Earlier this week, WWE presented the second annual Superstar Shake-Up, which saw a number of top-level talents moved in between Monday Night Raw and Smackdown Live — Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler and more went from Blue to Red, while big names such as the Miz, Asuka and Samoa Joe went from Red to Blue. Heck, even NXT had some of their best and brightest get moved up the ladder (so long, Ember Moon, Andrade Almas and Drew McIntyre) to the main roster.
We had assumed the shaking up had stopped, but then, out of nowhere, this happened:
Here’s some breaking news! @BookerT5x will be back on #RAW commentary this Monday! pic.twitter.com/poPCdvgxlK
— Brad Gilmore (@bradgilmore) April 20, 2018
Yep, that’s five-time (five-time, five-time, etc.) champion and WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T announcing that he is rejoining the Raw commentary team starting this Monday in St. Louis (and inviting Nelly to Raw in the process). Booker previously shared commentary duties with Michael Cole and Corey Graves, but he was replaced by Jonathan Coachman in January 2018.
This announcement, seemingly out of nowhere, has speculation running rampant: Who is Booker T replacing? Conventional wisdom would dictate he is reclaiming Coachman’s chair, as his commentary has been largely lackluster, but it appears that this is going to be just a “sometimes” thing due to Coach’s other commitments. Coachman initially played dumb about the move before moving on to his standard operating procedure of calling fans stupid idiots who can’t take a joke.
Sooooo is @TheCoachrules leaving commentary on #Raw????
— Chan (@Chan_The_Sequel) April 20, 2018
What? Where did you hear that? Do you know something I don’t know? https://t.co/lIR17aYS5G
— The Coach (@Thecoachrules) April 20, 2018
Apparently not. @BookerT5x is telling the truth. He will be doing commentary Monday. But I have a feeling it’s ALL for a good reason. #vision #crosspromotion. @WorldLongDrive https://t.co/uXjzsXPiqx
— The Coach (@Thecoachrules) April 20, 2018
Thank you. I will be back in Montreal. No worries. I tell people on my show all the time you have to evolve with the times. This is a small way to do it. More/different eyeballs on both shows. That why I am honored to work for @WWE and @GolfChannel. #forwardthinking. https://t.co/gEYiZGnKfp
— The Coach (@Thecoachrules) April 20, 2018
Yes. I laugh people think there are all of these conspiracy theories and made of stories. It’s no big deal. I have been talking about it for months. Me and @BookerT5x talked about this when I came back. It helps everybody. Head down and do work. That’s what we do https://t.co/XJCarrmxBH
— The Coach (@Thecoachrules) April 20, 2018
Thank you. Yes and no. Read my timeline. When I left espn my vision was to try and bring different, diverse groups of people together with a common love of sports and sports entertainment. This is first step. It’s about fun and enjoyment. Very simple. Everybody wins https://t.co/ASDGWosdmn
— The Coach (@Thecoachrules) April 20, 2018
Wrestling Online reports that the reason Booker will be replacing Coachman in the short-term is because Coachman has a gig doing commentary for the Golf Channel’s Clash in the Canyon events.
Booker will replace Coach when the tournament is broadcast on the Golf Channel and right now those dates include May 14 and 15, June 4 and 5, August 12 and 13 and August 30 through September 5.
The Coach will be back at the Raw broadcast booth for the show in Montreal on April 30.
Could this be a sign Jason Jordan is cleared to return to the ring? Perhaps Raw is going to a four-man commentary team? (Oh god no.) One thing’s for sure, though: Booker T definitely invited Nelly to Raw this Monday.
