Former WWE Personality Jonathan Coachman Assesses State Of Promotion, Industry

Jonathan Coachman cut his teeth in the wrestling business during the Attitude Era, arguably the most successful period in wrestling history. Fast forward to today, and we're seeing wrestling's popularity surge to levels not seen since those heady days.

When Bully Ray asked Coachman on "Busted Open Radio" whether the entire wrestling scene is hot or if it is just WWE, Coachman didn't mince words. 

"All the AEW haters are gonna come out of the woodwork right now. I think the WWE is hot, because of the stars that they have, the storylines that they have," Coachman said. "There is no substitution for star power and I think right now in the WWE, you got these gigantic characters. When you look at a place that now are running three nights in a row [in the same city], running Friday, Saturday, all this stuff. You've gotta be hot to be able to do that."

Coachman then turned his attention to AEW, stating that WWE, at one point, was also in a lull, much like AEW, and offered a more critical perspective on the fledgling promotion.

"When I look at AEW, you gotta have a company and talent and people at the top that understand the good and the bad and are willing to talk about it and not just walk by," Coachman theorized. "I was there [in WWE] when it was red hot. I was there when they had 2000 people sitting in the stands. And you gotta be able to kind of get through all of that. And AEW right now, they're just starting that process. WWE is red hot. I don't think AEW is."

AEW's viewership and ratings have dipped in recent weeks, with last week's "AEW Dynamite" bringing in just under 700,000 viewers.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for transcription.