Jonathan Coachman just took a flamethrower to WWE’s roster, claiming the company could dump 85% of the wrestlers currently appearing on television and keep rolling like nothing happened.
The brutal comment came during the Coach and Bro Show as Vince Russo argued that WWE has made life harder by keeping Raw and SmackDown separated. Russo believes ending the brand split would let the company stop stretching its stories across two largely independent rosters and return to the way SmackDown originally worked—as a continuation of Raw.
“Can we start with killing the brand split? With two shows, you have to create double the amount of content. Bro, I don’t think people understand—I wrote the first SmackDown. SmackDown was a continuation of Raw. That’s what it was. Then, all of a sudden, they split the brands!”
Russo then asked Coachman how many wrestlers WWE could release immediately without damaging the product. Coach didn’t need time to think as he said, “85%.”
That is a staggering number, especially considering how many wrestlers are currently fighting for television time across Raw and SmackDown. Coachman’s answer suggests he believes only a small portion of the roster is truly essential, while everybody else could disappear without ratings, ticket sales or weekly storylines taking a meaningful hit.
Russo completely agreed and said WWE could save money, reduce the size of its roster and make creative much easier by using one group of talent across both shows.
“Easy, bro. So you want to save money, you want to cut down on talent, you want to make your job easier? Go back to one storyline from SmackDown to Raw to SmackDown to Raw.”
WWE may have one of the deepest talent pools in wrestling, but Coachman clearly does not believe depth automatically equals value. In his eyes, the company is carrying far more wrestlers than it actually needs—and ending the brand split would expose just how many names are truly replaceable.
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Do you agree with Jonathan Coachman that WWE could cut most of its roster without hurting the product, or is that taking things too far? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
