Mike Chioda has seen plenty of ribs during his decades in WWE, but Rey Mysterio once pulled one that had him legitimately wondering whether he was about to lose his damn job. What started as a fake drug-testing notice during a WWE trip to China quickly turned into absolute panic backstage.
Speaking with David Otunga, Chioda recalled Mysterio setting up the prank while the WWE crew was overseas. When everyone arrived at the arena, drug-testing signs were suddenly posted around the locker room, and apparently nobody stopped to wonder whether Rey might be screwing with them.
Chioda said the reaction was immediate. Some of the wrestlers had taken sleeping medication during the long flight and suddenly started worrying about what might show up if WWE actually tested them.
“Rey had this appearance in Shanghai somewhere in China. Then he was at the arena doing something. I remember we pulled up in that bus, and there was a drug-testing sign up. When we seen these drug-testing signs up in the locker rooms and everywhere, we just fell apart. We fell to our knees.”
Then things somehow got even more ridiculous. According to Chioda, everyone started discussing what they might fail for while desperately looking for anything they thought could help. That apparently included people running around drinking vinegar without even being entirely sure what the hell it was supposed to accomplish.
“Rey’s like, ‘What are you going to fail for?’ I’m done. Everybody. I remember we were drinking vinegar. We were trying to go get vinegar. Everybody’s running around drinking all this different stuff. I’m like, ‘What’s that do?’ ‘I don’t know. I’m just taking it.’”
For Chioda, though, the prank hit a little harder than it did for everybody else. He had already been suspended once under WWE’s drug-testing policy, so seeing those signs immediately had him imagining the worst possible outcome.
“I see my life going through. I’m like, ‘I already been suspended once. Now I’m going to be suspended again. I’m done. My job’s done.’ It was a rib by Rey Mysterio. That was one of the worst ribs in my life almost.”
Rey Mysterio might have built his reputation as one of wrestling’s nicest guys, but apparently that didn’t stop him from being absolutely ruthless when the opportunity for a good backstage rib presented itself. Chioda can laugh about it now, but watching your entire career flash before your eyes while your coworkers desperately chug vinegar probably wasn’t nearly as funny in the moment.
What do you think of Rey Mysterio’s fake drug-testing prank on Mike Chioda and the WWE locker room? Let us know what you think in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
