Corey Graves recently sparked discussion on X after voicing his frustration over being moved from WWE’s main roster commentary team to NXT. In his post, Graves took issue at “not being famous enough for your own job,” in what many have seen at a dig at Pat McAfee and Joe Tessitore.
Former WWE commentator Jonathan Coachman weighed in on X with a post of his own. Coachman, who held many roles in WWE, including as a commentator, suggested that Graves could have handled things better and ‘played nice’ with others.
“So Corey is upset for being bumped from the main announce roster. Happened to JR 5 times. Happened to Cole multiple times. Happened to me multiple times. He is right, he is really good at his job. But playing in the sandbox a little bit better might not hurt next time. Embrace whatever role you have and understand that you are lucky to have it. There are only 3-5 of these jobs at the highest level. Who knows, maybe they asked him to be a part of a 3-man booth. We know he doesn’t like that. Lol. Sorry had to. Last line a joke. The rest, it’s the wrestling business. It happens.”
So Corey is upset for being bumped from the main announce roster. Happened to JR 5 times. Happened to Cole multiple times. Happened to me multiple times. He is right he is really good at his job. But playing in the sandbox a little bit better might not hurt next time. Embrace… https://t.co/Qp50P6xlxM
Following his outburst, Graves teased that he’d have plenty more to say on this week’s WWE NXT though that didn’t transpire. Instead, Graves was seen heading to Orlando aiport and this week’s edition of the silver brand went ahead without the veteran broadcaster. Stay tuned to SEScoops as the situation with Graves continues to develop, even with his on-screen future currently unclear.
Nia Jax hates Jonathan Coachman so much, that she worked to force him out of WWE, the former Raw & SmackDown commentator claimed this week. While speaking on the Behind The Turnbuckle: The Last Word podcast, Coachman reflected on his return to WWE in 2018 and how Jax allegedly wanted no part of him.
“She hates me, by the way, Nia Jax hates me… Nobody liked the fact that they brought me back. I’m not going to use the jealous word, it is what it is.
“Nia Jax led the charge. ‘Renee, Renee, Renee in Coach’s spot.’ She didn’t like me, for whatever reason.”
Coachman didn’t just have problems with the reigning WWE Women’s Champion, but there were also issues with Vince McMahon. On the podcast, Coachman shared that upon returning he informed Vince of four golf events he intended to attend and McMahon agreed to let him go to these instead of Raw. By the time the second event came around though, McMahon was furious and sought replacements for the broadcaster.
Coachman parted ways with WWE in 2021, an act that also saw him leave the XFL that had been resurrected a year earlier but nixed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Coachman has claimed that he expected to be reimbursed by McMahon for his travel expenses but never was due to the XFL filing for bankruptcy.
Jax herself has yet to weigh in on her alleged hatred for Coachman, or that she worked to have him removed as a commentator on Raw. With The Coach vowing never to work with WWE, it’s unlikely the pair will cross paths again in a professional setting, which if Coachman is to be believed, is for the best.
Jonathan Coachman has opened up about the infamous Katie Vick storyline of WWE.
The broadcast personality was part of WWE from 1999 to 2008. He worked closely with Vince McMahon during this time and got to witness the best and worst of the former WWE chairman’s creativity. The Katie Vick storyline between Triple H and Kane is possibly the biggest example of the latter.
Coachman talked about the same during a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet. He mentioned how people were terrified of McMahon during his reign. The former commentator himself remembers many instances in which he regrets not standing up to the former WWE owner:
“I’m not proud of the fact that I never told him no this is one of the things that I’ve told you on and off camera. There’s a lot of things I should have said no to.
That was one of the most repulsive, disgusting storylines of all time. During that time, Vince would go down a road and everything he was doing was hitting, whether it was the milk truck, whether it was the cement truck with the Corvette, all of that stuff. So let’s just keep going. Let’s do shock TV.”
You Could Hear People Groaning: Jonathan Coachman
The storyline between Triple H and Kane saw The Game accusing the Big Red Monster of having murdered Katie Vick. While Kane would later admit to Vick dying during a car accident with him, the Cerebral Assassin wasn’t done yet. He would go on to accuse Kane of being drunk during the accident and furthermore claimed that the Masked Athlete had intercourse with the late star after the incident.
A week later Triple H would appear in a backstage segment with Jonathan Coachman where he teased showing a videotape of his professional rival. The tape that was shown with a warning of discretion featured Triple H. Dressed as Kane in a funeral parlor, H got intimate with the body of the supposedly deceased Vick.
According to Coachman, nobody in the arena was aware of the contents of the video until it aired on the show, and nobody was happy with it:
“I can tell you this, because they shot that off-site so nobody had seen it until it ran on the show. And backstage, you could hear people just groaning because it was so incredibly bad. And if you put a lie detector on Triple H today, he would probably tell you the same thing.”
