11 Surprising WWE Heel Turns You Never Saw Coming

6. Jonathan Coachman On Shane McMahon (2003)

Daniel Bryan
WWE

The above image should tell the story of how well Jonathan Coachman's turn actually went after he shockingly sided with Eric Bischoff midway through the Raw General Manager's battle with Shane McMahon, but it was no less bonkers when Coach emerged seemingly from nowhere to blast the 'Boy Wonder' across the back with a steel chair.

After years as a punching bag and specifically the prior few weeks as forgotten entity on Monday Night Raw, Coachman attempted to curry favour with 'Easy E' by joining forces with him in the fight against 'The Money'.

The pair engaged in a lengthy assault on McMahon until Bischoff's babyface counterpart Stone Cold Steve Austin made the save. Far from evening the odds, Austin's inclusion suddenly weighted them heavily in Shane's favour, allowing him to cruise to victory in spite of the battle's shocking mid-point twist going against him.

In kayfabe, Coach's switch proved fruitful. His toadying earned him pithy authority figure roles on Monday Night Raw for most of the remainder of his original WWE run. His real life knack for similar behaviour allegedly had much to do with his surprising 2018 return.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett