On Monday Mailbag with Mike Chioda, the longtime referee talked about the financial perks of work-related travel during his time with WWE.
Chioda was able to have all of his expenses paid for by the company after being part of the ring crew for so long.
“The first 20-something years I was with the company, everything was paid for because I was on the crew,” he recalled. “That’s the key – being on a crew. For the last 12 years, I was just a full-time ref, and that was the best because you got everything paid for – you got per diem, you got everything. That was the best of both worlds: being on a crew and getting paid for everything in your expenses.”
Chioda acknowledged that many of today’s referees are not as fortunate as he was back in the day.
“They’re paying out of pocket,” he continued. “They don’t pay for flights, they don’t pay for hotels, rental cars, gas – [but they don’t] give them a per diem or anything. So, a lot of money’s out of pocket.”
“Was spending $300 to $400 for the rental car for four days, not even three days, and he was paying like $500 for hotels, and gas was probably a couple hundred bucks … and then you’ve got to add food in there, and if you got to pay for to go to the gym or pay for this or buy anything, it adds up.”
Quotes via Wrestling Inc