Mike Chioda is among the most celebrated referees in the history of WWE, and he recently recalled officiating Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 19.
During the match, Lesnar landed on his head while performing a shooting star press, and Chioda named the match as one of those bouts that made him the most nervous.
You can check out some highlights from the Monday Mailbag podcast below:
On which matches made him most nervous: “Rock vs. Hogan. Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit, and Shane McMahon going through the glass with Vince [McMahon] yelling in my f**king ear.”
On Brock Lesnar’s botched shooting star press at WrestleMania 19: “Oh my god. Let me tell you — nowadays, they would call a match [on the fly] but it wasn’t so back then. Did I almost feel like calling that match? Brock’s eyes were glazed, man. I’ve seen it firsthand, of course. I’m in the ring, and the way he landed, I was like, ‘Woah!’ I went up to him, and his eyes were already glassed and he was dazed. Thankfully, he got through it.”
In other news, Damian Priest will battle Bad Bunny in a San Juan Street Fight at WWE Backlash 2023, and the event will emanate from the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Priest grew up in Puerto Rico following his birth in New York City, and he recently spoke on the “After the Bell with Corey Graves” podcast about his connection to the island country and more.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On his Puerto Rican heritage: “So being from Puerto Rico, from descent of Puerto Rican blood, there’s a pride that comes with that. It’s like a duty to have that pride. You see the shirt. I have tattoos of the flag. That’s just common, just being a Puerto Rican. Being back on the island and having this event here, being raised here, man, it’s all special.”
On his heritage influencing his wrestling fandom growing up: “The feeling I got from watching these superheroes and supervillains. I was like, ‘I want to be that’… This is where I got that love. The island helped me find that path, and [I’m] forever grateful.”
