Jonathan Coachman Responds To The Idea That The Rock Was 'Selfish' In WWE

It's been more than 25 years since Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson made his debut in the world of professional wrestling and, despite working full-time as a wrestler for less than 10 years, few performers have made such an impact on the industry. While most of what's said about Johnson personally is very positive, some have labeled The Rock as selfish in both the distant and recent past. Former WWE broadcaster Jonathan Coachman feels that if Johnson was selfish, there was good reason for it, as revealed during an appearance on "Insight with Chris Van Vliet."

"I hate when people say 'Oh, The Rock was selfish back then,'" Coachman said. "Everybody had to be selfish back then. People don't understand; they look at what it is now."

Coachman said the Attitude Era is looked back on so fondly because the company had an abundance of massively talented stars, comparing the roster to a basketball team where everyone has LeBron James-level talent. With so much talent waiting in the wings and a potential million-dollar bonus on the line for being in the main event of WWE WrestleMania (a pay structure that WWE no longer adheres to), Coachman said that anybody would be selfish, and everybody was at the time.

"They had to be because everybody fought to get in that spot," Coachman continued. "If more ... wrestlers fought today to get in that spot, I think we'd have better storylines. We'd have more competition. We'd have better promos. ... I really believe that."

The former WWE employee pulled back slightly on his statement, saying he understands that the culture of wrestling has changed a lot over the last 20 years. Still, the level of confidence displayed by people like Johnson or "Stone Cold" Steve Austin is something Coachman believes today's wrestlers should aspire to recreate.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Sports Illustrated with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.