I like Michael Cole: Who's with me?

[Serious Mozzarella]

I really, really enjoy Michael Cole right now for the same reason I really enjoy Vickie Guerrero. He gets nuclear heat every time he says, "And I quote," which is akin to Vickie's "EXCUSE ME!"

It makes me so happy that there are people around who are able to get as much heat as a real main-event heel is supposed to get. The fact that the two biggest heels in wrestling right now aren't even wrestlers speaks volumes.

 

[hatehabsforever]

Personally, I think the new Michael Cole is great. When he was simply an announcer only, whether it be back in his SD days or in his RAW days, he was bland and boring. The new heel Cole is much better. The heat he draws with this whole mystery GM thing is really funny. "Can I have your attention please, I have received an e-mail from out anonymous mystery GM. And I quote." ELicits such a chorus of boos every time. Combine this with his friction with Danielson, his shameless man-crush on the Miz and Alex Riley, his disdain for NXT, and the way he interacts with his fellow announcers, and I think he has developed into a very interesting character. I still think he is going to become a major character somehow in the relatively near future, possibly as the mystery GM, or what I have been predicting all along, he's going to be somehow affiliated with the Nexus, ie, their behind-the-scenes leader.

 

[Alastor]

His current role reminds me of they dynamic between Coachman and the Mcmahons. Coach would be groveling at Vince's feet and acting like his little bitch while carrying a sense of superiority when interacting with anyone else due to his relationship with the boss.

For now Cole is not at Coach's level of pathetic yet as he still show disdain with some of the GM's decisions. However, once the identify of the GM is revealed (assuming it is not Cole himself) I can foresee WWE turning Cole into that role just to gain more heat for Cole.

 

[englishdan]

I LOVE Cole right now. Him and Matthews on NXT and Raw this week have been hilarious. The fact is, Vince has made this character to annoy fans, and then everyone here is getting annoyed....amazing!

Here are some moments the last few weeks which have made me laugh out loud and watch/listen to again - he is gold!

"SPEAR SPEAR SPEAR!!!" during a NXT divas match after a spear like move

Smugly saying "Cheap pop" after Goldust shouted Manchester, England!

Hugging Alex Riley and high fiving him

Him and Striker standing up and cheering on Vickie v katilyn on Smackdown

"A Koslov chant! Oh My!" during the brilliant tea party.

+ So much more. Him and Matthews have great chemistry.


WWE at the moment is struggling to entertain....with big names out, devalued tag/divas divisions and many stars not getting a reaction, the entertaining commentry is my sole reason to watch the whole show, and that's down to Cole, be it the character or the commentator.

 

[Navi]

Michael Cole used to be the bane of my existence, I absolutely hated the guy. Lately though he been more far more entertaining.

Don't know if he's getting better because of his new heel character or if it's the fact that Lawler is getting worse.I used to love Lawler and JR, but without JR, Lawler seems at a loose end. It's almost like he and Cole didn't connect properly.

Just love the way he makes fun of Daniel Bryan though. His comments have a tendency to make me laugh, which is always a good thing.

 

[Cracka Jack]

I never thought I could enjoy the work of Michael Cole, but his semi-heel turn this year and work since has been brilliant. Granted, his play by play still isn't great (it's a powerslam, not a scoop slam!), but the amount of personality and emotion he brings has made him pretty entertaining. From his smug look of superiority as he reads the GM's emails to his constant praising of the Miz, he knows exactly how to work the crowd and the audience at home. I'd say that the ridiculous heat he gets shouldn't go to waste; make him a manager, GM, something.

 

[Mr.Randy.Orton]

Now, hear me out.

I have been watching wrestling since early 1996, and just like the rest of you... I hated Michael Cole just like everyone else. But this whole angle/storyline lately where Cole is actually becoming a Character is great. I think he plays the Role well, and he can genuinely be a heel. It almost comes natural to him, unlike some other Heels who have to "try" and be a bad guy and fail at is miserably.

One of my favorite segments lately was during NXT. I went Sep 14th Live in Detroit for Smackdown, and before SD, NXT was taped. Cole went wild, saying that NXT is ridiculous, and stupid, and sorta went crazy hitting the gong over and over, then finally walked out.

I can now take Cole as not just an announcer, but a bad guy character... and Since I love heels... Michael Cole fits in real well.