This is not the first time Jonathan Coachman has opened up about the poor working conditions of his WWE run. He previously told a story about how Vince McMahon made him miss Christmas by calling him up at the last minute.
Being a part of WWE’s roster is no easy feat, as you’re expected to make shows around the world, often making the trip out of your own pocket. It’s not just the in-ring talent who have to deal with this demanding schedule, and one ex-WWE name allegedly got in trouble for choosing family over the company.
In the run-up to WWE Bash In Berlin 2024, Randy Orton spoke with Michael Cole and said he feels WWE is 100% now than it has been before. Orton shared that locker room morale has skyrocketed, thanks in part to WWE letting talent time off to be with their families.
One person who’s especially pleased to see this change is Jonathan Coachman. On Twitter, Coachman recalled being punished for not going to a Tribute to the Troops event in Afghanistan as his pregnant wife wanted him to stay.
Damn is Randy right. In my 10 years I missed ONE Monday night which was for my honeymoon. I was punished for not going to Afghanistan because my daughter was due and my wife didn’t want me to go. I also believe it’s the reason a lot of wrestlers are not here today because of the… https://t.co/e0MhsbuKHN
Coachman was with WWE full-time from 1999 to 2008 and returned as a RAW commentator and pre-show host from 2016 to 2018. Despite the positive changes Coachman is pleased to see though, fans should not expect to see him on WWE programming again. In November 2023, Coachman said he would never return to WWE due to how he was treated during his second run with the promotion.
Jonathan Coachman has revealed the goods and bads of working with Vince McMahon.
The former WWE personality recently spoke to Bill Apter for Sportskeeda WrestleBinge. He talked about things such as his beef with Mercedes Mone and more.
When asked for his thoughts on Vince McMahon, the Coach who worked closely with the former WWE chairman during his time in the company explained why he doesn’t like to comment on him:
I don’t really have any thoughts about him in 2024 to be honest with you. I don’t like to comment on him, because at one point I was around him a lot, and I took a lot from what he taught us.”
Jonathan Coachman joined WWE as a backstage interviewer in 1999. He gradually climbed the ladder and was working as a commentator on SmackDown when he left the company in 2008.
Coachman also revealed the positive and negative side of working with McMahon. When asked to elaborate on his comment, he gave an example of things he regrets:
“The positive stuff is learning how when the red light comes on, timing, emphasis, storytelling, all the stuff that kind of makes high-level pro wrestling what it is. Also the grind. We were forced into the grind, and in my first 10-year run, I only missed one Monday night. I look back on it now, and there’s a lot of regrets I have as far as things I missed because we couldn’t stand up for ourselves.
I was at Christmas Eve, and I was back home in Kansas. You get a call to come back and shoot something in Connecticut. Because he wanted to go to Florida to be with his family, and really didn’t care about my family. So I did it because I never told him…. I only told him no once, and I got beat up for that. So, it is what it is.”
The event Coachman is referring to happened when he skipped a voluntary tour of Afghanistan in 2001 because of his newborn baby. As a result, the former WWE personality was punished after a SmackDown show when both Undertaker and Batista beat him down.
Darby Allin and Sting won the main event of AEW Revolution on Sunday night, and it was quite a showcase. Although many are talking about Sting’s last match, a lot of attention was taken by Darby Allin’s death defying leap through glass.
CM Punk and Jack Perry’s big All In brawl was due to Perry using real glass when Punk advised against it. Apparently, real glass is a trend in AEW, because Darby Allin used it to make some big waves and cut his back to pieces in the process. Jonathan Coachman saw this, and he doesn’t care whether it upsets AEW fans if he drags the spot.
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) March 4, 2024
Viral Reaction To Coachman
Fans were not very happy to see what Jonathan Coachman said on Twitter/X. Many AEW loyalists went at Coachman in return, and you can check out a few of those tweets below.
I have said sane, on podcasts and here.
Darby is playing with fire and could get seriously injured.
He is also flicking permanent accumulating damage on his body.
My point was that Coachman doesn’t give a shit and was pretending to for the sake of podcasts. https://t.co/sZy6X1Yv7w
Coachman doesn’t understand competition as a form of storytelling, of course he needs Darby Allin explained to him. ?
— Chainsaw Charlie Enthusiast (@ChainsawTerry69) March 4, 2024
Why be genuine when you can just punch down for money? Let’s be honest, how often does coachman get mentioned these days, even negatively? He needs an audience and attacking AEW is the easiest way to get all parties to notice.
The Coach saw Sean Ross Sapp’s video of Darby Allin’s insane dive at Revolution. The clip included glass breaking and fans going crazy. Everything ended with Allin on the ground, and that was all it took to create a viral clip.
