– There will be no WWE guest on tonight’s ESPN SportsCenter “Off The Top Rope” segment. Jonathan Coachman noted on Twitter that he will review RAW and SmackDown, and preview TLC during tonight’s segment.
– It was estimated that half of the crowd at last night’s WWE SmackDown left before the main event of 205 Live happened with Rich Swann winning the Cruiserweight Championship from Brian Kendrick. A significant number of fans left right after the SmackDown main event and more continued to leave during 205 Live. Many did not stay to see the dark main event of the night, which saw Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler defeat The Miz and AJ Styles.
ESPN personality Amin Elhassan is getting a lot of negative feedback on social media after a series of tweets about Kevin Owens’ 8-year-old son Owen. Earlier this week, KO’ wife posted a video on Instagram showing their son’s reaction to him winning the WWE Universal Championship on RAW. It was a nice moment of a child being genuinely proud of his father achieving the biggest moment of his career. Elhassan saw the video and decided to take a dig at pro wrestling being ‘entertainment.’
This got wrestling fans on Twitter riled up, with several of them pointing out to Elhassan that Kevin Owens’ son is autistic. In response to somebody telling Elhassan, “he’s autistic,” he replied:
After it was clarified that Kevin Owens son was autistic (which really has nothing to do with mocking a child for being proud of his father), Elhassan continued:
well that doesn't change anything then. Most 8 year olds think wrestling is unscripted.
Cody Rhodes caught wind of the exchange and told WWE they should have nothing to do with an organization that employs somebody who insults a child. He told them to stop working with TMZ after the tabloid site published the audio of his mother calling 911 when his father Dusty was dying.
As reported, more than 50 former WWE wrestlers – including Jimmy Snuka, Ahmed Johnson, Sabu, Kamala and Road Warrior Animal – recently filed a lawsuit against the company with accusations over brain injuries. Details on the suit with all plaintiffs listed are at this link.
Former WWE talent and current ESPN anchor Jonathan Coachman ripped the lawsuit and defended the company on ESPN’s First Take this week. Video is above and Coach’s comments are below:
“This is a very, very close topic for me. 2003 was the first time I got in the ring to train to be an in-ring participant. The very first day I was in there I suffered a concussion. There’s a very good chance, I didn’t get them all evaluated, but probably between 10 and 20 concussions during my time from 2003 – 2008. The one thing I’ve always said about Vince McMahon is this: he is more loyal than any person, boss or human being I’ve met in my life. and it’s not just because he signed my paychecks for nearly a decade. I don’t like it, in fact I hate it, when a certain group of people… and this was always the case when stars would leave to go somewhere else or they’d get fired because of something stupid they did, then they would blame Vince for whatever issues they had.
Vince has recognized that, so he has paid all these guys for years and years. And all he asks, all he asks, is once a year at WrestleMania they show up, sign some autographs, shake some hands and then he pays them enough to live. In response to this, what do these 50 guys do? They go out and file a lawsuit that he was not there for them and the company was not there for them when they had all these concussion issues.
This drives me crazy because for a lot of these people this is a dream, a dream come true. It’s not an easy business, it’s a tough business but to come out and say the company didn’t take care of you because of these concussions is just wrong, it will go away and as a former employee and a person that loves that business, it just drives me crazy and I don’t like it.”
Former WWE announcer and current ESPN broadcaster Jonathan Coachman thinks the Hell In A Cell match between Shane McMahon and The Undertaker was the true headlining match of WrestleMania 32. Coachman was recently a guest on Jim Ross’ podcast, where he theorized that Shane would get more props as a performer if he weren’t Vince McMahon’s son.
“If he wouldn’t have been Vince’s son, he would be considered one of the great performers of all time,” Coach said. “People want to see Shane jump off the cage or jump off the cell and then go through the table and have that look from Taker before going off the air.”
Ross compared WrestleMania 32 to WrestleMania 18, where The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan may have been considered a higher-profile match, but it didn’t close the show.
“The one thing I would have changed [about WrestleMania 32], and [Ross] will remember this, when Rock and Hogan finally met in Toronto, and that was the year they decided that the championship was going to mean everything,” Coachman said, “and so, Triple H and [Chris] Jericho went after that match. Such a mistake! That match was epic. It was 45 minutes of brilliance and the play-by-play was brilliant. And I thought, ‘this is going to be Toronto all over again.’ That’s what it felt like to me.”
