On a recent podcast, Coachman says that the XFL formerly owned by wrestling magnate Vince McMahon still owes him money due from an agreement to step into the WWE owner’s football side of things to help make sure McMahon was happy. The debt stems from travel from California to Connecticut, for which he was never reimbursed.
On the podcast, “Ask Coach Anything Live” the former wrestling commentator says that he will not return to the WWE at all because of the way he was treated by McMahon in the XFL.
“I have a very bad taste in my mouth from the sport of wrestling right now. I’m at a point in my life that everything I do, I want it to be positive. I want it to be working with people that care about other people. I want it to be working with companies which I’m now within CBS, the PGA Tour, and EA Sports that they put people first.”
Jonathan Coachman
Coachman says that he paid his own expenses, which was close to $20,000. Since he had a 20-year relationship with McMahon, he didn’t feel the need to turn in invoices because he had always done what he said he said would do, and they had always held up their end. The check bounced, and to this day, he has not been paid. After the payment didn’t clear, they cut his WWE contract.
“I will never work with somebody like that again. So, the taste in my mouth from wrestling right now is very, very bitter because when you put in 20 years into somebody, a relationship to help them build their brand, and then they just turn your back on you over, to them, a little bit of money. To me, it was a lot of money. Then at the same time, they’re cashing in millions of dollars in stock, and laying people off the same day they are doing that is bad business. To me, you can’t take money when you’re gone. You can’t take anything but your legacy and how you treat people. I know that I treat people great every single day of my life. I can go to bed and put my head down. When I got that reaction, they basically told me, ‘That’s another company. We’ll talk to Vince, but I don’t know if there’s anything I can do.’ That’s when I knew that I had been gotten just like so many other people had been gotten before me, that they were willing to throw away somebody that was dedicated to them for 20 years over money, and that’s why I will never go back.”
Coachman has been a former wrestler himself for the WWE, before becoming a media member for the sport. He was also part of ESPN from 2008-2017, after which he joined NBC Sports Group.
He says he has the receipt from his expenses, so if anyone wants to question his claims, they can feel free to do so. This is just another example of how badly the company was run by McMahon, and we can only hope the length of time it has taken the new XFL to get started, means that this like this will not happen again.
Stephen Bonacci
September 20, 2021 at 11:22 am
I to have a employee to employer contract signed and initialed. They owe me 18,000$ no different than a hand shake agreement. And as far as I concern it is up to NYDOL for wage theft. Jonathan is a pee-on like the rest of us. Help them brand and get screwedfrom there stupidness.