Jonathan Coachman Questions WWE Unreal’s Backstage Access

Jonathan Coachman says he dislikes seeing WWE wrestlers rehearsing their material on WWE Unreal, questioning why the company now voluntarily exposes a process it once worked aggressively to keep away from fans.

Coachman addressed WWE’s Netflix documentary series during an appearance on Developmentally Speaking with Bryan Asbury.

“You can kind of see it on Unreal a little bit, but I don’t like seeing it.”

Coachman distinguished knowing that wrestlers rehearse from actually watching the preparation.

“I don’t mind knowing that it happens.”

“If me and Brian are wrestling, I don’t want to see us working in the ring the day of.”

He recalled WWE taking significant measures during his tenure to prevent fans or unauthorized people from seeing wrestlers preparing inside the arena.

“I’ve always thought it was funny, Brian, when you have Unreal and you give away the business, but then if you’re in the building, you literally, we would station security at the openings where people could run in and take pictures.”

“That’s what we used to do.”

Coachman sees a contradiction between that old approach and WWE’s current documentary strategy.

“If you’re so worried about people taking pictures, then why are we giving it away now all these years later on a show called Unreal?”

“If you’re so worried about stuff getting out that day, it never, I just don’t like seeing it.”

For Coachman, the concern comes down to preserving surprise.

“To me, it’s about the surprise.”

“It’s about the, ‘Man, I didn’t see that coming. Oh my God.’”

He also believes clearly defined heroes and villains remain important storytelling fundamentals.

“You’ve got to have a heel. You’ve got to have a babyface.”

“During my time, the Attitude Era, the Ruthless Aggression Era, that was very important.”

WrestlingHeadlines has documented sharply different opinions on the Netflix series. Steve Austin said he expected to hate Unreal before ultimately enjoying it, while The Undertaker has argued that WWE went too far in pulling back the curtain.

Coachman’s criticism is narrower than arguing that WWE should completely restore old-school kayfabe. His objection specifically concerns showing match preparation and rehearsal that can remove surprise from the eventual television presentation.

If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Developmentally Speaking, with a h/t to Wrestling Headlines for the transcription.