WWE: More Staff Released, Braun Strowman Status Update, Trademarks, Updated SD Ratings

Nov 11, 2020

WWE Reportedly Laid Off More Staff, Tony Chimel Among Those Released

WWE reportedly recently released more of their staff, according to PWInsider.

Mike Johnson reported that this newest wave of layoffs was made this past Friday and mostly affected those working at the company’s headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. Johnson reported that one of his sources stated that around 10-15 people were released overall.

Among those released reportedly was longtime employee and ring announcer Tony Chimel. Prior to his release, Chimel had been working for the company since 1989 starting off as a part-time member of WWF’s ring crew and became a full-time employee in 1991.

Besides Chimel, another notable name released was Jerry Soto, who was a member of the company’s Spanish commentary team. Soto had been with the company since 2011 and took over from longtime employee Hugo Savinovich following his firing.

Braun Strowman RAW Status Update

WWE officials reportedly have quietly changed the face/heel status of Braun Strowman on their RAW brand, according to PWInsider.

Mike Johnson reported that despite Strowman being turned heel following his return from the Swamp Fight match against Bray Wyatt and him purposely low blowing Keith Lee during the October 20th episode of RAW, WWE officials internally currently consider Strowman to be a babyface star for the RAW brand.

WWE Files Several New Trademarks

WWE recently filed two new trademarks to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

A trademark for “August Grey” was filed on November 4th for wrestling and entertainment-related purposes.

A trademark for “The Way” was filed on November 5th for wrestling and entertainment-related purposes. This trademark could potentially be for No Way Jose based on a recent report from Fightful Select that stated WWE is currently interested in bringing him back to the company.

Updated WWE Friday Night SmackDown Ratings

This past Friday’s episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown drew a final viewership of 2,315,000 on FOX, according to Showbuzz Daily. This was the up compared to the initial overnight number of 2,209,000 viewers on the network.