What are your thoughts?

I disagree, I still hate him, even his voice and when he says "Vintage" all the time. It makes me do this >>
Although, I have nothing against him being the GM's 'Rag Doll' as I call him, I just don't get why people boo him for the GM/Laptop scenario's since it adds to the show.

 

[bigsexy8track]

Cole is kind of a poor man's Ryan Seacrest, he has been the perpetual straight man until recently. I never really had any opinion of him whatsoever until the first time I heard him refer to his "Cole Miners"- that absolutely cracked me up. I was sold. Sure he is no Ventura or Bobby Heenan, but he will evolve and become more entertaining. I think he has the intellect for it. It's hard to ever match the chemistry of Vince and Jesse or King and J.R. (it was worth tuning in for them alone, forget the storylines), but he has his thing. Smackdown, however, does nothing for me in the announcer department. That show needs something, and it needs it bad.

 

[Jonnie Walker]

I think Cole is actually pretty good, and plays his role well. He's better than Lawler, less boring than Grisham, and less annoying than Striker. The only announcers currently better than Cole are Matthews and Punk. The only time Cole has pissed me off in recent memory was when he was badgering JR during Raw Old School.

 

[TheEraofAwesome]

I honestly never really had an issue with Michael Cole. I really didn't take notice of the guy until he started going heel on Daniel Bryan. He is no Bobby Heenan or Jesse Ventura by any stretch of the imagination, but he can have his moments on commentary. I thought him dancing on the first episode of NXT Season 3 was priceless. I think people just need to calm down when it comes to him hating on Daniel Bryan. Unless they are doing it to completely bury the guy, I see it more as a thing to keep Daniel Bryan relevant.

 

[charlie]

Cole's character is good, he does go over the top at time. Like when JR stopped by 2 weeks ago. And they really need to reveal who the gm is SOON. It is getting to the point where it's just getting old.

 

[LSN80]

Cole is serving a purpose, and that's basically to be the "voice" of Miz's defining moments. That's what I like best about Cole: He's found his man, and he's sticking with him.

Id compare this to the relationship between JR and Austin. Hearing JR say "Stone Cold Stunner, One More Time!", made him the voice of Steve Austin. While JR was doing this as a face commentator for Austin, I think it's perfectly fine the way Cole is doing so with Miz. Even his interference in the match tonight made sense, as Cole has been Miz' biggest fan for a long time.

I have no problem with Cole when he's heeling on other wrestlers as well. He's accomplished the ability of drawing heat without cutting a promo or wrestling a match. He's done it simply by blasting the faces and praising the heels. With all of the ambigious commentators such as King and Grisham, Cole has been a good thing for both Raw and Smackdown.

 

[Con T.]

Id compare this to the relationship between JR and Austin. Hearing JR say "Stone Cold Stunner, One More Time!", made him the voice of Steve Austin. While JR was doing this as a face commentator for Austin, I think it's perfectly fine the way Cole is doing so with Miz. Even his interference in the match tonight made sense, as Cole has been Miz' biggest fan for a long time.

Just one point I'd like to make here; you're relying on the assumption Ross' and Steve's relationship, both on screen and off, is similar to Cole and Miz'. Not true, sir. We may not have known it then, but Jim was instrumental in getting Austin his job in the WWE. On and off screen, these two were best friends, the likes of which forms a chemistry you really couldn't have any other way. Ross was so passionate, because of all the personal interest he had in Steve. There's no way to duplicate it, frankly.

Anyway, Cole is good for his time, really is. He is an actual broadcaster, so yes, he's doing his job as he's supposed to. He's coming off having to replace Jim Ross, and because people have become so accustomed to Ross, there's really nothing Cole's going to do to be able to help his stock. I would like for any fan to tell me what exactly they have against Cole. That he doesn't have any ring experience? Fact: Neither does JR's fat ass, yet he comes off as more "legitimate". Sure, sure, tutored under Bill Watts, blah blah. Like that really means fuck all to most of you, but humor me; let's just say Ross' background is more "legitimate", for a lack of better word. So what? What really does that help you with? To help sell the programs? Do you buy tickets just for JR, Cole, the King, etc? No, no you don't. You buy it for the actual program, and the commentator is there just to help sell the theater of the match. Cole does that perfectly fine, and is the most fit to hold down the voice of the WWE. He sells the impact of moves, he sells the meaning behind the match, he even sells the implications of the results, I'd say, better than Ross did at times.

