Longtime WWE ring announcer Tony Chimel knows that life is all about finding that next open door.
Tony Chimel recently appeared Insight with Chris Van Vliet and spoke about being let go from WWE in November 2020. Chimel was with the company for 38 years, but ended up being released as a result of the pandemic.
“I never not wanted to work. I was willing to get on a plane from day one to go anywhere, to do anything. When COVID first hit, I was sitting at home and obviously at that point, I was like ‘well this will be great if it lasts a couple of months, a couple weeks’ and I’d be collecting a paycheck from home, this would be good. Then they started running shows in Orlando and I told my boss, I said I would be willing to go there. They said it would be laid back, cut back thing and ‘we’re just bringing in a couple people’ this and that, and I didn’t think much of it. A couple of months go by and I ask if I can still come and kept wanting to get in and do it. They weren’t hiring, but they were letting the independent contractors work, opposed to the employees. Then I got furloughed, and then after a while you’re sitting at home when you’re furloughed and you couldn’t do anything.
“After a few months of that, I got the call again from Kevin Dunn, [he] said ‘I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is you’re going to be getting your paycheck back.’ I’m like ‘cool,’ because I got an email saying some people are coming back in October, some in November or December. I was told via email from human resources that I was going to be one of the people that would come back in December. He was calling me in November and he said ‘You are going to get your paycheck,’ and I said because I’m coming back soon. He says, ‘Well, we’re going to have to let you go.’ I said, ‘What do you mean? I got an email that said I’m coming back in December.’ He asked me who sent it and I said human resources did. He said forward me that email, I guess he wanted to talk to whoever sent that email, but he called me and said that’s it. I had like a year’s severance package, [I was getting my paycheck back] because I was being let go.”
Chimel then explained what he’s up to following his release from WWE after a 38-year run with the company.
“I found out that there is life after WWE, because you figure I started when I was 22, and now I’m 60. I was 59 when it happened, but 60 [now]. I found a job at Trader Joe’s, which I never really knew about. I had heard of Trader Joe’s, but I didn’t really know what it was. I thought it was like an antique store or like a Pier 1 Imports store,” Chimel said. “Never been [to one before]. I know they’re all over the place. I get that [it’s a great place] and I’m seeing that now. When I first told my daughter that I was working at Trader Joe’s she was like ‘Oh dad, that’s great. You gotta get this and get that’ and I was like ‘what are you talking about?’.
“There’s a lot of similarities because at WWE they always wanted to put smiles on people’s faces and at Trader Joe’s all they want to do is wow the customer and make the customer feel happy. I’ve always been a big customer service guy and traveling for a living, you don’t get any of that crap with the airlines. You get crappy customer service from hotels, stuff like that. At Trader Joe’s, if you call the store they answer. If you’re in there and you’re looking for something, we’ll help you and find the place [you’re looking for]. If you’re in Home Depot, they’re going to tell you ‘Yeah it’s in aisle 58’ and send you away. We’ll walk you to where you want to go. And it’s nice, the customers there are like cult followers, I didn’t get it at first but now that I’ve been there for a year, I like ‘Well, I’m one of them,’” Chimel said. “ A lot of people love it and they swear by the store. The people are great, the bosses are great, the manager is great. Everybody’s great there.”
Chimel said he fell into his new job by accident, explaining that he was out with his wife when she saw a ‘now hiring’ sign and suggested he should go check it out. He said that the hiring manager recognized his name and chatted him up about his career, then they discussed his availability and he got the job. Chimel reiterated that it’s a great place to be and added that he landed on his feet.
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If you use this transcription, credit Insight with Chris Van Vliet and h/t WrestleZone, and link back to this post.
