**MERGED** The Michael Cole Thread

[tripleddd]

Boogeyman - used to think that was pathetic , Hornswoggle - boring and Vickie Guerro just to screechy

 

[3/4 Facelock]

I record RAW on my DVR and watch ESPN until about 8:30. Then I watch RAW and get to fast forward through nearly all the commercials and diva matches.

Change the channel? I don't do that. I fast-forward instead.

 

[UnBEARaBULLfan]

I usually get up and leave the room when Cole start to do his thing, it's irritating and hard to watch at times. I watched him put the ankle lock on Lawler last night and to me it looks like he's trying to hump his leg. "oh hows that feel, take that, take that, tap,tap,tap". It's hard to watch.

 

[MrPierrini]

It's gotten to the point where I have to mute the broadcast of Raw to actually enjoy the wrestling on the show. I understand he has to be a smug prick to further the storyline, but in recent weeks it's become so overdone that it detracts from the overall product.

This

I hate how he goes on all the time, hog's the air time, has such an annoying voice and generally just poison's my viewing

 

[Professor]

You guys cant be serious. Coles whole act is so forced and hammy, I cant beleive you think hes doing a good job. He sucks, he cant act at all, and his whole fued with king consisting of just calling him childish names, like his family sucks is dumb. I literally cant stand cole on my tv.

 

[FSWWE]

"Can I Have Your Attention, please?"

OMG i am the only one!!
I love what Michael Cole is doing!!!
I really do, he is a great great actor, and one of the best heel commentators in my prespective!! Even more than King when he was a heel!!

I'm always agains the popular demands :X

He is just a heel for me, and he is doing a helluva of a job!!
Dont be mean, the guy is in the company for what? 10 years?
He is good, give him a break, and i dont get annoyied!!

If were for me, this guy really deserves a Hall of Famer ring xD

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I would never change the channel just because a heel was doing his job well. You are supposed to hate them and Cole is doing the job brilliantly.

I do change the channel though if there is a boring segment that I have no interest in, or there is a match featuring wrestlers I have no interest in seeing. For example, as much as I love Kurt Angle I cannot watch that shitty Jeff Jarrett storyline at the moment, its cringeworthy.

Another example is anytime Hornswoggle is on the screen, he just irritates me.

 

[boywithbluehanger]

I really enjoy Michael Cole as a heel. Mainly due to the fact that everyone hated him before this new run and gave him a hard time each time he made a slip-up at the announcing table. Now people are screwed because he's on both flagship shows and is very much a focal-point on both of them.

I like that he gets to piss off the people who always bashed him for petty reasons.

 

[InfamouzGtBoy21]

After Wrestlemania, Lawler with beat the crap out of Cole, and Lawler & Jim Ross will be announcers of RAW again!

Cole should return as Mason Ryan's manager. This will bring back the whole manager aspect of wrestling. Cole is a perfect mouthpiece. He can make Mason Ryan look like a 1 million bucks. Ryan can be the next Batista. I can totally see it. He has better wrestling skills than Batista. Build him up as a HUGE MONSTER hell, fueled with Cole's heelish tactic will be a good outcome.

 

[mrbooker]

Nooo not at all Michael Cole is so forced its ridiculous,

"you like that lawler you like that lawler you like that lawler" really thats all you are going to saw when you have your "finisher" on the man you are suppose to defeat at wrestlemania

im sorry but im sick of people talking about how great of a heel Michael Cole because he does things we hate, since he is the play by play guy and doesnt do the play by play, and goes on a tangent instead he is a good heel thats like a wrestler instead of doing a promo about his match or current feud talks about a feud he had 4 months ago thats has nothing to do with his current role on the camera

If pissing us off makes you a good heel then Mike Adamlae was a great heel

Lets face when did Cole get booed when he did his "i quote", and when he licked the miz's nut sack thats it and people booed because he DID THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER for months thats not being a good heel, thats like Curt Hawkins coming out and making fun of whatever towns sports team every Monday and they boo him, he does it every week the crowd is booing because its stale thats not being a great or even good heel.

