Jonathan Coachman's original run with WWE went from 1999 to 2008 where he worked as a commentator, interviewer, authority figure, and more.
In 2005, Coachman was supposed to face Stone Cold Steve Austin at Taboo Tuesday but the Texas Rattlesnake ended up getting pulled from the show and replaced by Batista. During a recent Q&A session on AdFreeShow Patreon, The Coach explained exactly why the match didn't happen.
"I'll start this by saying I love Stone Cold Steve Austin. The last couple years we connected a couple times, and I have a lot of respect for what he's done and what he meant to the business. That was not one of his best moments. He felt like it was below him to step into the ring with me. Even though the storyline was pretty good and at the time I was a heel that was getting quite a bit of heat in the arenas. It wouldn't have been much more than talking a little trash, you know, Stone Cold Stunner and then I'd wear a dress, but he didn't even show up," Coachman said.
Despite his not showing up, Coachman holds no ill will towards Austin and says the only thing he regrets about the situation is not getting the bigger payday for facing Stone Cold. He added the following:
"He didn't show up. That's the truth. He felt like it was below him, he didn't show up, but it wasn't the only time that he did that. The only thing -- I'm not even bitter to this day about it. I wish I would have got the check. Because I didn't get the check. When you wrestled Stone Cold you got paid more. But I have no ill will towards him at all because he had a long career, he had a lot of things going on, he was a big star, and I certainly wasn't in his world. But that particular time, I wouldn't say it was his best moment."
Austin hasn't competed in a match since his WrestleMania 19 face-off with The Rock.
The Coach would leave WWE in 2008, going to ESPN. After making various appearances throughout the years, he returned to WWE in 2018 as part of the Raw commentary team alongside Michael Cole and Corey Graves. He would, however, leave later that year
Coachman currently works for CBS Sports and others. You can read his comments about his 2018 WWE run here and how Corey Graves didn't want him on the commentary booth.
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