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WWE News: Jonathan Coachman Talks 50+ Former WWE Wrestlers Suing Company

By Jon Fisher
Published on: 10:04 PST, Jul 22, 2016

The world of professional wrestling has changed since the beginning. It’s had its fair share of ups and downs. One of the down moments in WWE history is Chris Benoit and the steroid scandal in the mid-2000s. Despite that, there have been great moments that nobody will ever forget. The Rock, Daniel Bryan, John Cena, and Connor’s Cure highlight the best parts about professional wrestling. Not many can match their philanthropy and impact they have on the community.

In the past week, another negative moment took place within the WWE Universe. Over 50 wrestlers ganged up on the WWE and filed a lawsuit against the company for injuries they sustained during their careers. According to CNN, the lawsuit specifically highlights head injuries.

“…The head trauma that has resulted in injury is the accumulated effect of many impacts to the Plaintiffs’ heads that occurred on a regular, routine basis during their WWE career.”

For those that watch professional wrestling, the past displayed vicious spots and shots to the head. Most infamously, the chair shot to the head was a primary part of pro wrestling.

Every time that chair came out, the crowd waited for that dreaded swing of the aluminum object to the cranium. Anybody with a head can say that they don’t want anything coming at their head with full force. Wrestlers used to take those on a regular basis.

On a whim, these 50+ wrestlers decided to join forces and sue the WWE for their injuries. Former WWE star Jonathan Coachman is now with ESPN as an anchor. He had some choice words about the lawsuit towards WWE in the past few days.

“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 to 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.”

One name on that list is Chavo Guerrero. He wrestled for the WWE for quite a while in the 2000s. The one problem that many have with him on that list is his willingness to take chair shots when it was at its peak in the WWE. He’s suing the WWE for something that he did to put on a great show for the WWE Universe. The thing that many WWE fans don’t realize is that wrestlers can deny doing a spot.

When they book the match with a producer, it is discussed and they plan what spot will go where and how the match will end. A great example lies within Mick Foley and the Undertaker’s Hell in a Cell match in Pittsburgh. Foley was thrown off the top of the cell and crashed down onto the announce table. He was incapacitated for a moment, but eventually finished the match.

Foley didn’t have to do that in the WWE, but now it’s an iconic moment that will live forever. Vince McMahon, Undertaker, or WWE officials didn’t force him to do that. These 50+ wrestlers don’t understand that. The end result with this lawsuit won’t end well for the wrestlers. The WWE will persist and it will go by the wayside. Coachman is right.

[Image via mshake3 | Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and resized | CC BY-SA 2.5]

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