Coachman also discussed whether he would ever return to WWE, and the company’s relationship with his current employers ESPN. You can listen to the entire podcast here.
Former WWE announcer Jonathan Coachman made a surprise appearance at Friday night’s WWE live event from Madison Square Garden.
Coach, who is currently an anchor at ESPN, said Shane McMahon called him and invited him to MSG. Coach brought out his favorite tag team, The Dudley Boyz. He served a the special guest ring announcer for the New Day vs. Dudley Boyz vs. Usos match. After The New Day retained their titles, Coach came back in the ring and revealed he was wearing a New Day “Booty O’s Cereal” shirt. He danced with The New Day, showing that he just loves to have fun, Maggul!
When asked if he’d be open to returning to WWE on a more regular basis one day, Coach said:
For the second week in a row, there was no WWE segment or WWE Superstar interview on ESPN SportsCenter.
Last week, ESPN analyst and former WWE talent Jonathan Coachman claimed that they were simply taking a week off because he was out of Bristol to take care of different ESPN duties. This week, while Coachman is covering the UFC events in Las Vegas this weekend, he was available if a WWE segment was booked as ESPN’s coverage of the UFC shows didn’t start that early in the week.
Despite the two-week break, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is reporting that the weekly segment is not canceled, nor is it considered “on hiatus.” There is a WWE segment currently booked for the show next Tuesday, December 15th. No guest has been announced as of yet, but “The Coach” will be back with someone from the WWE roster for an interview in the usual time slot.
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus appeared on ESPN SportsCenter with Jonathan Coachman on Tuesday evening.
Coach asked Sheamus about the rumors of an ISIS attack at the Survivor Series pay-per-view on Sunday. Sheamus claimed WWE took the threat very seriously and worked with all of the agencies throughout the weekend to ensure everyone’s safety at the event. He said the company has also increased security at live events, noting “there’s no safer place than a WWE event.”
“The Celtic Warrior” also spoke about winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on Sunday. The Coach asked what it means to be the only Irish-born WWE Superstar to win the title. Sheamus said he’s always been proud to be Irish and that the Irish are the hardest-hitting athletes in the world right now. He references UFC’s Conor McGregor and NXT’s Finn Balor as proof.
The interview closed out with Sheamus talking about being on the sidelines with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish recently. He said he would also be with them when they win the National Championship later this year. He hyped his TLC title defense against Roman Reigns and that was about it.
Former WWE announcer and current ESPN anchor Jonathan Coachman recently fielded some questions about his former employer on Twitter. When a fan asked if he would ever leave ESPN for WWE, he made it clear he’s not interested.
It's called loyalty. And for all of you asking if I am ever going back—ESPN is my home. And will be for 30 yrs. https://t.co/oBIY6mBE60
Coachman also killed a rumor about WWE paying ESPN to give them coverage. The Coach takes credit for the idea which has lead to a working relationship between WWE and ESPN.
@TheCoachESPN confirm or deny WWE is paying ESPN for the Tuesday spot on Sportscenter?
ESPN currently shows weekly highlight segments and breaking news stories about WWE. ESPN will also be providing extensive coverage leading up to WrestleMania 32 in April 2016. Coachman previously mentioned that ESPN will be covering more than just kayfabe news:
Trust me more is coming. Storylines will be a very small part of what we do. This is only the beginning. https://t.co/CLliZZcRbT
The editor of Fighting Spirit Magazine out of the U.K. recently contacted former WWE announcer turned ESPN analyst Jonathan Coachman if ESPN would only be covering WWE storylines. Coachman replied with the following tweet:
Trust me more is coming. Storylines will be a very small part of what we do. This is only the beginning. https://t.co/CLliZZcRbT
Coachman confirmed what we have been reporting for a while now, which is that fans can expect to see a lot more from WWE’s new business relationship with ESPN, including the fact that the sports cable channel will soon be an outlet that WWE uses to break stories, similar to how they have used TMZ in the past.
In addition to confirming the reports regarding ESPN covering WWE in a real way, the former WWE announcer still had some WWE pride left in him, as he also came to the defense of WWE by responding to a fan who wrote the following to him, “[WWE is] not even a sport. Just entertainment, and not very good at that.”