When Jonathan Coachman saw the clip of Darby Allin’s big leap, he couldn’t resist but to comment. He said that, aside from Mick Foley, nobody in WWE did that kind of thing in the past. There is a reason for that as well.
While he painted a picture of the true damage to the situation, Jonathan Coachman also begged for someone to teach Tony Khan and AEW’s writing team to craft a storyline that didn’t require this level of ultra violence.
Ok AEW army come after me. This is bananas and SO unnecessary. Can someone please teach the writers and Tony Khan that if you tell a good story you don’t have to do that crap and damn near kill yourself. Other than Mick Foley find any videos of a top star from WWE doing anything this reckless. I am all about getting talked about after a show but my god. If he hits one of those chairs he could have paralyzed himself and broken his back. Tell a story and make the fans care. Then this won’t have to happen or even be talked about doing.
Ok AEW army come after me. This is bananas and SO unnecessary. Can someone please teach the writers and Tony Khan that if you tell a good story you don’t have to do that crap and damn near kill yourself. Other than Mick Foley find any videos of a top star from WWE doing anything… https://t.co/MlTyTazVzq
Darby Allin only needed 12 stitches to repair his back after that leap. He was okay to finish the match, and he was around for Sting’s post-match speech.
It seems that he is going to be okay, with his Mount Everest adventure still in line. Only time will tell when he does something like that again, but you never know what Allin will pull off.
SEScoops will have more on this story if additional information is ever available about Darby Allin’s insane dive.
This is hardly Allin’s first death-defying stunt in an AEW ring, but it may have been his most dangerous spot of all time (to date!) Taking to Twitter, former WWE personality Jonathan Coachman blasted the spot as unnecessary. Coachman acknowledged that his opinion will hardly go down well with AEW’s “army” of fans.
“Ok AEW army come after me. This is bananas and SO unnecessary. Can someone please teach the writers and Tony Khan that if you tell a good story you don’t have to do that crap and damn near kill yourself. Other than Mick Foley find any videos of a top star from WWE doing anything this reckless. I am all about getting talked about after a show but my god. If he hits one of those chairs he could have paralyzed himself and broken his back. Tell a story and make the fans care. Then this won’t have to happen or even be talked about doing.”
Ok AEW army come after me. This is bananas and SO unnecessary. Can someone please teach the writers and Tony Khan that if you tell a good story you don’t have to do that crap and damn near kill yourself. Other than Mick Foley find any videos of a top star from WWE doing anything… https://t.co/MlTyTazVzq
Sting is not interested in being a manager on AEW programming, but is open to talks with Tony Khan about a backstage role. As for the AEW World Tag Team Championships, they have been vacated and a tournament will determine the next set of champions.
In the main event, Adam Scherr, formerly known as Braun Strowman in WWE, will take on former UFC heavyweight Alistair Overeem. “The Reem” is a bit controversial as he once labeled pro wrestling as “gay” during an interview with Ariel Helwani back in 2021.
The card will also feature Lina Fanene, the former Nia Jax, taking on CJ Perry (Lana).
Take a look at the full card for the WES show below:
Adam Scherr vs. Alistair Overeem – for the WES World Title
Lina Fanene vs. CJ Perry – for the WES Women’s Title
Gzim Selmani & Sunny Dhinsa vs. Westin Blake & Steve Maclin – for the WES Tag Team Titles
Killer Kross vs. Samuray Del Sol vs. JONAH
Madison Rayne & Tenille Dashwood vs. Deonna Purrazzo & Chelsea Green – for the WES Women’s Tag Team Titles
Dean Muhtadi vs. Lince Dorado
Mike Bennett vs. Biff Busick (pre-show match)
Dirty Dango vs. Levis Valenzuela Jr. (pre-show match)
His 2018 return to WWE has left a sore taste in the mouth of Jonathan Coachman. The sports analyst is vowing to ‘never work with’ somebody like that again. The former WWE star talked about his experience of going back to the company in 2018 on the latest episode of his Ask Coach Anything Live podcast.
Coachman admitted that he has a very bad taste in his mouth from the sport of wrestling, claiming that at this point in his life he wants everything to be positive:
“I have a very bad taste in my mouth from the sport of wrestling right now. I’m at a point in my life that everything I do, I want it to be positive.”
The coach went in length to detail his frustrations with the promotion. He revealed that he is owed a lot of money for his XFL appearances. He discussed how WWE top brass fired many people from XFL and WWE as well during the coronavirus pandemic while making a lot of money from stocks. Jonathan Coachman then promised to never work with somebody like that again:
“I will never work with somebody like that again. So, the taste in my mouth from wrestling right now is very, very bitter because when you put in 20 years into somebody, a relationship to help them build their brand, and then they just turn your back on you over, to them, a little bit of money. To me, it was a lot of money. Then at the same time, they’re cashing in millions of dollars in stock, and laying people off the same day they are doing that is bad business.”
