Tony Chimel
 |
| Tony Chimel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | October 11, 1961 Cherry Hill, New Jersey[1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Tony Chimel[1] Tony Chimmel[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1] |
| Billed from | Cherry Hill, New Jersey[1] |
| Trained by | "Cowboy" Bill Watts |
| Debut | 1983[1] |
Anthony "Tony" Chimel (born October 11, 1961) is an American professional wrestling ring announcer, employed by WWE.[1]
WWE (1991–present)
Before Chimel was ring announcer, he and Joey Marella (referee and son of legendary grappler Gorilla Monsoon) were the main ring technicians for the World Wrestling Federation.[1] Chimel then began announcing duties for the company in 1991, working mostly non-televised house shows and filling in for Howard Finkel whenever necessary.[citation needed]
SmackDown!
Chimel was the SmackDown ring announcer since its inception in 1999. He had also been ring announcing at SmackDown brand pay-per-views during this period of time. He defeated Howard Finkel for the rights to be SmackDown announcer in 1999 in a tuxedo match.[1]
From 2005 to 2007 Chimel was involved in a mini-feud with Mr. Kennedy, who claimed that Chimel was not announcing his name with the proper respect that it deserved. This feud included Chimel being punched, being "told to take a bow" (hit in the groin), and having a doughnut shoved in his mouth by Mr. Kennedy.
On Kurt Angle's final episode as SmackDown General Manager, he demanded Chimel to come into the ring and give an apology to him, just like Eddie Guerrero should give; Chimel complied but then was fired by Kurt Angle. He was then re-hired by Vince McMahon.
On the December 22, 2006 episode of SmackDown, he announced The Boogeyman as victorious too enthusiastically and caught his attention. The Boogeyman forced worms into his mouth as a result. Chimel ran away from the ring afterwards. This was a storyline for Chimel to take some time off to rest his nagging back injury and spend more time with his family. ECW announcer Justin Roberts was the ring announcer of SmackDown until Chimel returned on April 13, 2007.
Various swapping brands (2007-present)
In 2007, Chimel swapped ring announcing duties with Justin Roberts, becoming the ring announcer for the ECW brand.[2] In addition to announcing on ECW on Sci Fi and ECW pay-per-view matches, Chimel also announces on WWE Superstars, and made his first appearance on the April 30, 2009 episode. After Justin Roberts left SmackDown to become the new ring announcer for the Raw brand, Chimel left ECW and returned to SmackDown for his second stint as ring announcer. He then became the announcer of the ECW brand when the last ECW announcer, Lauren Mayhew quickly left the WWE, before returning to SmackDown. Since Eden Stiles became the ring announcer for the SmackDown portion of WWE Superstars, Chimel became a timekeeper for the show, alongside Justin Roberts on its (WWE Superstars') Raw side. His announcing future is deemed uncertain after it was announced that former Raw announcer Lilian Garcia was returning to the WWE taking over the SmackDown announcing duties. At the December 27 taping of SmackDown, NXT, & WWE Superstars, it was revealed that Chimel will be announcing for NXT and the SmackDown portion of WWE Superstars, replacing the departing Eden Stiles. Chimel announced NXT until the end of its fifth season (Redemption) on June 13, 2012. Since Lilian Garcia returned as a ring announcer for SmackDown, Chimal has been sent to be ring announcer regularly on Main Event. He also make sporadic announcing duties on SmackDown and Superstars as well as PPVs pre show.
Other media
Chimel appears in the video games WWE Day of Reckoning 2, WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006, WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2007, WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2008, WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009, WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2010, WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2011, WWE '12, WWE Wrestlefest, and WWE '13.
Personal life
Chimel named his son Joey after Joey Marella, a WWF referee and adopted son of Gorilla Monsoon who was killed in an automobile accident. He was once taken out by stretcher after being superkicked by Shawn Michaels ringside during his Iron Man match against Bret Hart on WrestleMania XII in 1996.[3]
References
External links
