Jonathan Coachman is calling out WWE over Andreas Hale being denied WrestleMania credentials, and he believes the whole situation makes the company look petty.
While speaking on 2 Count Tuesday, Coachman defended Hale and said the ESPN reporter is a real wrestling fan who does his job well. He pointed to Hale’s past criticism of WWE programming and questioned why WWE would have an issue with a reporter giving an honest grade.
“I had Andreas Hale on—he does a solid job, he’s a legit wrestling fan. And last year, when they started the relationship, he gave WrestleMania a C++. I don’t know why WWE doesn’t understand—look at the NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball—they all have deals with ESPN, and there are reporters like Adam Schefter who cover those sports honestly.”
Coachman then said WWE appeared to have a problem with Hale giving the company a bad grade, which he believes led to the credential situation: “But apparently there’s an issue when you give a bad grade.” He brought up Hale’s claim that WWE denied him credentials for WrestleMania and never gave ESPN a clear reason. Coachman then connected that to ESPN quietly restoring AEW coverage on its website.
“So they didn’t give him a credential for WrestleMania. On my radio show, he said, ‘They never gave us a reason. We couldn’t get in touch with anybody.’ And now, very quietly, ESPN.com has opened up the AEW tab again and is covering All Elite Wrestling.”
Coachman said ESPN has done its part in the WWE relationship, but he believes WWE has been allowed to control too much of the presentation because of the money involved.
“ESPN has done everything they know how to do. I’ve given them a ton of credit. The problem is, years ago when we started building this relationship, they let us lead the charge—we said we need to be at WrestleMania, we need to be here. But now, because this is a big-money deal, they’ve let WWE lead the charge.”
He then criticized WWE’s desire to put talent across ESPN programming, arguing that not every show is the right fit for a pro wrestler appearance.
“And WWE said they want talent on every show, whether it makes sense or not. On a 6 PM SportsCenter, it doesn’t make sense to have a pro wrestler—it’s a news show. That should be for entertainment segments or separate programming.”
Coachman said ESPN needs to figure out that balance, but he put most of the blame on WWE for denying a credential to a reporter tied to its own broadcast partner.
“And hopefully they figure that out, because ESPN has done their part. But for WWE to be so petty—to take someone’s credential away at your biggest event, on their platform—is embarrassing.”
Coachman also praised the ESPN reporter for not lashing out publicly after the situation, saying Hale handled it respectfully despite having every reason to be upset.
“And for Andreas not to go off, I give him a lot of credit. He was very respectful. But when you’re a reporter in wrestling, you’re supposed to give your opinion—if you like something, you say it; if you don’t, you say that too.”
He then said WWE should be willing to hear criticism instead of surrounding itself with praise. Coachman used the idea of an ombudsman to explain how smart companies bring in outside voices to identify problems.
“There’s a term—ombudsman. A smart company brings someone in to say, ‘Tell me what’s good, what’s bad, what we need to change.’ But when you just tell yourself everything you do is great, you ignore real problems.”
Jonathan Coachman argued that ESPN reporters are supposed to report honestly on what they see, and he said Hale is one of the few people who can cover both MMA and pro wrestling with real knowledge.
“When you’re ESPN, your reporters are supposed to report what they see—and Andreas is an expert in MMA and pro wrestling. They don’t have many people who can do that.”
He then warned that WWE is now operating on a different level because of its ESPN deal, and that the company cannot expect major media coverage while also trying to control the reaction.
“WWE has to understand—they’ve never been in this position before. This is a different level. This is why they got a massive deal from ESPN. But you can’t have it both ways.”
Coachman said the issue makes WWE look like it is trying to control the narrative around coverage. He also brought up Mark Shapiro’s ESPN background, arguing that Shapiro should understand why this kind of situation looks bad from a media standpoint.
“They’re trying to control the narrative—what gets covered, how it gets covered—and that’s a bad look. And the crazy part is, Mark Shapiro used to be one of the heads at ESPN. He should know better.”
Coachman closed by saying WWE should not act so bothered by AEW or critical coverage when it is already the biggest wrestling company in the world. He then said WWE’s behavior risks making the company look small despite its massive global status.
“When you’re number one, you can’t show that you care this much about number two. Because what’s going to happen is—whether it’s ESPN, Andreas Hale, whoever—they’re going to start moving away from you. Because it starts to feel petty. And you can’t be petty when you’re a global brand making billions and billions of dollars.”
The comments come after Hale previously said he would not be covering WrestleMania 42 for ESPN because WWE denied his credentials and blocked his access. Hale also said neither he nor ESPN were given an explanation for the decision.
“I will not be covering #WrestleMania for ESPN. WWE denied my credentials and blocked my access. Neither I nor ESPN has been told why. You can speculate on the reasons, but if you want answers, ask WWE. Let me know what they tell you.”
The situation gained more attention because Hale had previously reviewed WWE’s WrestlePalooza and gave the event a C grade while praising IYO SKY vs. Stephanie Vaquer as the clear standout, while criticizing everything else.
“The excellent Vaquer vs. Sky match saved this show from being truly average. It was a phenomenal display inside the squared circle. “Everything else was either underwhelming (the short Rhodes-McIntyre match) or a setup for a future match (Lesnar dominating Cena). For a card that promised to have epic moments, it fell a little short of expectations.”
ESPN had already restored its AEW section with Hale writing a major feature on AEW World Champion Darby Allin ahead of Double or Nothing. That timing gave Coachman even more reason to criticize WWE’s approach, especially as ESPN appears willing to expand its wrestling coverage beyond WWE.
WWE may be the industry leader, but Coachman believes denying Hale access over critical coverage sends the wrong message. In his view, a company making billions should be able to handle honest reporting without looking petty.
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