Don't expect to see Jonathan Coachman return to the world of professional wrestling.
When Coachman's second run with the WWE came to an end, many fans began to wonder if 'The Coach' would ever make a return to the wrestling industry. Coachman currently works for NBC Sports, where he serves as an announcer for various golf events.
In a new interview with Chris Van Vliet, Coachman put any chatter about a potential wrestling return to bed, as he stated that there is nothing that could make him go back to that industry.
“I’m kind of in that reflective point of my life now because I know for a fact that my wrestling career is over. There is nothing that could make me go back and do that, so now you get into a reflective state.”
When Van Vliet brought up the fact that many people in wrestling have similar mindsets, Coachman noted that that a wrestling commentator is not what he aspires to be.
“Yeah, but it’s usually people that their lives are wrestling. That’s what they aspire to be, that’s not who I aspire to be. I got lucky. Then, there were things in the last five years that make me not want to go back. I was 100% loyal to that company and when things happen, sometimes you got to draw a line in the sand and say, I can’t be treated that way and still go back and be loyal to that company. It’s not like they need me anyway, they’re not crying over spilled milk, but I like to think I treat people a certain way and I want to be treated that way. So yeah, I would never go back.”
Coachman went on to explain his mindset, as he told a story about how a check for his work in the XFL was bounced during the early days of the COVID 19 pandemic. Coachman noted that this incident was a big slap in the face to him, as he had worked for Vince McMahon for twenty years.
“So, I went back in 2017 and I kind of instantly knew this is not where I really need to be or want to be, but it was a nice bridge between ESPN and what the next full time thing was going to be. So in my personal life, I was moving to California, so I didn’t really know what I was going to do next. It was fun, but the people I worked with on the shows, I don’t know what it was, they didn’t really want me to be there. I got switched to the pre-show, that was fun. That was just once a month I had to show up, and that was cool. When they called me and said, ‘Hey, we’d love for you to come back.’ I said, ‘Hey, I’m already doing Golf. I had five events booked and I said, ‘I’m missing the shows that week.’ [They said], ‘No problem, no problem.’ Until it was a problem. I missed one show in ten years in my first run, I missed five shows in the first seven months of my second run. But I think everybody would agree, the schedule has changed now, but they were running people into the ground. Nobody should be working 52 weeks a year, nobody. They shouldn’t be having new shows 52 weeks a year, let’s be honest. Everybody inside of WWE says it, they just don’t want to admit it. No company should work that way. But for me, what it was, I’ll just be honest with you Chris, they came to me and [brought up] XFL 2020 and [told me] that Vince needs somebody there that they trust that can do it the right way. I was flying from California to New York every week to do the pre-show, cause they hired a lot of people that had never worked for him before. I trust Vince implicitly, I’ve done so much for him and he knows that. You turn in invoices, right. Well, I didn’t turn mine in right away because I had worked for him for twenty years, he had always paid me. So, COVID happens, and I have a fairly large check and I hold onto it for a couple of days. I go put it in the bank, it bounces. It bounces. I called, texted a high executive there and I got a response [saying], oh, that’s a lot of money. I said, ‘Can you call Vince and we’ll just take care of this quietly? No big deal.’ They ghosted me. Absolutely ghosted me and Vince has that amount of money in his back pocket, you know what I mean? It really hit me hard. It wasn’t the money, it was the process, you know what I mean? I’ll never forget Chris, I sit there one day I’m going, man, they really bounced a check to me? I did get a second text. It was like, oh, that’s another company, I don’t think there’s anything we can do. Basically telling me that the people I’d worked with for twenty years, oh that’s the XFL, it’s not the WWE — but the same guy owns the two. That to me was a complete slap in the face. Some people there just don’t care. I’m not going to name names, it’s not my style. Even to this day and anybody that watches this interview will agree with me because it’s true, there are certain people, and they’re usually the ones who get the biggest bonuses, who do not care what happens below them. I had literally done everything I had been asked to do and this is how you’re going to treat me? They didn’t care, they did not care. I even gave it months because they were going through it, there was no shows, the company is losing money, I felt for all of that. But then, eight months later, when you start advertising the biggest year we’ve ever had financially making all of this money and you can’t make things right? At this point in my life, I can’t work for people like that. I cannot work for people who do not care about human beings to the point that in a spot where you really need it, because we all lost our jobs during COVID. That’s when you’re going to decide to turn your back on a guy who’s been loyal for 20 years? The things that I’ve done for that company would blow your mind. I was 100% loyal and they were not loyal to me.”
Coachman first explained this incident in detail back in September 2021. Fans can learn more by clicking here.
The XFL, which is now owned by Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, recently merged with the USFL. Fans can learn more here.
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