Tag: Tony Chimel

Tony Chimel says he is no longer working for AEW

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Tony Chimel is no longer working for AEW.

The longtime WWE announcer had been working for AEW since 2023 as a producer. But in a recent new interview with All Axess Entertainment, Chimel revealed he was no longer working there, but was positive of his experience.

“I always had a good time there. They’re a little smaller operation and run things a little differently, but the people there are nice,” he said. “I knew a lot of WWE people there that are there now. It was a nice little run that I had there. Very grateful for the time I had there. They do their thing the way they want to do their thing.”

Chimel had been a part of WWE for decades, working as part of the ring crew dating back to 1989. By 1999, he was the voice of WWE SmackDown, a role he would have through 2015. He also had a role overseeing the ring crew. He was released from the company in 2020 as part of staff cuts.

Tony Chimel released as part of WWE staff cuts

Posted on by Josh Nason

Longtime WWE ring announcer Tony Chimel was released by the company last week along with a small group of front office personnel.

The news was first reported by PWInsider and later confirmed by Dave Meltzer.

The New Jersey native began with the then-WWF in 1989 as part of the ring crew along with Joey Marella, son of Gorilla Monsoon. A part-time role turned into a full-time role which eventually gave him the opportunity to do fill-in ring announcing work.

He became the full-time ring announcer on SmackDown in 1999 and was involved in several angles throughout his tenure. He moved to announcing house shows starting in 2015 and took on more of a role in production as well as overseeing the ring crew in recent years.

Also involved in the releases was WWE Director of Venue Merchandise and Remote Operations Derek Casselman who had been with the company since 1993.

It’s unknown what roles the other laid off staff had, but they are believed to be live event/touring related which the company is obviously not doing any of due to the pandemic.