Jonathan Coachman continued his explanation mentioning how you cannot take money with you when you are gone and all you can take is your legacy. He also discussed being taken off Raw commentary team in September 2018. Coachman explained that while people saw it as a demotion, he didn’t feel the same. According to Coach, he was being paid the same amount of money while making only one appearance per month as a host for PPV pre-show panels.
Jonathan Coachman recently appeared Busted Open Radio to talk about various topics including WWE’s new billion dollar deal with Fox.
Coachman stated in this interview that just three years ago he got a call from WWE about wanting to get on ESPN because other than the occasional appearance by The Rock to promote a movie, there was no consistent content on any mainstream media because he believes that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and other officials knew that this day (TV deal) was coming.
“I knew if I wanted to do more than just ESPN, that this was a good way to help and to help facilitate. I got into fights, I pushed the envelope, and I got four other guys to help me and we called them ‘Coach’s Group.’ We just got given credit by the president of the company to Wall Street for helping facilitate this Fox deal so they took our content that we did every single week on SportsCenter.
Then we got stuff into SportsCenter every single week. They took that content they took it to Fox. They had meetings with ESPN and said listen, after the shock value of the few people who called in saying ‘I can’t believe they’re having wrestling content on our beloved SportsCenter.’ After that shock value wore off they came to it in droves.”
Coachman added that the work he did for ESPN is still living on to this day and that Fox plans to put WWE in situations where it’s a cross-over promotional content and the network will already have that established audience. “They started an entire website that still lives today. Because of that and I’m not saying it’s the entire reason, but it’s a big part of the reason that his billion-dollar deal was done. Because Fox executives looked at what we did at ESPN and said, ‘imagine if you had a partner instead of just a platform.’
WWE’s television contract was slated to expire in 2019 with the USA Network, which led to them holding meetings with the USA Network, Fox, Disney, CBS, Amazon, and YouTube.
Just last month, it was officially announced that Monday Night RAW would remain on the USA Network while SmackDown Live would move to Fox and air each Friday on Fox broadcast network. Both deals are for five years. It’s been reported that Fox is paying WWE $1 billion over the five years for the rights to SmackDown Live. The deal averages out to around $205 million annually for the broadcast rights.
What are your thoughts on Coachman’s comments? Sound off in the comment section.
There was one member of the commentator team for the sports entertainment company’s flagship show, Monday Night RAW, missing from this week’s episode in Houston, TX at the Toyota Center on the USA Network.
Michael Cole announced at the top of the show that Jonathan Coachman was ‘on assignment’ and that David Otunga would be filling in for him on the announce team for the show.
It turns out that the reason Coachman missed the show was due to him currently being in Atlantic City, New Jersey while covering the World Long Drive Golf Championships.
WWE’s streaming service, WWE Network, will be airing a new episode of “Something Else to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard” this coming Wednesday that will focus on WWE’s ECW brand, which lasted from 2006 until 2010. The episode will hit the on-demand section at 8pm EST.
What are your thoughts on Otunga filling in for Coachman on RAW? Sound off in the comment section below.
Nikki Bella recently took to Twitter to respond to a WWE article that teased some Women’s Tag Team Titles coming to SmackDown Live with Paige now the General Manager. Nikki tagged Paige and teased she and Brie could return to challenge for the titles.
Nikki even threw in a subtle jab at The Iconics. Paige responded and Peyton Royce chimed in on the matter as well. Check it out below:
Women's #TagTitles? A championship that needs to be defended each week? This is just the BEGINNING of what we'd like to see @RealPaigeWWE instate as new #SDLive GM! https://t.co/wMgkPWyTaR
Hey @RealPaigeWWE ?????????????? Brie and I would love to put the SnapBack, Nike kicks, jersey, flannel, headband, and twin power back on in that WWE ring! Feeling pretty ICONIC…. ? N https://t.co/2N7csMewUr
Jonathan Coachman Clears Up Rumors Regarding His Replacement
WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T recently announced that he’ll be returning to the RAW commentary team next week. This led to some rumors going around indicating that Booker could be replacing Jonathan Coachman at the commentary booth.