Now this Angle with the King which started by costing him the title, then talking about his dead mother, bringing in his family, this is booking that would make any guy on superstars get a reaction of a heel, it does not make them a good heel.

guys like Heidenrich, and Gene Snitsky had booking like this and it worked until the story line was over then they fell flat because they didnt have the heel talent to continue anything.

To compare Michael Cole to the next Vince is pushing it by alot Michael Cole is not a authority figure nor is he a believable one, he has been booked as a coward and a kiss ass for over a year and to turn him into a authority figure would make no sense after how he has been booked

 

[AmericanDragonSW]

If Michael Cole does not end up being the secret GM than this whole thing has been a joke. Michael Cole has to be either elevated to the next level or this stupidity needs to end. I will tell you I believe, regardless of whether Cole is being himself or playing a heel, he sucks at both. Does he garner heat ? Sure but to me he is unwatchable. His announcing sucks and his heel character is even worse. If you are impressed by him, go watch Lawler in the late 1990's or Bobby Heenan and see REAL heel announcers. Cole is a fake-ass who cant act for sh*t. If WWE want to make him a big deal, he needs to be the GM. He cant be the character he is and sit next to Lawler. One of them has to go. Lawler and Heenan might have been a-holes but they didnt get into personal physical interactions with their broadcast colleagues. They were smart and witty and knew how to build up heels without destroying the good guys, the way Cole buries the whole divas division. I dont care what they do with him but thats the only way it is going to work. I would just fire him, he is just a puppet, who brings no depth to the show. He sucks.

What is all of that? A petition? Where do I sign? Seriously, the only thing more aggravating than Cole's character is that a) some people actually like it and b) all this time and energy put into his character, could've been used to help push guys like John Morrison, Kofi Kingston or Ted DiBiase rather than leaving them all on the back burner.

Bobby Heenan and Jerry Lawler in the early days and even Jesse Ventura, they knew where to draw the line and balance it out between just calling the match and being a heel character. I saw TNA try and do something like that with Don West and see WWE trying that with Michael Cole now. Neither one work and yes, I agree Cole does garner heat, but not the good kind. And if anyone wants to compare him to Vickie, how is the kind of heat Cole gets and that Vickie gets really a good thing? Vickie can't even do a promo anymore because she gets booed so loudly because her voice is annoying and Cole is just annoying period to the point you want to change the channel. Also, the way Cole is burying the Divas division, what for? WHY is him ripping on the product he's supposed to be selling a good thing? It's just leaving yourself open for feminists and women in general bombarding complaints and calling Cole a sexist bastard.

At this point, I can't even see Cole as the Raw GM. At this point, the fans just want Cole gone. Not move him to Smackdown, not a manager or GM, but Gone from TV. Another thing to compare him to Heenan, Ventura or old school Jerry Lawler, they weren't distracting and that is exactly what Cole is. He's gone from being an announcer to being a distraction.

I've said this before and I'll say it again. Fans tune in to watch what goes on in the ring, not to see what goes on at ringside with the color commentators.

 

[THEpapachamp]

"Ladies and gentlemen, could I have your attention please? I've just received an email from the anonymous Raw general manager..."

By the time those words are finished, Michael Cole's weaselly voice is barely audible, over the waves of boos and catcalls showered upon him by thousands of WWE fans. In a span of just a few short months, Cole has gone from being a mediocre-at-best play-by-play man for Monday Night Raw to parlaying that into a heel announcer character not seen since the heyday of Bobby Heenan.

Cole is smarmy and arrogant, but he's also smart in his character, which has enabled him (so far) to get the best of his feud with fellow announcer Jerry "The King" Lawler. There's one more thing about Cole that may put him over the top as Raw's best heel.

He's right.

Most heels have to get their heat by stretching truth, twisting things around, or outright lying. However, Cole, as an announcer, still speaks the truth, and calls most matches the way an announcer should: telling the story, limiting his bias and giving credit where it's due.

Granted, in recent weeks, he's going more and more towards total heel-dom, most recently interrupting two Divas matches by asking them to "get on with it" so they can get to more important things, like whatever Cole has to say.

