"John Cena or certain other guys would take the heat for it"- Mike Chioda explains how much it cost WWE if shows went overtime

Former WWE referee Mike Chioda was recently a guest on Ad-Free Shows, where he spoke about John Cena and a few other WWE Superstars taking the blame if a show went into overtime. On the program, Chioda also revealed how much it would cost WWE if a show overshot its stipulated time.

Mike Chioda is the longest-tenured referee in WWE history. He was last seen as a referee on one of WWE's biggest competitor's shows, AEW Dynamite. Chioda has officiated many of John Cena's matches and has worked with him in various situations.

During his appearance on Ad-Free Shows, Mike Chioda spoke about the importance of time-keeping during wrestling matches.The former WWE referee said that if a show overshot its time, it would cost the WWE anywhere between $50,000 and $100,000. He also threw light on how John Cena would take the blame for matches that went into overtime.

“If John Cena was like ‘Sc*** it’ or certain guys were like ‘We’re getting this in’ because they wanted to build up the match, they didn’t have much time because the matches prior to the main event went too long," said Chioda. "They didn’t know how to hit their cues or their times. Sometimes I’d be like ‘Hey man, we’ve gotta go home, we gotta go back home now’ screaming ‘I’ll take the heat, I’ll take the heat.’ The ref would get heat but then guys like John Cena or certain other guys would take the heat for it, saying ‘Look don’t blame him because he told me, I heard him, he gave me the cues, I got the cues, and I thought we just needed a little more time."

Is John Cena returning to WWE?

John Cena and Roman Reigns in WWE

The last time fans saw John Cena in a WWE ring was at last year's WrestleMania. There, he lost to The Fiend in the first-ever Firefly Fun House Match. If recent reports are to be believed, WWE is planning John Cena's return match for SummerSlam. The current Universal Champion, Roman Reigns, is rumored to be Cena's opponent for the night.

After speaking to a few sources on the topic, I’ve learned that WWE is 100% attempting to make SummerSlam this year’s WrestleMania. “All resources will be tapped into” is how it was explained to me. I do believe they want Reigns v Cena to headline. Not sure if they’ve decided.

— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) June 9, 2021

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