WWE Releases Former Announcer Tony Chimel, Staff Employees

WWE released another group of employees on Friday, according to a new report from PWInsider's Mike Johnson. The biggest name among those to be let go was former ring announcer Tony Chimel, best known for his work as Friday Night SmackDown from 1999 through the mid-2000s and the WWE version of ECW. He had made the occasional appearance over the last decade, mostly in segments involving Edge and his signature delivery of the "The Rated-R Superstar" nickname. Chimel has not commented on his release via social media, and hasn't posted a tweet since 2016.

Among the other releases, Johnson specifically named Director of Venue Merchandise and Remote Operations Derek Casselman, who had been with the promotion for nearly 30 years.

Bask on April 15 WWE released more than 30 active wrestlers while furloughing a number of backstage and headquarters-based employees. The biggest names o that list included Risev, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson, Zack Ryder, Curt Hawkins, Lio Rush, EC3 and Eric Young. The company explained the releases were apart of a cost-cutting measure during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Our first quarter financial performance was strong and largely unimpacted by the COVID-19 outbreak," Vince McMahon wrote in a statement days after the releases. "Now we are in the midst of unprecedented times, which require us to be especially nimble, creative and efficient in order to ensure the ling-term value of WWE. We are taking precautions to protect the health and safety of our performers and staff as we produce content in new ways, engage fans with a much-needed diversion and operate effectively in this evolving environment."

"Given the uncertainty of the situation, the Company also identified headcount reductions and made the decision to furlough a portion of its workforce effective immediately," WWE wrote in a press release on April 15 hours before the releases were announced. "The decision to furlough versus permanently reduce headcount reflects the fact that the Company currently believes the furlough will be temporary in nature. The Company's reductions of employee compensation and headcount result in an estimated monthly savings of $4 million along with cash flow improvement of $140 million primarily from the deferral in spending on the Company's new headquarters."

Since the wave of releases, a good portion of those wrestlers have found new homes in promotions like AEW, Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor.

Even if it's pre-taped, WrestleMania 36 is still shaping up to be a good one

WEIRD times, indeed: the biggest event in sports entertainment of the year will be held behind closed doors.

But it's going to be a welcome respite for wrestling fans as this year's WrestleMania finally comes this weekend.

This one truly lived up to the disclaimer of "card subject to change" as the global COVID-19 pandemic forced WWE's hands to make necessary changes — some even up to the last minute.

Originally slated at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, WrestleMania 36 has been relocated to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando and, for the first time, has been divided into two nights, on Sunday and Monday at 7 a.m. (Manila time) and can be seen on the WWE Network and on pay-per-view.

It's still isn't the same, though, without the fans, which leads to many speculating that this might also be one of the worst WrestleManias in history.

Also, reports say that WrestleMania was already pre-taped in late March due to the City of Orlando prohibiting indoor gatherings in the light of the health crisis.

So far, no spoilers of the results has been leaked out (and it better stay that way), at least as of posting time.

Despite those concerns, there's a high chance that this WrestleMania could surprise us.

They could take full advantage of some post-production editing — a luxury WWE normally does not have when it stages live events.

That's none more evident than in the Boneyard match between The Undertaker and AJ Styles and the Firefly Fun House match of John Cena and "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt. These two gimmick matches have been reportedly taped outside of the normal wrestling ring, adding further intrigue to the matches.

The Boneyard match is rumored to be a variation of the good old Buried Alive match and was held in a closed compound made to look like a cemetery. The Undertaker may be far from his heyday at age 55, but this set-up could only work in his favor, especially as he faces off against an opponent as good as Styles. The same can be said for Wyatt, whose kooky character "The Fiend" can benefit from post-production editing while also showing his mettle in this duel against Cena, a rematch of their WrestleMania XXX clash six years ago.

The unusual situation might also lead to star-making performances, with the fans' eyes glued to what's happening in the ring. Drew McIntyre was on the cusp of superstardom after being released in 2014, but returned to the company three years later, and won the Men's Royal Rumble in January. Now, he's set for the match of his life as he challenges Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship.

Same goes for Braun Strowman, who is the last minute replacement for Roman Reigns. Reigns requested to be removed from the match, as he was already immunocompromised (after previous struggles with leukemia) that puts him at an increased risk for COVID-19. As Reign's sub, "The Monster Among Men" can finally achieve his moment of glory as he tries to take the Universal Championship from Goldberg. NXT Women's Champion Rhea Ripley could also present herself as the top woman in the company as she defends her throne against Women's Royal Rumble winner and 10-time champion Charlotte Flair.

Former UFC fighter Shayna Baszler can also show that she can hang tough with the best the company has to offer when she challenges Becky Lynch for the Raw Women's Championship.

Also, count the collision between Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn and challenger Daniel Bryan as our bet for this year's show stealer, with two of the best workers in the WWE today poised to put on a technical wrestling clinic.

Physical distancing reminders may have robbed fans from seeing the traditional batte royals held in the past WrestleManias, but the triple threat ladder match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships between the defending titlists The Miz and John Morrison and challengers The Usos and Kofi Kingston and Big E of The New Day is the prime candidate to fill those cravings. But really, there's nothing that could rival the storytelling that the WWE has done for Edge, who is returning from a nine-year retirement after a neck injury. He takes on his former tag team partner Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match after three months of buildup, with the match about to hit the emotional crescendo no less than at the Grandest Stage of Them All.

It's still a bummer that there won't be anyone in attendance for this year's WrestleMania, but as low expectations are, more often than not, those only lead to high hopes.

And that only makes us more excited for this weekend.