saw Michaels bring out all the stops to bring the challenge to Cena. He appeared to be trying his level best to bring the match to a close, but it was not to be. Mike Chioda was the referee of this match as well, that saw Shawn Michaels pass the torch to the still young Cena.

He did it in the best way possible and even tapped out to the seemingly impossible-to-stop STF used by The Leader of the Cenation.

#1 WrestleMania XXVIII — John Cena vs The Rock

A match that was supposed to only happen once in a lifetime, happened twice at consecutive WrestleMania events. Despite that, when the two Superstars met in the ring for the first time at WrestleMania XVIII, it was one of the most iconic moments in wrestling history.

Once again, much like The Rock vs Hulk Hogan ten years before, this was a battle between two generations of wrestling Superstars. Once again, it was Mike Chioda who was in charge of this match.

You can see the full match down in the video below.

This was the time that John Cena appeared to be going through the worst part of his life. He had said that he was putting everything that he had into this match and that he did not know what he would do if he lost.

Cena gave everything in this match, but he could not beat The Rock. He made the mistake of being too confident, and that was all that it took to bring an end to this match. He was about to hit The People's Elbow on its creator as all of his own moves had failed, but The Rock got up and hit The Rock Bottom.

There was a cheer rippling through the crowd which only got magnified when Chioda's hand hit the mat for the final time. The Rock had beat John Cena.

This was possibly the better match of the two that the legends would have with one another. The next time, Cena would win, but for that moment, nothing else mattered, as Cena sat, defeated, deflated, and his future in a seeming flux, while The Rock stood tall with the entire WWE Universe apparently cheering him as Chioda raised his arm in the air. '

Mike Chioda has been the invisible presence in multiple historic matches. Although now he is no longer a part of the WWE family, his legacy remains as one of the best referees to have ever stepped into the ring.