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The world of WWE is a truly bizarre place at times, as is the brain of their long-time chairman and owner, Vince McMahon. There have been plenty of bizarre and wacky stories which have emerged about McMahon over the years, but there are certain particular incidents that stand out as truly crazier than the norm. “Ribs” and pranks have been commonplace throughout wrestling history, but sometimes it can be taken to the extreme, and that happened back in 2001 as McMahon decided to orchestrate a fake arrest on one of his very own employees - with it all just being a part of one big elaborate joke, showcasing the lengths he would go to at times for a laugh.
Vince McMahon’s Sense Of Humor Is Unlike Any Other
Vince McMahon is known for his sometimes odd sense of humor. Taking a look at WWE programming over the years will tell you all you need to know about the scope of his humor. From Mae Young giving birth to a hand, to Brodus Clay becoming a dancing dinosaur, to Santino Marella dressing up to be his very own twin sister, there have been a wide range of weird occurrences on television.
However, it isn’t only television in which McMahon’s weird sense of humor has emerged, but in his private life and backstage at shows too. For example, McMahon became known for absolutely loving to push people in swimming pools - something he often did when inviting people over to his house for business meetings. One very baffling incident occurred backstage involving Jonathan Coachman, who was often used in a comedic role in WWE, and used as the brunt of several jokes and silly storylines, in an incident where he genuinely believed that he was getting arrested by state troopers.
Jonathan Coachman Was “Arrested” For Organizing An Illegal Football Pool
Before a TV taping, Coachman was approached by Gerald Brisco, who asked him if he could be the person to sort out a football pool for those on the roster and backstage, for which it was 10 dollars per entry. Coachman happily obliged, spending his day sorting things out, including photocopying and passing out sheets to others on the roster. Things were going smoothly until he was accosted by two police officers, who confronted him about the football pools.
He initially denied knowing about the pools, to which an officer pulled out a slip, with Coachman having no choice but to admit that it was he who sorted it. On Chris Van Vliet’s podcast, Coachman revealed that the officer then stated that it “is a felony in the state of North Carolina to run an illegal football pool and unfortunately we are going to have to take you downtown”. Whilst all of this was quite over-the-top, it is easy to imagine that, in the moment, Coachman would have had no idea that this wasn’t a real arrest.
From there, the officers took him to Vince McMahon’s office, informing his boss of the arrest. McMahon acted furious, and would even throw one of his own pairs of sweaty underwear in the face of Coachman, which the officers then used to hide the handcuffs, as Coachman’s hands were locked up. Brisco was also in the room, with Coachman noting that he stayed silent, adding to the growing fear and realization that he was being arrested.
Vince McMahon Called The Arrest The “Greatest Rib In History”
From there, Coachman was walked to a police car, where they would proceed to leave the arena and circle round for a while. Eventually, they came back to the arena, by which time many members of the roster, backstage personnel, and Vince McMahon himself were all standing and waiting to greet Coachman, revealing it all to be just one big joke. The whole ordeal lasted 45 minutes for Coachman, during which he mulled over the fact that he would be losing his dream job. Knowing the real-life thoughts going through his head makes the whole thing less comical.
When Coachman exited the vehicle, he was at the brunt of the joke, but was congratulated on his participation in what Vince McMahon donned as “the greatest rib in the history of the company”. There have been many ribs that have gone too far in wrestling, and whilst this one arguably went too far as well, it could have been a lot worse, and thankfully was brought to an end in under an hour. Coachman revealed that he found a corner later on and cried, stating that he wasn’t sure whether it was relief or anger, but just couldn’t hold himself together. Either way, it was a ridiculous thing to pull off, and one which clearly took planning, considering it was real officers involved too.