However, most of what he's said and done, such as the comments about Lawler's son Brian Christopher and former Raw lead announcer Jim Ross, are at least based in truth. This is what makes Cole even more irritating: you can't even argue with him.

Now, as Cole gets ready for his WrestleMania moment, he adds to his character each week, be it bringing out another memory from Lawler's past, or constructing a box from which to broadcast, or applying the worst ankle-lock in the world to Lawler just to pump himself up.

Every week, Cole gets more inventive, and thus more annoying and more irritating. Yes, he teeters on the wrong type of heat, that gets people to turn off the sets instead of sticking around for him comeuppance, but at this point, one has to assume that at WrestleMania, Cole will finally get what's coming to him, and by that time people will be willing to pay to see it happen, if they aren't already. That's what the best heels want.

As time has gone on, Michael Cole has gone from nothing more to WWE Champion The Miz's head cheerleader to being a completely self-absorbed prima donna to a complete nut-job who actually thinks people tune in to Raw just to see what he'll say next.

With that said..

Is Michael Cole the GREATEST Heel in Professional Wrestling today?

 

[wushady]

In my opinion Michael Coles heel character is just way over the top at this point. A lot of times I have a hard time not changing the channel or muting it when Cole is going off on a rant. The way he puts some people down especially the Divas mid match is just disrespectful.

 

[AmericanDragonSW]

True, but the heat he's getting from the live crowd and many members of the IWC isn't heat like HHH and SCSA had during their tag titles run. It's the "go away heat" where people don't hate the character of Michael Cole, they hate Michael Cole the person.

It's gotten to the point where I have to mute the broadcast of Raw to actually enjoy the wrestling on the show. I understand he has to be a smug prick to further the storyline, but in recent weeks it's become so overdone that it detracts from the overall product. I sincerely hope that these next few weeks leading into Wrestlemania are the last we see or hear of Cole behind the announce desk for a long time.

THIS is the point. This is what people who are calling Michael Cole entertaining and saying he's a great heel or comparing him to Bobby Heenan, are missing completely. The kind of heat that Cole gets and Vickie gets, is NOT a good thing. Vickie can't even get her promo done she's getting booed so loudly. And Cole is a distraction. He's a distraction from whats going on in the ring. And there's nothing good about him crapping on the diva matches or like he did with NXT or ripping on Daniel Bryan or Kaval for no reason. He's putting the spotlight on him and not where it should be: On the action going on in the ring.

I agree that people are booing him but not in a normal heel way. They're booing him as if to say "Go Away" or "Do your damn job and call the stupid match" or "We didn't pay money to hear you talk like a jackass" or the ever simple "Shut F#@K Up!!!!"

Since when did being the heel have to require being annoying? I used to just mute the TV to watch Raw. That doesn't work anymore because frankly, I shouldn't have to. I should be able to watch Raw AND hear the action going on as well. So now, I don't even watch Raw anymore unless I hear Cole's gone. There is no such thing as a good heel that induces changing the channel.

 

[Professor]

I have no idea what you're talking about. Most of my wrestling fan friends have agreed that heel Cole is one of the best heels we've seen in pro wrestling in years.

lol, doesnt say much for your wrestling fan friends. Cole is an utter joke. He is annoying and not beleivable, and his whole act is extremely forced, over done and hammy, and he looks like hes just reciting lines that hes been practicing in front of his bedroom mirror. Like many here say, he does not get proper heat, he makes people change the channel because hes an annoying douche bag. Just compare Cole, to a real heel master like Eric Bishoff in his days in wcw and wwe. A totally different level, and extremely entertaining. That a nothing talent like Cole is the main man on raw is very fitting with the current standard of product. Complete bottom of the barrel garbage.

 

[Professor]

By the time those words are finished, Michael Cole's weaselly voice is barely audible, over the waves of boos and catcalls showered upon him by thousands of WWE fans.

