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Former WWE referee Mike Chioda has revealed WWE's plans for live events in the future, and a decision they made even before COVID-19 forced them to halt live shows. Chioda said that WWE had decided to reduce live events before COVID-19, but that they will continue to host European tours.
Mike Chioda was the longest-serving referee in WWE before he was let go by the company as part of COVID-19 budget cuts. He was in WWE for three decades, having joined way back in 1989.
While speaking on the Monday Mailbag section on AdFreeShows, Mike Chioda said that WWE were "filtering out" live events and house shows. When talking about whether WWE will completely remove all live shows, this is what Chioda had to say:
“Pretty much. I think we have because there was talk about it quite some time ago in the last couple of years before COVID-19. There was talk of canceling a lot of the house shows. Maybe do one weekend once a month. So they were already filtering out the live events and the house shows before Covid-19. I don’t believe they will do away with the European live events at certain times of the year. I think they will proceed with those tours because they make money. Those European tours are the money-making tours with a very low cost and a very high income," said Chioda. (H/T WrestlingNews)
It was reported earlier this year that WWE are planning to do away with live events in the future. Several wrestlers had complained about the gruelling live event schedule.
COVID-19 and its impact on WWE
COVID-19 wreaked havoc world over and WWE too suffered immensely because of the virus. WWE were forced to shoot shows in empty arenas, while also moving to the Performance Center and later the ThunderDome.
WWE also had to let go of several Superstars, backstage personnel, and even referees, in the case of Mike Chioda. Producers and agents who played a key part during live events were let go, but some were hired back. Many of the wrestlers who were let go have joined AEW and IMPACT Wrestling.