Cole is perfectly fine for what he is. Anyone telling you otherwise is living in a delusional world where Gordon Solie still is the standard bearer in commentary, and what all commentators should strive to be. We've evolved too much; Cole is just another evolution

 

[AngryCenaFan]

He's being made to look like a clown.

Back at old school RAW, he committed a traditional no-no as an announcer...he took the attention off of a GREAT match and put it all on himself when Jim Ross was out to call the Bryan/Swagger match, instead of talking about the match we were talking about COLE and what pisses me off most is some of you idiots LIKED it, YOU are not wrestling fans.

Then tonight getting involved in a match? Once again the focus is off the competitors and on the announcer, it's horrible

 

[Con T.]

He's being made to look like a clown.

I think that's kind of the point, mate; he's being a jackass. And it has you angry. Let's put this equation together. The guy acts like a jackass... And you react. Guy acts... You react.

Hmm.... Sounds to me like someone is doing his job! But, hey, math and all that stuff. Couldn't be right

Back at old school RAW, he committed a traditional no-no as an announcer...he took the attention off of a GREAT match and put it all on himself when Jim Ross was out to call the Bryan/Swagger match, instead of talking about the match we were talking about COLE and what pisses me off most is some of you idiots LIKED it, YOU are not wrestling fans.

Hmm... Really. Quick question... Did you mind when Bobby Heenan took the time to focus the attention on himself and Gorilla? Did you mind when Jerry Lawler did pretty much the same thing with Vince back in the mid 90s? You're pointing to an isolated incident, in which all the guy did was act in character.

Then tonight getting involved in a match? Once again the focus is off the competitors and on the announcer, it's horrible

Please. Like JR's never been involved in the ring. Or in angles. Or never done anything along those lines. Right.

 

[Tech N9ne]

I like it. He is doing well.

In a sense, it is somewhat groundbreaking! When is the "play by play" guy ever the Heel?

Gorilla Monsoon, Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay etc. were always the "good guy".

The "color" commentator was usually a "bad guy". Jesse Ventura, Bobby Heenan, Jerry Lawler, Mr. Perfect, JBL etc.

Of course, there have been the Color Commentators that were Face as well. Randy Savage, Jerry Lawler, Tazz, Roddy Piper, etc.

So with Cole being the Play By Play commentator, and turning Heel, is basically a first. I do recall a time that Lord Alfred Hayes turned Heel and started rooting for the bad guys and talking negatively about the Faces. He did a lot of the Coliseum Home Video announcing. He was Face as the play by play guy. But I think he turned Heel when he was the Color guy to Gorilla being play by play.

 

[The Pizzaman]

And I Quote!!!!! Michael Cole? WHO? oh yeah, the annoying one on Raw!!! I've lost interest in anything he has to say. I've watched him since 1997 and have seen him slowly turn from a stand in announcer to the fully fledged Voice of the WWE universe taking over from JR. Now all we have is someone who thinks he is the best thing that WWE has and is badmouthing everyone who disagrees with him and brown nosing the Miz. He is also the only announcer who the Raw GM communicates with. Now he is heel and sure, he is doing a good job of that but its so annoying to watch. You cant even turn on Smackdown as he is now on there as well. I hope that the King can finally shut the mouth of Cole permanently. Its not even as if it would leave a space on the Raw announce table as C M Punk is more than capable to take up the position and give the breath of fresh air Raw needs.

 

[gengarjetty]

I like cole, I always did.. Not for his skills, which were just average, but for his personality.. he played his meek good guy role very well, and hes playing his experienced a hole announcer role well too I love the heel cole. I just wish he had better phrases and didnt repeat them so much. I remember one year he repeatedly called undertake "a surefire hall of famer". He cant shout as well as jr and isnt particularly funny, But I quite like him.

 

[twiztidecko]

I like Cole... He's got the look, feel and is great "on spot" with King and Punk and I find myself laughing Monday nights when he interacts with the live crowd. Now, of course he is replacing "Mr. Boomer Sooner" and those are HUGE shoes to fill, but in my mind he is doing good for what the PG product is today. In this era of PG... It will be the "era of Cole" for many Months to come..