I honestly think the hate on the "Cole-isms" is kind of grasping at straws, JR overused the phrases "slobberknocker" and "government mule" to death and nobody complained. Joey Styles screamed "OH MAH GAWD!!!!" at the top of his lungs, and that was okay. Lawler's cries of "PUPPIES!!!" whenever he sees a female are well documented. Why are the phrases "Vintage" and "OH MY~!" so different? I don't understand that at all.
Michael Cole is Atrocious
- Thread starter gd
- Start date
I don't watch RAW anymore so I don't know about him on there. I have watched NXT though a few times, and I must say that I'm impressed with his commentating on that show.
His commentating hasn't really been the same since he left Smackdown though. I don't know why, but something about Michael Cole and Smackdown just go together. Kinda like Jim Ross/Jerry Lawler and RAW.
His commentating hasn't really been the same since he left Smackdown though. I don't know why, but something about Michael Cole and Smackdown just go together. Kinda like Jim Ross/Jerry Lawler and RAW.
Big Nick Dudley
Nick
First of all, use spellcheck. Are you five years old?
If you don't like people complaining about wrestling, DON'T come onto a forum, you dope. A lot of bashing happens on these things, that's just the way it is. Michael Cole is terrible. There, I said it. And so do a lot of other people. Some people like Michael Cole. Good for them. That is the point of a forum. It's called debating. Some people like, some people don't. It's a pretty simple concept.
Cole is boring, stale and shows zero emotion. I respect your opinion, but I think you're wrong. The worst thing about Cole, in my opinion, is that he has gotten worse over the years. Every year, he seems a little less interested in what he is doing. And when you are a shit play-by-play guy to start with, it is not good to take a step back. The man, once again, IN MY OPINION!, takes away from matches with his horribly boring announcing skills.
You tell us that if we do not like what's going on in wrestling, just don't watch. If you don't like a fair debate, then take your own advice, and stay away from this forum.
I'd rather have JR stay on Raw till he dies instead of having Cole. Cole has always been a tool and always will be. He will make the most irrelevant and stupid comments during a match. The one thing that I hate about Cole the most though is how he lives in this WWE bubble. Like how he built up Taker/HBK this year as the "Most anticipated match in the history of Wrestlemania", are you kidding me? Though I think it's funny how Striker basically bashes him but Cole is clueless.
People are saying how JR overused stuff too, but Cole just throws "Vintage" into everything. Plus at least JR was really into the matches he called, Cole is dull as hell. In Taker/HBK, the match he said was the biggest Mania match ever, he hardly showed any emotion and he almost seemed bored.
I've disliked Cole ever since he was a backstage interviewer. Though at least it was funny seeing guys like Austin and Rock fuck with him. The fact that Cole is "the voice of the WWE" makes me want to puke. They really should put his NXT character on Raw though. He already has a shit ton of haters, and his cocky, internet-bashing character would be perfect. Cole would be the most hated man in WWE.
Bring back JR!
People are saying how JR overused stuff too, but Cole just throws "Vintage" into everything. Plus at least JR was really into the matches he called, Cole is dull as hell. In Taker/HBK, the match he said was the biggest Mania match ever, he hardly showed any emotion and he almost seemed bored.
I've disliked Cole ever since he was a backstage interviewer. Though at least it was funny seeing guys like Austin and Rock fuck with him. The fact that Cole is "the voice of the WWE" makes me want to puke. They really should put his NXT character on Raw though. He already has a shit ton of haters, and his cocky, internet-bashing character would be perfect. Cole would be the most hated man in WWE.
Bring back JR!
The problem here is we as the older generation of WWE/WWF/WCW fans grew up with Magnificent announcers!
We had in WCW.. Bobby The Brain/Tony Schavoni (i forget how he's spelled but you know who he is) and The Professor Mike Tenay. Terrific Trio! I remember all the classic "weasel" moments and Tony yelling at Bobby to shut up. It was CLASSIC CLASSIC material. It was as if they didn't even HAVE a script at times and they just went with it.
Then we run to the WWF where for the better part of the last decade we've had Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross working together. On occasion they threw in the Coach before his WWE departure and it made for outstanding entertainment. I think the problem here is we go from the WCW crew who were passionate about the wrestling business, and actually threw in useful facts to us (Mike Tenay seemed to always know everything..didn't he!? lol) mixed in with humor, and a basic knowledge of wrestling holds. And they could combine them very effectively. Then back to the WWE you had Jerry Lawler who was a wrestler so he knew what was going on in the ring, combine with JR who I honestly believe still thinks wrestling is real (and I say that because if you listen to the way he calls the events, it's as if everything is REAL and he announced with such energy and passion).
