Jonathan Coachman On Fans Not Connecting With Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar And More

ESPN’s Jonathan Coachman joined Doug Mortman and Dave Lagreca on Busted Open. You can hear Busted Open on SiriusXM 92 and on the SiriusXM app. Also go to BustedOpenNation.com for all the details.

On Brock’s decision to retire from MMA and resign with WWE:

“I wasn’t because I know how difficult it was for him the way it ended in UFC and the toll the illness put on his body. I spoke to him about a year and a half ago and it was very evident that he was really happy to be back in the WWE. I’ve spoken to both UFC and WWE guys and they each say that they wouldn’t be able to do the other. To only do UFC twice a year, and possibly have the disappointment if his body failed again, it would be too much for Brock to handle psychologically and probably physically as well.”

On Brock’s decision to use ESPN as his forum:

“I thought it was cool that he chose SportsCenter to make his decision and I also thought it was cool that ESPN decided to do that. We’re definitely heading in the right direction. ESPN is my home but my love for WWE hasn’t gone away. To be able to do both for at least one day and hopefully more in the future, it was fantastic. ESPN contacted me to be an analyst and ask Brock a couple of questions based off his decision. I didn’t know what he was going to do until he actually announced it. We were coming up with those questions on the spot so it was a surprise to everybody.”

On Brock’s attitude change and having fun in the wrestling ring:

“When you first start out in the business, you’re worried about how to make the most money. You’re working 28-30 days a month and you realize while you’re making all this money, you’re killing your body, you can’t get to the gym, can’t eat right. All these factors stop it from becoming fun. During my last few years it stopped being fun for me. So when you step away for a while and then come back, you gain a different perspective and it becomes fun again. Brock’s in his mid to late 30’s now so his perspective is different from when he first came out as an NCAA champion and needed to show the rest of the world how tough he was. He doesn’t need to do that anymore so he’s going to have more fun than he ever had before.”

On whether or not there’s going to be any resentment towards Brock from the rest of the roster that is there throughout the entire year:

“There has always been that factor in the locker room when it comes to that type of situation. One of my roles in WWE when I was there was making the young guys understand how the world of WWE works. What I would say to those guys is until you’re a main event guy and people are spending money just to see you, you won’t be treated like a star. Star Power is a real thing and while it doesn’t seem fair, the star does deserve more money and benefits. This is show business. The faster they learn that they need to be able to talk and climb that ladder, the faster they will reach the top and get that treatment as well.”

How tough is it going to be for Roman Reigns with the WrestleMania Crowd?

“It’s going to be really tough on him. Stars have to learn how to connect with the fans and stay connected. It starts with what comes out of your mouth and if you can’t make people believe in you with what you are saying, it doesn’t matter how good you can wrestle. He needs to focus on how to get the fans to get emotional about him and buy into what he is selling them and not worry so much about his match with Lesnar. Lesnar succeeded in that with his interview yesterday and did what Reigns hasn’t been able to do yet. The Rock proved that if you can be a great heel, you can become the biggest babyface in the business.”