If they got the janitor to say those words over and over for months they would also be booed just as much as cole. If I got in middle of the ring and dumped a turd every show I would also attract a lot of booing, but that would not make me or the janitor the premier heel in wrestling. Cole gets booed when he says those words for the same reason I change the channel. Hes friggen annoying.

Cole is smarmy and arrogant, but he's also smart in his character, which has enabled him (so far) to get the best of his feud with fellow announcer Jerry "The King" Lawler. There's one more thing about Cole that may put him over the top as Raw's best heel.

No, he pretends to be smarmy and arrogant, but he is not convincing, and he cant act other than to be a douche bag. Jesse and Bobby heenan did not come across as acting, they were genuine and far superior in every way. They were smart, sarcastic, funny, Cole is just annoying.

Now, as Cole gets ready for his WrestleMania moment, he adds to his character each week, be it bringing out another memory from Lawler's past, or constructing a box from which to broadcast, or applying the worst ankle-lock in the world to Lawler just to pump himself up.

Adds more to his character? I just saw him stand in ring hurling juvenile insults and lawlers family and saying they all sucked repeatedly. Thats not creative or smart, its just dumb and boring.

 

[Scuba 06]

I cant believe so many people like this guy. How old are you people, twelve ? I have been watching wrestling a long time and I have never seen as bad an actor on the show as Michael Cole. I'm not taking about his new character, I am taking about his entire wwe announcing career. I have never heard someone act as fake and as scripted on television as this man. The guy is a puppet that is fed lines in an earpiece and has no originals thoughts of his own. His fake laughs and his overacting, he is just awful. Since day 1 he has never acted like a normal person. He is just a shill that promotes everything wwe. Everyone in here claiming because he gets good heat that makes his character great. Where did this idea come from ? If I am changing the channel when he comes on than I am not watching the show. How does that benefit viewership ? It's called entertainment, I am supposed to be entertained, not driven away. To compare his charcter to Mr.McMahon is laughable. McMahon as a heel always stayed in character and actually pissed people off, and was very entertaining at doing so. McMahon even stepped up and fought back. Cole acts like a little puss. And with his new character, Cole is a heel one minute and the next he is all fair and balanced. He cant not deliver JR type announcing for big time matches and it shows a lot in Ross absence. His new character is lame and is only there to help the struggling Miz get over because he cant on his own. If Cole would just stop acting like a phony, maybe I'd respect him. I know what the Real Cole sounds like anyway, and its definitely not the pg annoying announcer we see on TV. Anyone remember this ... Cole : Hey f*ckhead, what the f*ck are you doing ? I been calling every smackdown show since ... What the f*ck are you doing ?

 

[berlinbrawler]

@Scuba 06
I know what you're saying. Cole is not the best announcer. He certainly is no JR (then again, who is?). And his acting is quite hammy.

Nevertheless, and I'm not sure when exactly it happened, I warmed up to his heel persona. One day I tuned into Raw and when Cole got a mic and started talking I found myself looking forward to what he had to say and I noticed that I actually quite liked him as a heel. And he has kept growing on me ever since. He is one of my favorite heels now. It's an acquired taste.

It is very similar with Vickie Guerrero for me. I used to despise her, and not in a wrestling-heel-good sort of way. More in a way that I considered changing the channel when she was on. But over time I somehow have garnered respect for her. The amount of heat she draws is uncanny. And the more the people hate her, the more fun it is watching her. Once again I suddenly find myself looking forward to hearing her screech "EXCUSE ME." She is possibly the most hated character on the show now and half the locker room must be turning green with envy. She is closer to joining Eddie in the Hall of Fame than Chavo is. (Sad but true.)

