Mike Chioda Reveals Why Rey Mysterio vs. Samoa Joe at WrestleMania 35 Was Cut Short at Last Minute

– During a recent edition of his Monday Mailbag podcast for AdFreeShows, former WWE referee Mike Chioda revealed why Samoa Joe vs. Rey Mysterio for the WWE United States Championship at WrestleMania 35 in 2019 was so short. According to Chioda, the match was originally supposed to go longer, but Chioda was told to take the match home right away as the wrestlers were entering the ring.

Previously, it was rumored that the match was cut short due to Mysterio dealing with an injury that night, but based on Chioda’s account, that does not appear to be the case. Instead, it was apparently cut short due to timing issues, and Mysterio and Joe were not aware of the match being cut short until they got into the ring. Below are some highlights (via WrestlingInc.com):

Mike Chioda on being told to cut Samoa Joe vs. Rey Mysterio short at WrestleMania 35: “We had 15 to 18 or 22 minutes, originally, got knocked down to like 12 minutes. I remember Rey had this badass cosplay, his gear was made and he spends a lot of money on his gear. Samoa Joe had a different style. I remember it got knocked down to 12-15 minutes and then when I got in the ring, Billy Kidman said, ‘Go home,’ like, right away. Rey’s in the ring already, did his entrance, Samoa Joe is coming down and I’m like, ‘Rey, they’re saying go home right away.’ He’s like, ‘What?’ I’m like, ‘I swear to god.’ He’s like, ‘[Chioda] are you f***ing with me?’ I’m like, ‘No, I swear to god he’s telling me you’ve got to.'”

Chioda on cutting Mysterio’s match short: “I couldn’t believe they did that to Rey because I don’t think they cut anybody else’s match that night. They didn’t cut anybody else’s matches or anything, it was just Joe and Rey’s match. I felt bad. He just goes in there and kind of demolishes Rey and beats him. I felt bad for Rey, I really did. He was coming back, they had made some promises to him but they’re taking care of him now, him and Dom, which is cool. I think he was going through a little bit of stuff with the company but he’s totally rebounded. Rey is such a professional and such a great person, man, a great guy, and he’s one of my best friends. That was just a bad weekend that weekend, and that was my last WrestleMania.”