Jonathan Coachman believes WWE has a major pacing problem right now — and he says the company’s packed event calendar is making it harder for stories to breathe.
While speaking on 2 Count Tuesday, Coachman called out WWE’s nonstop schedule, pointing to premium live events, Saturday Night’s Main Event specials, Netflix commitments, ESPN obligations, Peacock, and NBC as part of the issue.
In his view, WWE has so many big shows lined up that creative is being forced to rush angles instead of letting them build naturally. Coachman said impatience has always been one of pro wrestling’s biggest problems, but the current WWE calendar has made it even worse.
“The biggest problem in pro wrestling, and it’s always been this way, is impatience. When you have a show every single week, you get this overwhelming thing. The crowd is getting impatient. So, we’re gonna get impatient with storylines.”
Coachman then used Oba Femi as an example, arguing that WWE should have taken more time to build him up against recognizable names before bringing Brock Lesnar back into the picture.
“What needed to happen was Oba start to beat guys with some name value. And then guys like you and I every week we talk about, ‘Oh wait a second, he got challenged a little bit more, a little bit more, a little bit more.’ And just when he thought he was going to climb over the mountain, then bam, that’s when Brock comes back at the end of June or the beginning of July.”
Coachman also pointed to CM Punk and Roman Reigns as another example of WWE getting into major stories too quickly. He argued that three months of WWE television feels much longer because the company is constantly producing content.
“We saw this with CM Punk and Roman Reigns. You get into stuff way too early. And three months of TV, JD, is like three years of normal TV.”
Coachman then laid out the real problem, saying WWE simply does not have enough breathing room between major shows anymore, pointing out how there has barely been any time between Backlash, Saturday Night’s Main Event and Clash in Italy.
“So where do you go when you have Backlash three weeks after Mania, Saturday Night’s Main Event two weeks later, Clash of Italy two weeks later, and then Night of Champions three weeks later? You don’t have any room to build these storylines. That’s why you got to do this shock and awe. The build is the problem.”
He also blamed WWE’s media deals and programming commitments, saying the company has signed so many contracts that it now has to constantly find places for special events.
“And they have literally signed contracts. Everything you described was Netflix, ESPN, Peacock, and in some ways NBC, and then they moved it over to Peacock just to get an extra check.”
Coachman didn’t stop there, either. He said the Saturday Night’s Main Event specials are part of the problem because WWE had to fit four of them into an already loaded schedule.
“That’s why they signed these Saturday Night’s Main Events. And they had to figure out where do we put them? We’ve got four of them.”
For Coachman, the result is that some major shows end up feeling less special. He said when WWE only has two weeks between events, those shows can start feeling like filler instead of can’t-miss moments: “And to me, if you have two weeks in between, that’s when you have essentially a Collision as one of your big events. And that becomes embarrassing.”
Coachman also suggested that WWE’s booking structure is being affected by the schedule, with multi-person matches becoming a shortcut when there is not enough time to build several singles matches.
“In June and July, that’s what we’re doing. That’s why they’re doing these because you’re able to skip four matches essentially if you have these fatal four-ways as opposed to having one-on-ones.”
Coachman clearly believes WWE’s business is bigger than ever, but that success is creating a creative problem. With so many shows, platforms, and obligations on the calendar, WWE may be making plenty of money — but Coachman thinks the actual storytelling is paying the price.
Do you agree with Jonathan Coachman that WWE has too many major events, or do you think the packed schedule makes the product more exciting? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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