Former 38-Year WWE Employee Backstage At AEW Dynamite
An interesting name with a LONG WWE tenure was backstage at AEW Dynamite last night.
Former WWE ring announcer Tony Chimel was backstage at last night's episode of AEW Dynamite in Fort Myers, Florida.
This was revealed by AEW medic Dr. Michael J. Sampson, who tweeted the following photograph of him and Chimel during the show:-
You never know who is going to show up #AEWDyanmite So good to catch up with @TheTonyChimel He’s a good friend, suuuuper announcer, ride partner in a previous life, and most importantly…the patient. He’s a fan of the ‘ish’ btw. @AEW @AEWonTV #aewDOctor pic.twitter.com/CcKFk2ITRP
Advertisement— Michael J Sampson, DO FAOASM (@DocSampson13) March 10, 2022
Chimel, meanwhile, has responded with the following:-
Nice to see all of you as well !!!!The ish ???? Meh
Advertisement— Tony Chimel (@TheTonyChimel) March 10, 2022
A WWE employee from 1983 all the way through until 2021, Chimel fell victim to one of the company's rounds of budget cuts last year, ending one of the longest tenures in the promotion's history. Having previously served as a ring technician for WWE, Chimel moved into his most famous role as an announcer in 1989, eventually making the role his own by becoming SmackDown's full-time name-caller 10 years later, also working pay-per-views before being moved over to ECW in 2007.
Tenures on Superstars, NXT, and Main Event came next for Chimel, along with another stint on SmackDown. He went on hiatus from television in 2015, making only a handful of appearances from that point until the moment he stepped away entirely. Chimel's last few years with the market leaders were spent working behind the scenes.
There is currently no indication that Chimel's presence at Dynamite was more than him simply visiting friends.