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Former ring announcer Tony Chimel recently discussed his departure from WWE after a 38-year tenure in the company.
Chimel was released from his contract in late 2020 alongside multiple other talents. The reason cited was budget cuts in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Chimel had served as a production manager and oversaw the ring crew after he retired from ring announcing.
During a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet, Tony Chimel opened up about his release. The former ring announcer described what it was like when the pandemic first hit:
“I never not wanted to work. I was willing to get on a plane from day one to go anywhere, to go do anything. When COVID first hit, I was sitting at home, and at that point I'm like, well this will be great if it lasts a couple months or something, a couple weeks, or six months if I'm collecting a paycheck sitting at home. This is pretty good," said Chimel (23:35)
As the weeks dragged on, however, it was clear the industry had to adjust. Chimel maintained that he was always willing to work and expected to return to WWE after the cutbacks began:
"Then they started running shows in Orlando, and I told my boss, I said I'm willing to go there. (...) And then months go by, and I'm like, well still, can I come, and I kept on wanting to get in and do it. They were letting the independent contractors work, as opposed to the employees. And then I got furloughed," said Chimel. (24:04)
Tony Chimel says Kevin Dunn informed him about his WWE release
Multiple WWE agents were furloughed early in the COVID-19 pandemic. The company also released numerous wrestlers such as Zack Ryder, EC3 and Eric Young.
Tony Chimel said he received a call from Kevin Dunn informing him that the company was letting him go.
"I got the call again from Kevin Dunn, who said, 'Hey, I got good news and bad news.' I'm like, well, what's up? And he's like, 'Well, the good news is you're going to be getting your paycheck back.' (...) And I'm like, okay, that's cool, because I'm gonna be coming back soon. He's like, 'Well, we're going to have to let you go.'" (24:46)
Tony Chimel joined WWE in 1991 and began working behind the scenes as a technician. He later became a full-time ring announcer.