Coachman replied with the following:
These are great athletes. Instead of being the usual negative person on Twitter tune in you might learn something. https://t.co/ly7sKE0Z00
– On Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, it was announced that the four semi-finalists in the ongoing WWE World Heavyweight Title Tournament will be guests on a special edition of Miz TV on this week’s edition of SmackDown. The four semi-finalists, as seen on RAW, are Roman Reigns and Alberto Del Rio on one side of the bracket, and Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens on the other side. This week’s SmackDown will be taped on Tuesday night at the Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee.
– Also on Monday’s RAW, it was announced that WWE Divas Champion Charlotte will be appearing on ESPN SportsCenter on Tuesday to promote her title defense against Paige at this Sunday’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view.
– During a pre-recorded interview with the Gorilla Position podcast that was released on Wednesday, Paige was asked about Nikki Bella’s injury status and said she would probably be out of action for six more weeks depending on how she recovers. The interview was taped just before WWE kicked off its tour of Europe on Nov. 4, so Nikki could return sometime in December.
– Three episodes of SmackDown featuring The Undertaker have been added to the WWE Network vault; November 23, 2007, November 21, 2008 and September 18, 2009.
WWE United States Champion John Cena appeared on Tuesday night’s ESPN SportsCenter and spoke to a familiar face to WWE fans, former WWE broadcast team member Jonathan Coachman.
During the show, Coachman gave the top one-liner award for Monday’s RAW in Austin, Texas to The New Day for their dig at the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. Cesaro was given the top move award for his running uppercut train on Sheamus. Finally, the top post-match award went to the kendo stick attack Dean Ambrose delivered to Braun Strowman where Braun retaliated by slamming Dean on the floor, leading to a big Roman Reigns dive spot.
Cena spoke about his work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, noting that those moments mean the world to him. They also touched on WWE’s partnership with the Susan G. Komen Foundation and NXT, with Cena calling NXT the future of WWE. Cena took time to talk about the importance of NXT stars making sure to find themselves before joining the main roster, noting it would make stage fright less likely for the performers.
After telling Coach not to be a stranger, Cena thanked ESPN for their support.
You can check out videos of Cena’s appearance on the show here and here.
John Cena will be making an appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter Tuesday (10/20) night. The appearance will be for WWE’s new weekly segment, hosted by Jonathan Coachman.
– The following is a behind-the-scenes video of John Cena’s breast cancer awareness PSA. In the clip below, Cena does the “whip and nae-nae” with breast cancer survivor Ashlee Hunt.
– ESPN anchor and former WWE broadcast team member Jonathan Coachman posted the following on social media regarding what ESPN and WWE hope to accomplish with their new working relationship.
Thank you. We expect to have a lot of fun and bring some fans to espn and hopefully take some sports fans to WWE. https://t.co/BAUIpPtWl8
– WWE will tape this week’s editions of Smackdown and Main Event tonight at the US Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. Already announced for Smackdown this week is Dean Ambrose and The Dudley Boyz vs The New Day. Other Superstars advertised for tonight include Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, Bray Wyatt and Rusev.
– Jonathan Coachman Tweeted the following, confirming reports that Seth Rollins will be appearing on tonight’s 9pm EST live edition of ESPN’s SportsCenter:
ESPN analyst and former WWE announcer Jonathan Coachman is teasing that the two companies will be working together again in the very near future.
ESPN’s SportsCenter provided on-site coverage of WWE SummerSlam back August, something Coachman pushed for on social media and behind the scenes. Now, The Coach says ESPN and WWE are ‘taking another step together’ with an announcement coming in the next 48 hours.
The rumor is that ESPN will be covering WrestleMania 32 in 2016. Travel packages for the event go on sale this Wednesday, the same day Coachman will reveal the big announcement.
You have been asking for years and we are about to take another step. So excited. 48 hours. #wwe#joinus#letshavefun.
– Cesaro, generally known as one of the toughest stars in WWE, recently spoke with FOX Sports Australia and revealed who he feels is the strongest athlete in WWE.
“Mark Henry,” said Cesaro. “They don’t call him the Worlds Strongest Man for nothing. I was in the gym a couple of times when he was in there too and the weight he eats is scary.”