 

[AmericanDragonSW]

And now he bungles it and puts that stupid gay slur towards Matthews on Twitter. "WAY TO GO, STUPID!!!!!" And this guy puts himself off as a journalist? And don't tell me it's a rookie mistake or that he's just getting used to being a heel. He's been doing this character for nearly a year. He's been in the WWE for a long time. He's not a rookie. He's seen characters develop in the ring and damn well should know better on what to say and what not to say. He fucked up royally here and this was anything but a rookie mistake. It was reckless and further proof he's trying too damn hard to where he goes to extremes like this. TMZ already jumped on this and as much as I refuse to call them journalists, this already is something the WWE didn't need before Mania. What does he do for an encore? Drop a racial bomb on R-Truth or Booker T? Call it a mistake or whatever you want, just don't tell me he didn't know or that it was a rookie error. Cole screwed up and crossed a line that Jesse Ventura and Bobby Heenan knew better than to cross. So don't tell me that he's the best heel since Bobby Heenan. He's not because clearly Bobby was the professional one and Cole proved he's an unprofessional moron.

 

[I_got_bant_for_idiocy]

i like cole hes pretty funny and does a good job at making ppl hate him.. this hole twitter comment is so stupid so what he said ****** wow is that really that bad, i think talking about the kings dead mother is much worse

 

[berlinbrawler]

That gay slur towards Matthews was very stupid. Was he drunk when he twittered that? Sheesh! WWE had barely announced their intentions to GLAAD that they are taking them very seriously and then that. Dumbass.

The one (little) thing in Cole's defense, though, I share the South Park take on the word "******." It may be an insult, but somewhere down the line it changed it's meaning and doesn't refer to someone's sexual orientation anymore. When I hear "***" or "******" the images that come to my mind have nothing to do with homosexuals whatsoever.
That being said, a public person should be more sensitive to the underlying issues and be extremely careful in the usage of that word. Kinda like the word "******" - it's not impossible for a white guy to use it, one just has to be very careful and provide a specific context - just ask the late great George Carlin.

 

[martymcfly]

I certainly can't condone what cole did via twitter....however, some things I think are worth mentioning:

1. Cole and I are the same age, and I can say that growing up as a kid, one of the most common, childish insults one would call another as a child is a ***, even not knowing what one meant at the time, just that it was an insult. As we get older we realize that it is a hateful word and most of us avoid it, but occasionally, in the heat of the moment, it is possible for one to revert back to a childhood word without meaning it in any derogatory way.

2. It is not the first time that a wrestler (I know cole is not a wrestler) has blurred the line between reality and a persona. Take stone cold steve austin, for example, someone who reportedly needed to take time off for a while because he was having trouble separating the two worlds, and it even went so far that during the time his wrestling persona was mean and rude to his wife debra on camera, that it continued off camera. I believe mark calloway/undertaker also had issues at one point of separating persona and the real world. Now, we have Cole, who has this new persona basically thrust on him, it is possible that he made a brief mistake because he got carried away with his new, forced personality. No, it doesn't excuse what he did, but it might have been unintentional.

3. I hate to say this, but I have seen many posts in this forum where people, in an online argument, have used that word or have called someone "gay" in an attempt to be insulting. I hate when I see it, but it's the truth, and it is the way our society still behaves, in general. So to be outraged at michael cole's use of a slanderous word, to some extent, we have to look at ourselves and society and general and wonder if it is really all his fault.

In the end, I want to be clear that I am not condoning his use of the word, as it is meant to be derogatory and insulting. I also think that there is a difference between saying something in the heat of the moment and typing it out, as the latter does require some degree of thought before following through on it. So clearly Cole did not think through what he was doing. Was it bad? Yes. Is he at fault? Of course. Did he mean to be gay-bashing? I doubt it.

In the end, I personally think that WWE is actually doing the right thing here. Cole apologized, the WWE apologized, and they are making sure Cole attends some training/awareness thing, just in case. But in the end I think this was an unfortunate mistake on Cole's part but to harp on it and dwell on it I don't think is necessary or will accomplish anything.

 

[AmericanDragonSW]

Things to consider here is that with the WWE going PG as they've tried so hard to do, this is a blemish to that and considering how much they been trying to reach that stature, they don't want any mark of any kind. Now according to wrestlezone, he's taking a lot of heat for it and that his push has gotten to his head. It's not that unheard of that a guy like him would get such a push and all of a sudden think he's untouchable. Now he's learning that he's not. The fact that he had to do this when it's just over a week until Mania, he couldn't have picked a worse time.

