After losing followers due to huge backlash, ex-WWE star explains controversial statement about Bayley
A former WWE Superstar faced massive backlash after claiming Bayley was done and washed up. He recently explained his comments after losing followers on X amid the controversy.
About a week ago, former Interim RAW General Manager Jonathan Coachman discussed Bayley's status in WWE on the Behind The Turnbuckle: The Last Word podcast. He claimed her character was done and washed up. While he pointed out that he had never met The Role Model and was sure she was a sweet person in real life, he doubted that she was ever a draw.
Speaking on the latest episode of the podcast, The Coach disclosed that he received massive backlash on social media over his comments. He explained that while Bayley's fans thought he was attacking her personally, he was only commenting on her character:
"I was talking about Bayley's character and a lot of people agreed with me. But then that BaCult, as we call it, oh my goodness. Gabby, I did not know there was so many Bayley fans out there and they accused me of attacking her personally. Did I ever attack her as a human? I think she's very nice," he said. [5:32 - 5:50]
The wrestling veteran also revealed that he had lost followers after his comments about the former WWE Women's Champion:
"I, literally, I gained 2,500 followers in the last week on X. I lost 150 after the Bayley stuff," he added. [6:43 - 6:52]
Jonathan Coachman thinks Bayley's WWE status was affected by her relationship with Mercedes Mone
Bayley has always been a close friend to AEW star Mercedes Mone since they were together in WWE. Despite The CEO's move to Tony Khan's promotion, The Role Model continued to show support to her friend publicly. She was even spotted at an AEW show to witness Mone make her debut.
Speaking on a previous episode of the Behind The Turnbuckle: The Last Word podcast, Jonathan Coachman disclosed that he believes Bayley's status in the Stamford-based company was negatively affected by her relationship with Mone:
"When you make it public that you are best friends with Mercedes Mone, as much as they want to say it doesn't matter, if you're taking pictures and hanging out with AEW's biggest female star, that's gonna come back to bite you. It just is. And she even said with [Chris] Van Vliet. She was like, 'Oh, I love wrestling. I'm gonna show up everywhere.' Clearly, she doesn't care as much about her career as she does about supporting her friend. And maybe that's okay," he said.
Bayley has been absent since she was attacked by Becky Lynch ahead of WrestleMania 41. It will be interesting to see when The Role Model returns to TV.
Please credit Behind The Turnbuckle: The Last Word and give an H/T to Sportskeeda if you use the above transcription.
