WWE veteran explains why Vince McMahon introduced name ban on TV

Former WWE official Mike Chioda recently disclosed details about the time Vince McMahon banned referees' names from being mentioned on television.

The likes of Chioda, Charles Robinson, Earl Hebner, and Nick Patrick were often referenced on WWE programming in the 2000s. However, McMahon decided one day he no longer wanted commentators to say the officials' names.

On Chris Van Vliet's Insight podcast, Chioda said he understood the logic behind the WWE Executive Chairman's decision:

"One day, some years ago, Vince had just heard somebody's name, you know, in Gorilla [backstage area] and he heard this name, and he's like, 'Well, that's not the talent's name.' He was like, 'Who? Whose name is that?' 'Oh, that's the referee.' 'Well, stop saying it. He doesn't sell tickets.' It's true. I mean, referees comp tickets. We don't sell tickets. You know, my comp list, I'm probably about 10,000 or 20,000 tickets comped in my career."

Triple H replaced Vince McMahon as WWE's creative figurehead in July 2022. Since then, referees' names have occasionally been mentioned during matches.

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Mike Chioda enjoyed hearing his name before Vince McMahon's rule change

The 57-year-old worked for WWE between 1989 and 2020. He refereed dozens of high-profile matches, including Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock (WrestleMania 18) and Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns (WrestleMania 31).

Chioda liked WWE's previous stance regarding referees' names before Vince McMahon introduced the ban:

"It was great. They said our names a lot, especially Jim Ross and [Jerry The] King Lawler and Michael Cole years ago. [They] used to say our names a lot, which I thought it was cool."

After leaving WWE, Chioda refereed sporadically in AEW between 2020 and 2022. He also officiated Andrade El Idolo and Ric Flair vs. Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett at the Ric Flair's Last Match event.

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