Yes, wrestlers have done it and used words like that in the ring. The Dudley Boyz in ECW have used those words. That however is a different environment, different time, ECW was anything but PG, and the Dudleys were acting as their characters. Something that Cole fails to deliver on since he can't seem to act worth a damn.

The other thing here which is insulting to me is he boasts on and on about being a "award winning journalist." As a journalist, he should know better than to overstep his bounds. I can bet that he wasn't given orders to drop that slur on Matthews and that this was him getting carried away with his character. As a journalist he should have known where to draw the line. If I was in Vince's position, I'd be screaming Cole stupid for this simply because of the fact that he couldn't have picked a worse time.

I don't know if he's gonna get fired for this. But he's not a rookie, he's been there a while and he should know where to draw the line. After mania, we can only imagine what will happen, but I'm pretty sure his push is gonna be done following mania and that the WWE is not going to give him such a push again after this. He most definitely screwed himself over.

 

[Twiztid Rodimus]

Things to consider here is that with the WWE going PG as they've tried so hard to do, this is a blemish to that and considering how much they been trying to reach that stature, they don't want any mark of any kind. Now according to wrestlezone, he's taking a lot of heat for it and that his push has gotten to his head. It's not that unheard of that a guy like him would get such a push and all of a sudden think he's untouchable. Now he's learning that he's not. The fact that he had to do this when it's just over a week until Mania, he couldn't have picked a worse time.

Yes, wrestlers have done it and used words like that in the ring. The Dudley Boyz in ECW have used those words. That however is a different environment, different time, ECW was anything but PG, and the Dudleys were acting as their characters. Something that Cole fails to deliver on since he can't seem to act worth a damn.

The other thing here which is insulting to me is he boasts on and on about being a "award winning journalist." As a journalist, he should know better than to overstep his bounds. I can bet that he wasn't given orders to drop that slur on Matthews and that this was him getting carried away with his character. As a journalist he should have known where to draw the line. If I was in Vince's position, I'd be screaming Cole stupid for this simply because of the fact that he couldn't have picked a worse time.

I don't know if he's gonna get fired for this. But he's not a rookie, he's been there a while and he should know where to draw the line. After mania, we can only imagine what will happen, but I'm pretty sure his push is gonna be done following mania and that the WWE is not going to give him such a push again after this. He most definitely screwed himself over.

Guranteed he screwed himself over, according to supposed reports, he's lucky he wasn't fired. I think it was a gift for him, since Mania is a week away. BUT this is also a political black eye for them since it IS a week away from mania.

Whether you have been enjoying the lead ups to the PPV or not (I haven't) This is the biggest time for WWE every year, and sets the tone for the rest of the wrestling year. And its known that Wwe has struggled much of the past few years, and for this to happen so close to this event, its horrible PR for them.

I don't like the Cole gimmick, and no, Im not saying that as a mark. Im not even entertained by him as a commentator, or as this horrible heel persona. Its just not funny, or even hate worthy, its just boring. And for him to say that on such a public forum, he gets whatever he deserves. Giving him ANY excuse for this is immature and uncalled for, as Americandragon sw pointed out, He is a grown man, the ''Im sorry'' band aid isnt enough. And he is far from a rookie. They gave him Jr's spot, yet he's butchered his main job as a commentator and was a even worse heel.

Frankly, I would care less if he was canned for this. If you were at any other job, big event or not, he would have been.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

I despise Michael Cole. I did before this character came about. And I have to say he's the most compelling person on Raw right now besides The Rock. How bad is that?

Cole's done a great job on getting some legit heat on him for some of the things he's said and done to Lawler. It's one thing to say those things... it's another to convince people you may even mean what you're saying.

All people are looking for is for Cole to get his ass handed to him at 'Mania by Lawler. Sure they'll love to see Rock being involved and many will focus on Snooki... but for wrestling purposes, and storyline purposes.. the Cole/Lawler story is as good as it gets right now. It hurts to type that. Giving Cole credit for anything hurts.

But I call a spade a spade and right now, Cole IS the best heel in the business right now.