– Former WWE announcer turned ESPN analyst Jonathan Coachman tweeted the following photos of himself with various WWE talents. Coachman has been conducting interviews with WWE stars for ESPN’s SportsCenter during WWE SummerSlam weekend.
Jonathan Coachman recently spoke with Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard blog to promote ESPN’s coverage of WWE SummerSlam this Sunday night in Brooklyn, New York. Below are some of the highlights of the interview.
On how ESPN plans to cover this event: “We’re doing a lot of sit-downs on Saturday with guys who have cross-over appeal. We’re going to sit down and talk with different wrestlers that either played football in college, like Roman Reigns or John Cena, to the Miz, who was a reality star, so there are a lot of guys the casual sports fan would know. We’ll meet with them on Saturday, and those interviews will be on ESPN.com and our SportsCenter feed on Twitter, and then we’ll be doing live shots on Sunday morning from outside the arena to show people the atmosphere. Then we’ll interview a few people about what Sunday night means to their careers.”
On how he will approach covering the event: “We’re used to dealing with athletes and asking, ‘What does this game mean to you?’ Well, performing at SummerSlam is just like performing in the NFC Championship game. You’ve got to bring your top game so you can make it to the Super Bowl in WrestleMania. We want to introduce a lot of these guys to the part of the sports world who don’t watch Raw.”
On possibly working for WWE again and his plans at ESPN: “ESPN is not a place you come to take the next step, it’s a place you come to spend your career. I plan on retiring at ESPN, but I would love to be involved with ESPN and WWE. The biggest network in America for credibility in sports and entertainment is ESPN, so the best way to make your product credible is to be on ESPN. I’m proud of the fact that I am the liaison for the WWE. I appreciate the executives at ESPN opening their hearts and their minds, and I can’t think of anything cooler than what we’re doing this weekend at SummerSlam.”
– This week’s SmackDown will feature an 8-man tag match with Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Cesaro and Randy Orton squaring off against Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, Kevin Owens and Sheamus. As always, join us here tonight for Live Coverage of the SmackDown tapings.
– Jonathan Coachman tweeted the following after WWE confirmed that ESPN’s SportsCenter will be covering SummerSlam live from Brooklyn this Sunday.
Honestly overwhelmed at the news of us coming to @wwe Summerslam. Will be a blast. Check out twitter,espn/wwe.com, and tv. Have a blast.
The other former WWE announcer turned ESPN anchor, Todd Grisham, told fans on Twitter that he unfortunately won’t be joining The Coach at the Barclays Center:
To those asking, no I won't be at Summerslam. Once again @TheCoachESPN has to hog all the spotlight.
Coachman, who worked in WWE for years before leaving to work at his current place of employment, ESPN, will be at the show at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York to cover the event for the sports channel.
So next weekend does anyone know of anything to do in Brooklyn. Don't have anything on my schedule. No wait… Yes I do. #SS
After dropping hints on social media, ESPN’s P.R. team has confirmed that Coachman will be in Brooklyn covering the event for ESPN’s SportsCenter.
The belief is that while ESPN won’t be covering SummerSlam like a major “SportsCenter on the Road” type of coverage that they give other major sporting events, Coachman will be at the show specifically to cover it as a reporter for ESPN.
Whether or not he appears on the show in some form or fashion remains to be seen.
It looks like a former prominent member of the WWE broadcast team during the infamous “Attitude Era” is teasing a possible appearance at next Sunday’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view.
Jonathan Coachman, who was often affectionately referred to as “The Coach” during his run in WWE, dropped a hint on Twitter on Saturday evening, only hours later to basically outright confirm the news.
“So next weekend does anyone know of anything to do in Brooklyn,” Coachman wrote. “Don’t have anything on my schedule. No wait… Yes I do. #SS.”
From there, a fan asked if we would see “The Coach” on-air during the event, to which Coachman replied, “I’m not going just to be a spectator.” Coachman, who now works for ESPN as an on-air analyst, concluded with the hash-tag, “#SportsCenter.”
Check out Coachman’s tweets below.
So next weekend does anyone know of anything to do in Brooklyn. Don't have anything on my schedule. No wait… Yes I do. #SS
An interesting thing to keep an eye on over the next month is how much ESPN covers this year’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view, as well as the SummerSlam weekend festivities.