Coachman addressed these rumors on Twitter recently to clear them up. He revealed that Booker will only be replacing him for one week on commentary while Coachman does work for the Golf channel. Coach will return the following week for RAW in Montreal:
Yes. I laugh people think there are all of these conspiracy theories and made of stories. It’s no big deal. I have been talking about it for months. Me and @BookerT5x talked about this when I came back. It helps everybody. Head down and do work. That’s what we do https://t.co/XJCarrmxBH
I am not going to Saudi Arabia. But thank you. I am honestly shocked at people thinking if (god forbid) you miss one show that you are gone for good. This is a new day and things change. For me I love many things. Keeps my mind fresh. https://t.co/G4Ekpl2yM4
Former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey is slated to team up with WWE Hall of Famer and current Raw General Manager Kurt Angle to take on Stephanie McMahon and Triple H in a Mixed Tag Team Match at WrestleMania 34.
Jonathan Coachman spoke with TMZ Sports about Rousey appearance at WrestleMania 34. In this interview, he defended Rousey from criticism and those certain female stars who are complaining about her spot in the WWE. Here is what he had to say:
“There’s been so many different reactions to Ronda coming in to the WWE,” Coachman said. “Some really, really positive, some skeptical and some in between. Here’s the difference with Ronda Rousey compared to probably anybody else you can name in the history of the business. She’s coming in right at the top, her in-ring debut is gonna be at WrestleMania. You talk about pressure! I mean, that pressure is real, it’s legit.” “Yeah, she’s been in main events before in the UFC, but this is on another level,” Coachman responded. “We’re talking millions upon millions of viewers. Here’s the thing that people don’t think about, just the pressure to perform in front of her new peers. Because she’s come in and taken a very lucrative spot at WrestleMania. Now, I don’t really give a damn whether she’s earned it or not. Her star power has earned it, but now she has to go out there and perform, that’s the beauty of WrestleMania and coming in where she has come in at. So, I think there’s a lot of people anxious to see exactly how a match with Ronda Rousey is going to look.”
WrestleMania 34 goes down tonight at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. This event airs on pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE Network. It’s the most successful and longest-running professional wrestling event in history. Both Raw and SmackDown rosters will be featured. Coachman continued, “Trust me when I say that there are a long line of females that would love nothing better – I don’t care what they tell you – than to run a program with Ronda Rousey,” Coachman said. “When she comes out to the arena – I’m there – she’s gets as big a pop, if not the biggest pop of anybody on the show, but that’s only going to last for so long until she starts working matches. If the girls are smart, they don’t complain about Ronda Rousey, they embrace her and say, ‘Let me help you, because that is what’s good for business, and what’s good for business is good for me.'”
WWE RAW Announcer Jonathan Coachman has made his feelings known about the potential return of Hulk Hogan to the sports entertainment company.
His latest run with the company was a short one. On February 24, 2014, on Raw, Hogan made his first WWE in-ring appearance since December 2007 to hype the launch of the WWE Network. At WrestleMania 30, Hogan served as the host and came out at the start of the show to hype up the crowd. Steve Austin and The Rock ended up coming out to have a memorable segment with him. However, he was later fired over racist remarks made in a leaked sex tape.
Coachman recently made an appearance on Busted Open and talked about the idea of Hogan returning as WWE has confirmed that they’ve been in talks with the former WWE Champion. Here is what he had to say:
“I think as far as the reason why Mark [Henry] and a big group of guys don’t want him to come back – or at least want him to be contrite – is at some point your seventh, eighth, ninth chance to come back and play a role should be enough,” Coachman said. “He’s a huge star, which is why he’s gotten so many different chances. But the bottom line is over the years Hulk has always asked for not the premium dollar, he’s asked for ridiculous amounts of money to come back and do something.”
“So, if he’s not contrite, he’s not apologizing, and he’s asking for a ton of money, again, I’m not privy to the conversations, but I know what he’s done in the past and if he’s asking for a ton of money, I don’t see the upside in bringing him back to do what? To be an ambassador? He’s had hip replacement surgery, he can’t work in the ring,” Coach said. “Yes, he has humongous star power, but is it positive star power? Is it star power that he would use to help somebody else? Because at this point you’ve got to give somebody the rub, you’ve got to pay it forward. You’ve gotta come back and you can’t be Hulk Hogan from WrestleMania I as the main eventer and that’s somebody that Hulk Hogan has never been. His track record speaks for [itself] when it comes to giving back or giving to another Superstar.” “I thought, at least in the trailers, for the Andre the Giant documentary he looks like he was very thoughtful and gives a lot,” Coachman responded. “I don’t think it’s ever too late for somebody to change, but he’s damn near 70 years old. Unless he’s going to come back and be a positive ambassador then I don’t believe WWE needs him.”
WWE announcer Jonathan Coachman has issued a statement responding to sexual harassment allegations made by former ESPN anchor and legal analyst Adrienne Lawrence.
Click here to read our initial report on Adrienne Lawrence’s claims against ESPN and Coachman.
