WWE Referee Reveals He Was Fired For Wearing A KISS Shirt
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Former WWE Referee Marty Elias was the latest guest on Chris Jericho’s Talk is Jericho podcast, and he revealed the reason why he was fired from WWE three months after officiating the legendary match between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker at WrestleMania 25. Rather than any great offense or poor job in the ring, the official was let go for wearing a t-shirt featuring the band KISS backstage.
Kevin Dunn told Johnny I was out of dress code. I went to the building and I was doing my stooge duty where I had to check everybody in…and I went into catering and Johnny and Kevin and Mark Carrano were sitting at a table and Johnny saw me and goes ‘Marty, what the f**k are you doing wearing a KISS t-shirt?’ And I said ‘I’m sorry, I just put it on.’
Elias later states that he was wearing the shirt because it was his only clean option, but that didn’t stop Johnny Ace from letting him go later that day. Elias also states that he’s still persona non-grata with WWE, and that former executive Ty Bailey had him ejected from a SummerSlam event he attended after his firing. Despite the rough water, Marty said he’d be happy to come back to WWE or start anew in AEW, although he’s busy enough that it would depend on his schedule.
For more, including Elias and Jericho commenting on the entire Taker Mania classic, check out the full episode of Talk Is Jericho.
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Quote via Talk is Jericho and transcribed by WrestlingNews.co