Veteran referee on Brock Lesnar legitimately hurting current WWE star in a match
Former WWE referee Mike Chioda has opened up about Brock Lesnar’s controversial victory over Randy Orton at SummerSlam 2016.
Lesnar won the match via technical knockout after striking Orton with multiple elbows to the head, causing him to bleed. While the finish was scripted, it looked at the time as though Lesnar had gone too far by legitimately busting his opponent open.
Speaking to James Romero of Wrestling Shoot Interviews, Chioda admitted he was surprised that the finish was approved by WWE’s higher-ups:
“Brock gashed him open and I could tell there was something going on, but I didn’t know if it was really Brock towards Randy or if it was just Brock listening to what the office wanted him to do,” Chioda said. “Randy had a little bit of heat at that time. He gashed him open real bad over the forehead. You could tell he was going for it because he was just elbow to forehead. I was kind of shocked that they would do that because concussion protocol was still strong at that time.”
Former WWE Superstar Chris Jericho confronted Brock Lesnar backstage because he thought the eight-time WWE World Champion had gone off-script. The two men yelled at each other before Jericho was informed that the finish was planned.
Brock Lesnar did not speak to Randy Orton on the day of their match
Despite officiating the match, Mike Chioda is still unsure about the circumstances surrounding the finish.
The legendary referee suspected something was going on when Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton did not interact all day before the match:
“There wasn’t a fallout between Brock and Randy but they just didn’t talk all day, so something was going on,” Chioda added. “I don’t know if it was really from the office or Brock telling them how he wanted it. I don’t think Randy really had too much heat with Brock. He kind of knew what was coming, I think.”
One month after SummerSlam 2016, Brock Lesnar defeated Randy Orton in a rematch at a WWE live event in Chicago, Illinois. The veteran superstars have not faced each other in a one-on-one match since.
Please credit Wrestling Shoot Interviews and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.