Coachman issued the following statement on Tuesday morning:
“I will address this only once because I am seething today. In 21 years of being a PROFESSIONAL I have never been more offended in my life. I my 9 years I can count on one hand the amount of times I interacted with anyone other than a co-anchor. To allow someone to spread vicious lies and flat out fabrications is not ok and it’s time someone stood up for themselves. @jemelehill addressed her lie last night. I am not a part of this lawsuit because I have never done anything wrong. My reputation speaks for itself and anyone that has ever worked with me will back that up. I am also offended that someone can dangerously throw peoples names into something for the clear attempt at getting headlines. This the only time I will address this because I am not a part of this lawsuit. My heart goes out to anyone falsely accused of anything. Trust me it doesn’t feel good. But most of you have been incredible and supportive. Onward and upward.”
WWE announcer Jonathan Coachman is being accused of sexual harassment by former ESPN anchor and legal analyst Adrienne Lawrence.
According to a report today by the New York Post, Lawrence filed a sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit against ESPN on Sunday for incidents dating back to 2015. She is accusing ESPN of not addressing her complaints, specifically against longtime SportsCenter anchor John Buccigross. Many other current and former employees are also accused of varying degrees of harassment in the suit, including Coachman.
The suit alleges that Coachman employed the “ESPN predators’ playbook,” in which Lawrence reached out to her on the pretense of mentorship but tried turning the relationship personal. Lawrence says she was advised by colleagues that Coachman sexually harassed female employees at ESPN, including now-former SportsCenter anchor Sara Walsh.
“After learning that, Ms. Lawrence made an effort to communicate to Coachman that she had a boyfriend, after which she did not hear from him again,” the suit states.
As for Walsh, the suit states, “Coachman had sent Walsh inappropriate photos of himself and text messages, falsely telling her colleagues that they were romantically involved and that she “wanted” him – another common practice of men at ESPN.”
Here is the passage on Coachman:
“125. On or around January 18, 2016, SportsCenter anchor Jonathan Coachman (“Coachman”) emailed Ms. Lawrence offering to provide her with mentorship and providing his cellphone number. When he contacted her via text, he quickly turned a professional conversation into a personal matter, asking her about her musical interests. He was employing the ESPN predators’ playbook. See supra at ¶ 84. Colleagues then cautioned Ms. Lawrence that Coachman was notorious for sexually harassing female employees. After learning that, Ms. Lawrence made an effort to communicate to Coachman that she had a boyfriend, after which she did not hear from him again and he made no offers of mentorship.
“126. Coachman’s reputation for making unwelcome sexual advances toward women and engaging in other sexually harassing behavior was not a secret. Cary Chow had warned Ms. Lawrence about him when he gave the short list of men at ESPN who were notorious for sexual harassment. Coachman had sent Walsh inappropriate photos of himself and text messages, falsely telling her colleagues that they were romantically involved and that she “wanted” him – another common practice of men at ESPN. See supra at ¶ 13. At least one young production assistant who joined ESPN just out of college had complained to Ms. Lawrence about Coachman making her feel uncomfortable by complimenting her physical appearance and making passes at her.”
The supra adds:
“When Ms. Lawrence complained to Jack Obringer, Senior Coordinating Producer, Studio Production of ESPN, Inc. that she was being sexually harassed (by another individual), Obringer guessed that the harasser was ‘Coachman’ and indicated that his inappropriate behavior toward women was well-known to management. Nevertheless, Coachman continued to appear in ESPN commercials and on SportsCenter without discipline or accountability until he was quietly dismissed on or around April 26, 2017 via layoff.”
As of tonight, Coachman hasn’t released a statement about the allegations. In January, he rejoined WWE to once again be part of the Raw announce team.
ESPN released the following statement tonight to several news outlets on Lawrence’s claims:
“We conducted a thorough investigation of the claims Adrienne Lawrence surfaced to ESPN and they are entirely without merit. Ms. Lawrence was hired into a two-year talent development program and was told that her contract would not be renewed at the conclusion of the training program. At that same time, ESPN also told 100 other talent with substantially more experience, that their contracts would not be renewed. The company will vigorously defend its position and we are confident we will prevail in court.”
The case, Lawrence v. ESPN, Inc., et al., was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. You can read the entire complaint here. Deadspin has an article offering more insight into the background of Lawrence’s claims.
– If you’re also a fan of professional boxing then you’re going to enjoy this. The Rock took to Instagram, as a favor to HBO, to announce the highly-anticipated rematch between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin on May 5, 2018:
– WWE has uploaded a new video in which Mike Rome interviews the newest addition to the RAW commentary team – Jonathan Coachman. “The Coach” will be replacing WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T at the commentary booth. Coach said he is excited to be back and call action with Michael Cole and Corey Graves, and briefly touches on his time with ESPN as well:
WWE announced on Monday that Jonathan Coachman has signed a new deal with the company and is the newest member of Monday Night RAW’s commentary team.
