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WWE News: WWE Not Paying Jonathan Coachman And ESPN To Air Weekly Segments

By Jon Fisher
Published on: 09:06 PST, Nov 24, 2015

Criticism still exist about the relationship between WWE and ESPN. Jonathan Coachman, former WWE employee, is at ESPN and wanted to make a segment on WWE that would make people happy. WWE has a big fanbase, which helps ESPN. At the same time, Vince McMahon understands fans aren’t coming in packs to his arenas. ESPN can help with that, as fans will see it on the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” and pay attention.

However, the reason skepticism is present is that fans are believing that the WWE is simply paying Coachman to promote their product on the biggest sports network in the world. As Coachman admirably does, he replies nicely to WWE fans and points out their ignorance and false accusations.

Recently, Coachman had to do it again and simply explain why ESPN does an “Off the Top Rope” segment.

“ESPN announcer Jonathan Coachman has been handling a lot of fan criticism on Twitter, over how ESPN covers WWE. Coachman noted that the ESPN – WWE partnership was all his idea and most people are enjoying it. He also told one fan he’s not returning to WWE as ESPN is his home,” according to Daily Wrestling News.

ESPN does make it known that they aren’t covering the WWE like a sport. Coachman, along with other reporters, cover sports around the world. Some consider it professional wrestling and not a sport, and that topic will remain subjective. Coachman answered that question to those who kept asking it. WWE isn’t a sport and it’s entertainment.

“For those of you loving the WWE “Off the Top Rope,” and there are many thank you. For those speculating on what’s next. Stop. You don’t know.

“And the next time we report on a finish of a match will be the first time. Understand it’s no longer x’s and o’s. #entertainment.

“And that’s all it’s meant to be. We are NOT covering it like a sport. Never were never will. It’s fun. Period.”

WWE isn’t having success at the moment. Any kind of attention they can get is positive. They are consistently hitting record-lows for non-holiday programs. Many reasons can be looked at for this reason. Coachman reporting and interviewing a WWE star each week isn’t doing harm. It’s everything else that’s doing them harm.

What happened at Survivor Series two nights ago? Sheamus cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase. Roman Reigns beat Alberto Del Rio, Dean Ambrose defeated Kevin Owens, and Reigns ended up pinning Ambrose clean in the main event. For five minutes and 15 seconds, Reigns finally angered the WWE Universe and won his first WWE World Heavyweight championship.

In the Divas title match, Charlotte beat Paige by submission. The Undertaker and Kane beat Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper. All in all, the Brothers of Destruction dominated their match against the Wyatt Family. Lastly, there was a traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series match that wasn’t promoted more than several hours before Survivor Series took place.

Meanwhile, many WWE stars got injured and that includes a big injury. Seth Rollins, Cesaro, Sami Zayn, and Hideo Itami will miss at least four months of their careers due to injuries. Tyson Kidd isn’t guaranteed to wrestle again and Daniel Bryan still hasn’t returned. Problems exist and the WWE isn’t handling it.

Something needs to change in the WWE. Coachman’s boost of popularity is helping, but the ratings are telling a different story the WWE isn’t fond of. The next step may be a new executive in charge, or reducing the amount of hours WWE Raw is each week. Either way, it’s bad.

[Image via RickyMinton / Shutterstock.com]

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