WWE ThunderDome; Jericho Rips WWE for Firing Chioda; WWE 2K Battlegrounds Roster

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from WWE and AEW.

WWE Announces ThunderDome for Amway Center

WWE is leaving the Performance Center. The company announced the creation of the WWE ThunderDome on Monday, which will allow fans to virtually attend events live from Orlando's Amway Center.

"WWE has a long history of producing the greatest live spectacles in sports and entertainment, yet nothing compares to what we are creating with WWE ThunderDome," said Kevin Dunn, WWE executive vice president of television production. "This structure will enable us to deliver an immersive atmosphere and generate more excitement amongst the millions of fans watching our programming around the world."

The residency in Orlando will begin Friday and stretch for the foreseeable future. NXT will remain at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, while Raw and SmackDown will be held at the Amway.

First of all, calling it the ThunderDome is just genuinely hilarious. Having it being a reference to a movie that came out in 1985 is quintessential Vince McMahon.

Second of all, it will be interesting to see how this plays out. The WWE release does not say whether events will be aired live or if they will be held live to tape. WWE has been filming events ahead of time throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, but doing so on a closed set has allowed them to avoid spoilers.

If WWE chooses to continue doing weeks of taping at a time, odds are storylines are going to be leaked well in advance.

Jericho Rips WWE for Firing Mike Chioda

Referee Mike Chioda made a surprise appearance on AEW Dynamite last week, reffing Cody's match against Scorpio Sky and Chris Jericho's loss to Orange Cassidy. Chioda was a referee in WWE from 1989 until his release in April and was one of several longtime employees let go due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jericho ripped into WWE for letting Chioda go on his Saturday Night Special show:

"I mean, come on, seriously? 35 years the dude has been at your company and you're going to fire him? Besides the fact that the dude is a great guy and such a talented performer, and can run the whole backstage, but after 35 years, what's he supposed to do?" Go get a job at freaking 7 Eleven? Like, shame on you WWE. They did it to Mark Eaton, a famous ringside guy that they still haven't been able to replace him yet. When I was looking for time cues, Mark was always the guy."

Jericho said he and Cody have tried to get Chioda in at All Elite Wrestling, but the company isn't adding referees during the pandemic. 

WWE 2K Battlegrounds Roster Revealed

IGN got a first look at the roster for WWE 2K Battlegrounds, which launches Sept. 18 on current-gen platforms. 

Launch Roster

• AJ Styles
• Akira Tozawa
• Aleister Black
• Alexa Bliss
• Alicia Fox
• Andre The Giant
• Apollo
• Asuka
• Baron Corbin
• Bayley
• Becky Lynch
• Beth Phoenix
• Big E
• Big Show
• Bobby Lashley
• Bobby Roode
• Braun Strowman
• Bray Wyatt
• Brie Bella
• Brock Lesnar
• Carmella
• Cesaro
• Charlotte Flair
• Daniel Bryan
• Dolph Ziggler
• Drew McIntyre
• Edge (pre-order bonus)
• Elias
• Ember Moon
• Finn Balor
• Hulk Hogan
• Jake "The Snake" Roberts
• Jeff Hardy
• John Cena
• Kalisto
• Karl Anderson
• Kevin Owens
• Kofi Kingston
• Lince Dorado
• Liv Morgan
• Luke Gallows
• Mandy Rose
• Mankind
• Mickie James
• Naomi
• Natalya
• Nia Jax
• Nikki Bella
• Nikki Cross
• Randy Orton
• Rey Mysterio
• Ricochet
• Roman Reigns
• Ronda Rousey
• Rowan
• R-Truth
• Samoa Joe
• Sasha Banks
• Seth Rollins
• Sgt. Slaughter
• Shawn Michaels
• Shinsuke Nakamura
• Stephanie McMahon
• Stone Cold Steve Austin
• The Miz
• The Rock
• Triple H
• Undertaker
• Xavier Woods
• Yokozuna

Post-Launch Roster

• Akam
• Ali
• Alundra Blayze
• Andrade
• Angelo Dawkins
• Batista
• Big Boss Man
• Billie Kay
• Bo Dallas
• Booker T
• Bret "Hit Man" Hart
• British Bulldog
• Buddy Murphy
• Cactus Jack
• Chad Gable
• Christian
• Chyna
• Curtis Axel
• Dana Brooke
• Doink The Clown
• Earthquake
• Eddie Guerrero
• Fandango
• Goldberg
• Gran Metalik
• Jey Uso
• Jim Neidhart
• Jimmy Uso
• Kane
• Kevin Nash
• Lana
• Lita
• "Macho Man" Randy Savage
• Mark Henry
• Maryse
• Mojo Rawley
• Montez Ford
• Mr. McMahon
• Mr. Perfect
• Otis
• Paige
• Peyton Royce
• Rezar
• Rhea Ripley
• Ric Flair
• Ricky Steamboat
• "Rowdy" Roddy Piper
• Ruby Riott
• Sami Zayn
• Scott Hall
• Shane McMahon
• Sheamus
• Sonya Deville
• Sting
• Tamina
• The Boogeyman
• The Brian Kendrick
• Trish Stratus
• Tucker
• Tyler Breeze
• Typhoon
• Ultimate Warrior
• Vader