Coachman will be calling the action on RAW starting tonight alongside Michael Cole and Corey Graves. WWE Hall of Famer Booker T will resume his duties as a panelist on WWE’s pay-per-view Kickoff broadcasts and will serve as a WWE ambassador moving forward.
Coachman began working with WWE back in 1999 as a broadcaster at the peak of the Attitude Era. After a successful run with WWE, he’d go on to work for ESPN for nearly a decade.
Throughout his career at ESPN, Coach was a champion of pro wrestling, hosting “Off the Top Rope” segment covering WWE news and serving as a correspondent for ESPN during big PPV weekends like SummerSlam and WrestleMania.
Coachman tweeted the following about his return to the WWE family, noting that an eventual return has been his vision for years.
World’s collide. Anything is possible. When you do the right things and believe in each other you can do great things. This has been my vision for years and today it finally happened. WWE Universe I am privileged to be back. And it feels amazing to come back home. Philly tonight. https://t.co/ZkOqrmUlMB
Former WWE personality Jonathan Coachman was recently interviewed on Busted Open Radio to talk about a variety of topics. One topic of discussion was how ESPN, Coachman’s now-former employer, helped bring WWE back into mainstream sports media:
“I feel a lot of pride. When we decided to push the envelope a little bit, I got a call from the office and they said ‘can you help us’. That’s one of the biggest criticisms of Vince over the years is he always felt like the superstars are all we need. These days with social media, you need crossover all of the time. They realized that. There is no more crossover at the time than ESPN.
“I’m very proud of the fact that we not only got a segment every week on Sportscenter, but it became the highest rated segment on social media. We created a dropdown on ESPN that when you go there today, it’s right there next to the NBA, NFL, WWE is right there at the top.”
Coachman got in trouble during his days with ESPN for issuing out a Tweet that stated ‘journalism is dead.’ He explained what happened between himself and his bosses after the Tweet:
“I got in trouble when I tweeted this. I said ‘journalism is dead as we know it. Anybody that wants to go to college to be a writer and write for the Washington Post, stop right now, because your career will never take off’. If you don’t entertain me, I’m turning the channel. Entertainment needs to be the #1 priority. That’s what I told my bosses at ESPN. This is entertaining. Who cares where the eyeballs come from?”
When answering the question of why he left ESPN, Coach explained how the sports media juggernaut ‘dropped the ball’:
“They dropped the ball. They could have done so much more. Every single project I’m about to start doing, I pitched to ESPN, and they said no to. It was very frustrating near the end. I said to my boss ‘you are so shortsighted on what we need to be doing, that it’s incredible to me’. The night before Summerslam 2016, Conor McGregor fought Nate Diaz for the 2nd time. I said to them, ‘I will go to Vegas, cover the fight, then fly to New York, cover Summerslam, and put both stories into a package to celebrate the biggest weekend in combat sports’.
“My boss said, ‘can’t do it. Nobody’s gonna want to watch that. I’ve already sent 3 cameras to preseason football.’ I said you gotta be kidding me. When I was getting ready to leave, I went to his boss and asked if this idea ever came across your desk. He said ‘No. We would have absolutely ran with that.'”
Coach then described what it’s really like working with “The Chairman Of The Board” Vince McMahon. Apparently McMahon really likes his former storyline executive assistant:
“He liked me a lot. For that, I was very close to him. He’s very difficult to be around sometimes, but there’s no-one else I’d rather work with. Part of the reason I was able to be at ESPN for almost 10 years is because what I learned from Vince, and that’s business comes first, you never burn any bridges, and you do what’s always right for the business. You also show up. The one thing that Vince taught us was you show up. I’ve actually seen him fire talent because they went out on an autograph session on Tuesday, and saw a blizzard coming to their hometown, they went home, and then couldn’t make the TV taping.
“The one thing you do in this business and for Vince is you show up. He was also the orchestrator of an incredible rib on me in North Carolina that I was arrested and jailed. When he really likes you, that’s what he does to show you. He’s very difficult to work for. He demands excellence. He is very demanding. He always doesn’t make the right call, but when you do TV 51 weeks a year, it’s hard to make things right every single time and make it hot. As far as leadership goes, I don’t know if there is a better leader, because you always know which direction you’re going. It may not always be the right direction, but you know which direction you’re going. There was no waste of time proposing ideas to him. He loves hungry talent. If you don’t want to sit on the sidelines, come prepared and pitch him ideas.
