Mike Chioda Reveals Biggest Pop He's Ever Heard

Former longtime WWE referee Mike Chioda is a member of an exclusive club that has officiated a main event at WrestleMania, and in doing so he experienced the biggest audience reaction he has ever heard.

"The one pop that stood out is when I did ... it was Rock and Stone Cold [Steve Austin] at WrestleMania [15]," Chioda said on "Monday Mailbag with Mike Chioda." "First 10 minutes of the match and I got hit by a steel chair, and that's when Stone Cold swings the chair at me. Oh my God, in Philly, and I was like, 'Bring it, man, just make it look good,' and he brought it. But I remember the pop when he came out and just being out there. The pop was so huge in Philly."

Chioda said that the response wasn't unexpected, as Austin could elicit audience excitement like no one else during his heyday. "When I always say [Hulk] Hogan and Rock got that huge pop with 68,000 people in the SkyDome [at WrestleMania 18], yeah, I get it — it's all that," Chioda said. "But every night, day in and day out, every week, when Stone Cold came out and that f—— glass used to break, when the music would start and the glass would break, man, the people would just come unglued off their seats. It was just like, 'Woah, what the f?' I mean, come unglued!"

It was announced this past July that WrestleMania will make its return to Philadelphia for its 40th anniversary in 2024, marking the first time the city has hosted the event since 1999.