Behind-the-scenes at ESPN right now, there are two different viewpoints. Jonathan Coachman, the former WWE broadcaster turned ESPN analyst has pushed fans to contact ESPN with the idea of covering SummerSlam like it’s a major sporting event.
There are those in ESPN who have fallen for the idea that WWE is “hot” right now, despite the fact that ratings are at record low levels and live attendance is around its’ usual levels.
ESPN is said to be feeling pressure because the company’s revenues are dropping significantly. There are those who work for ESPN, however, that are dead set against the network covering pro wrestling because of the fact that it’s not a legitimate sporting event.
Former WWE announcer and ESPN personality Jonathan Coachman recently appeared as a guest on the Busted Open Radio show. Below are highlights from the interview.
On if he was surprised by Brock Lesnar retire from MMA and re-sign with WWE? “I wasn’t because I know how difficult it was for him the way it ended in UFC and the toll the illness put on his body. I spoke to him about a year and a half ago and it was very evident that he was really happy to be back in the WWE. I’ve spoken to both UFC and WWE guys and they each say that they wouldn’t be able to do the other. To only do UFC twice a year, and possibly have the disappointment if his body failed again, it would be too much for Brock to handle psychologically and probably physically as well.”
On Brock Lesnar’s decision to use ESPN for his announcement: “I thought it was cool that he chose SportsCenter to make his decision and I also thought it was cool that ESPN decided to do that. We’re definitely heading in the right direction. ESPN is my home but my love for WWE hasn’t gone away. To be able to do both for at least one day and hopefully more in the future, it was fantastic. ESPN contacted me to be an analyst and ask Brock a couple of questions based off his decision. I didn’t know what he was going to do until he actually announced it. We were coming up with those questions on the spot so it was a surprise to everybody.”
On Brock’s attitude change and having fun in the WWE ring: “When you first start out in the business, you’re worried about how to make the most money. You’re working 28-30 days a month and you realize while you’re making all this money, you’re killing your body, you can’t get to the gym, can’t eat right. All these factors stop it from becoming fun. During my last few years it stopped being fun for me. So when you step away for a while and then come back, you gain a different perspective and it becomes fun again. Brock’s in his mid to late 30’s now so his perspective is different from when he first came out as an NCAA champion and needed to show the rest of the world how tough he was. He doesn’t need to do that anymore so he’s going to have more fun than he ever had before.”
On if he feels the rest of the WWE roster will resent Brock Lesnar for having a special long-term deal “There has always been that factor in the locker room when it comes to that type of situation. One of my roles in WWE when I was there was making the young guys understand how the world of WWE works. What I would say to those guys is until you’re a main event guy and people are spending money just to see you, you won’t be treated like a star. Star Power is a real thing and while it doesn’t seem fair, the star does deserve more money and benefits. This is show business. The faster they learn that they need to be able to talk and climb that ladder, the faster they will reach the top and get that treatment as well.”
On how tough the WrestleMania crowd will be on Roman Reigns: “It’s going to be really tough on him. Stars have to learn how to connect with the fans and stay connected. It starts with what comes out of your mouth and if you can’t make people believe in you with what you are saying, it doesn’t matter how good you can wrestle. He needs to focus on how to get the fans to get emotional about him and buy into what he is selling them and not worry so much about his match with Lesnar. Lesnar succeeded in that with his interview yesterday and did what Reigns hasn’t been able to do yet. The Rock proved that if you can be a great heel, you can become the biggest babyface in the business.”
– TNA will hold a double-taping of TNA Xplosion matches, along with eight TNA One Night Only pay-per-view tapings in Orlando, Florida from February 12 through February 16th. Three of the One Night Only themes will be Knockouts Knockdown 3, World Cup 3, and Joker’s Wild 3.
– The latest edition of Taz’s “Human Podcast Machine” show, which features former WWE announcer Jonathan Coachman, is now available at Play.it. Later this month, Taz will interview Sabu.
– In the following video, TNA announcer Josh Mathews talks about the bad bump that Jeff Hardy took off of the steel cage at the TNA Lockdown show on Friday. He also talks about Matt Hardy appearing on next week’s edition of Impact Wrestling from Glasgow, Scotland.
