To many people, Michael Cole is considered the Voice of the WWE. He earned the moniker by being the lead play-by-play announcer for Monday Night Raw since 2008. Prior to that, he was Smackdown’s voice for nearly a decade. There are mixed signals in the world of WWE about Micheal Cole. Some people think he is great at what he does, while others would strongly disagree with that statement.
Whether you love the man’s work or hate it, it’s hard to deny that he plays a major role in WWE.
Here we look at 5 major things you may not have known about WWE’s mouthpiece, Micheal Cole.
#5 He initially replaced Jim Ross for health reasons
Michael Cole initially started off in WWE as a backstage interviewer. His role within the WWE gradually increased over time.
He was occasionally put on a three man announce team in the late 90’s as an experiment by WWE. In 1998, Jim Ross, who was the lead announcer for WWE at the time suffered a serious attack of Bell’s Palsy on the same day he learned his mother had died. This meant that “Good Ole” JR obviously needed some time off to deal with his personal tragedies, and ultimately Michael Cole was chosen as his temporary replacement.
J.R. returned to WWE a few months later and eventually resumed his position as the lead voice of the WWE. This was a start for Cole in which he gradually built up his profile calling other WWE programming on TV such as Sunday Night Heat, and eventually became the voice of Raw once again in 2008. Ross continued making occasional appearances before officially retiring/getting fired in 2013.
#4 The Heidenreich angle
Oh Where do we start with this one!!
Heidenreich briefly worked for WWE in 2004, and for a brief while it seemed like he could actually be a moderately big deal in the company. He even got written into a feud with the Undertaker.
The WWE ran a ridiculous angle where it was heavily implied Heidenreich raped Michael Cole in the bathroom during a SmackDown taping. (Not one of WWE’s high points and I’m sure not one of Cole’s either).
Heidenreich was seen pressing Cole against a wooden wall and pressing up against him. Heidenreich also told Cole he knew he wanted it and liked it as much as he did. This was one of the worst angles WWE had put out there and Micheal Cole was the main man involved in it.Cole whimpered and cried throughout the attack. Even if you didn’t like Cole, you couldn’t but feel sorry for him.
The mastermind behind this highly uncomfortable moment was none other than Vince McMahon himself.
Any surprises there?
#3 He saved Jerry Lawler’s Life
Jerry Lawler has been calling Monday night Raw for the better part of 20 years. He has truly earned the moniker of “King” and is a legitimate WWE Hall of Famer and wrestling legend.
In 2010, Lawler infamously had a heart attack live on air, and it was the quick action by Michael Cole that managed to save his life. Cole who was the lead voice of the WWE at the time was seated next to Lawler when he collapsed. He immediately pressed the mute button live on air and let the staff in the back know of Jerry’s condition.
Obviously, Cole didn’t act alone, and he did exactly what a broadcaster is trained to do in that situation. But for every negative thing said about him, it is still highly commendable what he did for his friend.
Cole handled the situation with extreme professionalism and expert decision-making skills; not letting the crowd know that this wasn’t part of the show, but also not worrying them into a state of panic that would prevent the show from going on.
No matter what people’s opinions of Cole may be, the actions shown by him were brave and brilliant and should be considered a credit to him in his career.
#2 His body transformation
Michael Cole was unhappy with his body image, which many people in today’s world are, but he decided to do something about it.
He started putting together a basic program with the help of Jesse Marines doing cardio two to three times a week along with strength training. He went on to have a simple diet laid out for him. He has stated that he was a big beer drinker and enjoyed downing a pint of the good stuff.
This obviously isn’t what you want to be putting into your body if you want that perfect body.
He explained that the diet wasn’t exactly cutting out what he was eating but in fact increasing what he was eating to 6 meals a day. This works out at eating every 3 hours, every single day. And contrary to popular belief he was eating foods such as eggs, bacon and turkey which people tend to avoid if going on a diet.
Tweaking his diet and workout regime as he went along allowed Cole to get the body he wanted, and the difference is quite perceptible.
His actions just go to show anything anybody wants, can be achieved with hard work and dedication.
#1 He is intensely Micromanaged
Michael Cole spends three hours or more talking to wrestling fans every week on Monday night Raw, but most of what comes out of his mouth are not his own thoughts however. Cole was hired to do a specific job, and that job is to tell fans why Vince McMahon is letting various wrestlers use his airtime to tell their story.
Cole is always criticised for not calling the action as he see’s it, but is that really his fault?
Unfortunately, WWE has gotten to a point today where instead of just filling in the gaps, Cole is basically reading from a script, and Vince McMahon is literally in his ear yelling at him the instant he so much as hesitates for two seconds over one line. JR has stated before that one part of the job he found frustrating was Vince yelling in his ear on commentary.
Cole, on occasion, has reminded McMahon that he has been extremely repetitive over a few points and feels like it doesn’t need to be broadcast again. (Does everyone remember how to download the WWE app?)
But we all know how much Vince likes to listen to others’ opinions right?
It is a major problem with the WWE that it doesn’t exactly give Micheal Cole the chance to stand out on his own; it takes away from the product and keeps people’s dislike for him high.
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