10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (May 13)
4. Jonathan Coachman Was Trained By Chris Benoit In 2003
As referred to during a previous entry, Jonathan Coachman was called upon to work a few matches in 2003. In the Spring months, he was approached by Vince McMahon, who asked the announcer if he'd be interested in wrestling. Taking pride in never saying no to the boss, Coach agreed to undertake some training over the next few months.
During a polite conversation with Jim Ross on his podcast, Coachman said he worked extensively with Tom Prichard to prepare himself, but the former Heavenly Body wasn't the only man who had a hand in honing his skills. None other than Chris Benoit also decided to help the future ESPN anchor out behind-the-scenes.
Knowing he was going to physically interject himself into a match between Shane McMahon and Eric Bischoff at SummerSlam, Coach had to be ready. To this day, he's thankful that a pro wrestler as established and skillful as Benoit gave his valuable time to helping a lowly announcer out.