“Take The New Day for example. These are three guys whose careers were basically over, and here they come with this act, and Vince signed off on it. He is a guy who you better be prepared to talk to, don’t stumble over yourself and have your thoughts together. He will die on the road. There will not be a Vince McMahon who sits at home and watches the show. That’s just who he is. If you have a baby, you want to watch that baby grow. That’s just who he is.”
– It looks like WWE is experimenting with the possibility of turning Tye Dillinger heel soon. Several reports note that Dillinger has been working heel at this week’s WWE live events for the annual holiday tour, losing to Sin Cara. Fans said that Dillinger was playing the heel role down a bit.
– Former WWE personality Jonathan Coachman and his kids were at last night’s WWE live event in Hartford, Connecticut. WWE posted the following video:
Earlier today, Jonathan Coachman tweeted out that he would no longer be covering WWE for ESPN. He then deleted the tweet but responded to a fan that asked him if he finished covering WWE. Coachmen replied “Yes” and then followed it up in another tweet by revealing that he has a big project coming up and no longer had the time to cover WWE for ESPN.
This is why you can't believe a "rumor". All wwe content is on own time. I have big project coming up. Decided a month ago. Don't have time. https://t.co/k66DPTuzze
Announced this way to prove a point. Its all volunteer time to do everything we have done. My decision alone. And I will miss it too. https://t.co/MLFovV7Z0V
A fan sent Roman Reigns a gif on Twitter with the caption “Must be hard being cartoon Roman Reigns”. Reigns then quoted the weet and replied, “Must be hard being a grown man, that tweets another grown man cartoons”.
Former WWE personality Jonathan Coachman was recently a guest on Eric Bischoff’s podcast, where he discussed his departure from WWE. On the latest edition of the Bischoff on Wrestling podcast, Coachman described leaving the McMahon empire for ESPN, where he still works as an anchor.
Coachman, who was with WWE from 1999 to 2008, said that ESPN brought him in for an interview while he was still working with WWE. While he was on the way home from the interview, ESPN called him to tell him he got the job. The next week, he says WWE executive Kevin Dunn met with him and they discussed his talks with ESPN.
The Coach says WWE wanted to sign him to a new deal, but he never knew if he would get another opportunity like the ESPN anchor position, so he had to take it. Dunn told Coachman they’d be immediately taking him off the air, but that they weren’t upset with him. WWE replaced Coachman with MIck Foley on SmackDown, and Coachman went home for the birth of his daughter.
Coachman shared a story about WWE calling him in to tape something in the studio after sending him home. When he arrived, there was a big tent set up in the parking lot and they threw him a going away party. Coachman feels that says volumes about the company and the respect they have for each other.
You can listen to the entire podcast with Jonathan Coachman and Eric Bischoff on iTunes.
Kevin Owens was on Off The Top Rope on ESPN recently and was a part of the “One Word” segment. Owens was asked by Jonathan Coachman to give one word about Goldberg and Owens chose “enemy”. Owens’ reasoning was that he grew up a die-hard WWE fan and that Goldberg was the biggest name in WCW at the time. Owens also attributed the word “uselss” to internet trolls. You can check out the entire segment by clicking here.
Mick Foley posted his thoughts on the match between Kenny Omega and Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 11. Foley described the match as one of the greatest he has ever seen and encouraged people to make an effort to watch it.
TNA has posted a new video of Bobby Lashley challenging Ethan Carter III to a Last Man Standing match. That match will happen on this week’s Impact and the winner will go on to face Eddie Edwards for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.
With Ronda Rousey’s MMA career possibly over after her 48-second loss to Amanda Nunes at Friday’s UFC 207, one former WWE announcer believes Vince McMahon’s interest in her may be over as well. ESPN anchor Jonathan Coachman answered fans on Twitter this weekend following Rousey’s loss, writing that he feels she has no shot in WWE now.
“Sorry no chance,” Coachman wrote to one fan asking about Rousey in WWE. “You can’t [bring her in to WWE] at any point. Perception matters. That performance mattered.”
When another fan told Coach he thinks Rousey could still be a big name in WWE, Coach wrote back that it will “NEVER” happen.
“They are not in the business of bringing in a broken star and rebuilding her,” Coachman wrote in reference to Rousey’s image following her devastating loss on Friday.
Prior to the loss, WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon told USA Today that they would “welcome [Rousey] with open arms” after she retires from MMA.
Sorry no chance. You can't bring in her at any point. Perception matters. That performance mattered. https://t.co/0HGPgVNLod
– Is Jonathan Coachman working on landing a regular role on WWE TV again? After a fan on Twitter wrote about wanting to see Coach work the WWE Network pre-show panels again, Coachman replied with the following:
Working on it Karen. And I mean it. We ARE working on it. And also thank you. I love hosting as many different things as possible. https://t.co/RXH5LRIVQt