That is true, however that does not take any blame away from Michael Cole.
To a logical person, it would. But I'll elaborate momentarily ...
He is not a victim, and he is not being manipulated. If he were in a corporate office he can get off with the "He's just doing his job" routine, but in the entertainment business that doesn't cut it.
I'm sorry, but yes it does, particularly with this company, with the way this particular Chairman runs things. What do you want Michael Cole to do? Tell Vince that he "thinks his vision for announcing sucks" ... which would probably get Michael Cole fired or result in him putting in his notice?
Vince absolutely does not tolerate any deviation from the way he does things. In WWE, if you haven't picked this up by now, it is Vince's way or the highway. He does not want feedback from the performers, because the man is an egomaniac and even more so, a control freak.
So I feel for Michael Cole. I really do. I've met the guy before through another WWE acquaintance and he seemed like a down to Earth guy. Although, like anyone else working for WWE, the man wants to keep his job and he is going to do whatever he's told to do, by his boss.
That is exactly what is transpiring here. Vince controls the entire creative direction of the WWE. Nothing goes on TV without Vince McMahon's approval. If you are unhappy with Cole's announcing style, Vince McMahon is the one to blame.
And to the JR marks that are also defending Vince, you should keep in mind that Vince wanted Ross off of Raw, more than likely because he wanted a fresh face on his show AND because he knew Cole would adapt easier to the new announcing style Vince wanted on his program, as opposed to Ross who would be more of a struggle to change. Vince didn't want to deal with that on his show.
Since Cole has left Smackdown, he has been a completely different announcer. I tuned into Raw last week after a several month long hiatus, and I was just amazed at how poor the announcing still was. And I know that Cole has the ability to get excited and get into the matches. However, his hands are bound because McMahon doesn't want him doing that. So, either listen to the boss, or be fired.
The director may be bad, but the actors still have to take heat because they are the ones who make the vision a reality.
If an actor wants to do one thing, and the director/producer envisions another way, either the director or producer will give in to the actor, or they won't. Now, do you think Vince is the kind of "director" that will give in to what Michael Cole thinks or not?
Give me a break.
Vince is not giving him every single line to say, and to give the impression that Cole is reading off of a script or getting every phrase from McMahon is naive.
I am not implying Vince feeds Cole every single line. I think he feeds him several lines per broadcast, but no it obviously isn't every single line. What I am critiquing is Vince's vision for the announcing style of today's announcers. Cole's lack of emotion. Cole not getting excited. Being silent at intervals during the broadcast. Not arguing with Lawler (not that any announcers argue, anymore ... again thanks to Vince). Using the same catchphrases like "vintage" over and over (which is obvious to anyone with a set of eyes is intentional).
What's naive is you, knowing everything we know about Vince and the kind of person he is, thinking Michael Cole has a better shot at ignoring how Vince tells him to announce, and still expecting Cole to keep his job.
If Vince was not happy with Cole or his delivery, he would replace him. Keep in mind that Vince replaced Ross for a reason, too. However, he isn't.
Vince is to blame but that goes without saying on so many different and complex levels.
No, it really isn't. The more involved and hands-on the person on Top wants to be, and Vince is clearly VERY hands-on, the more responsibility he is going to take for the areas of the company he is directly involved in. And that is his involvement in the Creative Department as well as the announcing.
I think it is extremely abnormal for someone who is an Executive position like McMahon, to be involved to the extent he is, in these specific areas of the company. If you think about it, the Chairman of the Board of this company is on headset each and every week feeding his commentators lines during the show.
And the problem is that this person is too involved in the process. However, if the problem arises with perhaps his own vision being the problem, what can be done about it? It doesn't go any higher than Vince. The man has become blind to the things going on in his company, because he is too involved in a particular facet of the company, that being the Creative department.
Michael Cole is to blame because
his voice
I completely disagree on this. He has a broadcaster's voice. If you want to debate his emotion (or lack thereof), that is Vince's fault.
Be more specific on this one. What is wrong with his vocabulary?
If we want to get downright to it with "looks", Cole looks more professional for a flagship show than someone who had Bells Palsy. This personally makes not a lick of difference to me, but if you want to bring up "appearance and looks", then Cole's "look" is more appealing for television than Ross.
do not set the tone for what a flagship show should have. He kind of reminds me of Vince when he was announcing...and that's not a good thing.
I would take the Vince McMahon of old any day over what he's done to Michael Cole. I couldn't imagine Vince McMahon actually announcing this way, back in the day. And it would be hard imagining him do it today. The two styles are completely different, so I am not seeing the comparison, whatsoever.