NOW...
We're stuck with Coleslaw. Michael "Vintage" Cole... What can we say about him. NO knowledge of wrestling holds, moves or anything. Hell I'm amazed he hasn't called the choke slam a tombstone pile driver. Believe it or not that was done many years ago before Austin took on Undertaker at In Your House Hell Frozen over(i think that was the title...or maybe it was a cold day in hell)... EITHER WAY...regardless Cole has made the WWE product BORING. He has to.HAS TO..absolutely HAS TO learn how to deal with Vince in his ear. JR did, King did, Foley could do it. For the love of God if they have to perhaps they should add Joey Styles as a 3rd person. Maybe make things interesting by having JR and Styles team up to constantly insult Cole. I don't know. All I know is WWE commentary used to be a fun thing to listen to. I could always count on King to crack a joke at JR's expense or make a "Puppies" reference..or a "Personal growth" reference.. or "You might be happily married JR..but your wife isn't"...Just hilarious stuff that would make me roll over laughing. Now what do we get?
VINTAGE
VINTAGE
VINTAGE
Gone are the good old days of commentary that provided entertainment, insight into the history of wrestling, and in some cases even carried the television audience through a painful match (SEE: ANY DIVAS MATCH). Now we are left with the hope that maybe just maybe Michael Cole can develop himself into the announcer of the future.
We had in WCW.. Bobby The Brain/Tony Schavoni (i forget how he's spelled but you know who he is) and The Professor Mike Tenay. Terrific Trio! I remember all the classic "weasel" moments and Tony yelling at Bobby to shut up. It was CLASSIC CLASSIC material. It was as if they didn't even HAVE a script at times and they just went with it.
Then we run to the WWF where for the better part of the last decade we've had Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross working together. On occasion they threw in the Coach before his WWE departure and it made for outstanding entertainment. I think the problem here is we go from the WCW crew who were passionate about the wrestling business, and actually threw in useful facts to us (Mike Tenay seemed to always know everything..didn't he!? lol) mixed in with humor, and a basic knowledge of wrestling holds. And they could combine them very effectively. Then back to the WWE you had Jerry Lawler who was a wrestler so he knew what was going on in the ring, combine with JR who I honestly believe still thinks wrestling is real (and I say that because if you listen to the way he calls the events, it's as if everything is REAL and he announced with such energy and passion).
NOW...
We're stuck with Coleslaw. Michael "Vintage" Cole... What can we say about him. NO knowledge of wrestling holds, moves or anything. Hell I'm amazed he hasn't called the choke slam a tombstone pile driver. Believe it or not that was done many years ago before Austin took on Undertaker at In Your House Hell Frozen over(i think that was the title...or maybe it was a cold day in hell)... EITHER WAY...regardless Cole has made the WWE product BORING. He has to.HAS TO..absolutely HAS TO learn how to deal with Vince in his ear. JR did, King did, Foley could do it. For the love of God if they have to perhaps they should add Joey Styles as a 3rd person. Maybe make things interesting by having JR and Styles team up to constantly insult Cole. I don't know. All I know is WWE commentary used to be a fun thing to listen to. I could always count on King to crack a joke at JR's expense or make a "Puppies" reference..or a "Personal growth" reference.. or "You might be happily married JR..but your wife isn't"...Just hilarious stuff that would make me roll over laughing. Now what do we get?
VINTAGE
VINTAGE
VINTAGE
Gone are the good old days of commentary that provided entertainment, insight into the history of wrestling, and in some cases even carried the television audience through a painful match (SEE: ANY DIVAS MATCH). Now we are left with the hope that maybe just maybe Michael Cole can develop himself into the announcer of the future.
The dislike of the "Cole-isms" is justified because of how they come off as so cheesy and annoying during a match. You're right that JR used "slobberknocker" and other weird terms like "government mule" a lot, but they were funny and added to the etertainment of his character. He had several of these odd terms rather than just one like Cole's VINTAGE though so it was tougher to get sick of those. Secondly, he knows far more about wrestling than Cole does. The same can be said for Joey Styles. "OH MAH GAWD" was a cool catchphrase and after saying it he'd often go straight back to doing the play-by-play. The reason his phrase never got old was because of it bringing out the intensity of what just happened in the ring.
Now, ask yourself this. When watching a match and you heard "Slobberknocker" from JR, or "OH MAH GAWD" from Styles how did you react? Was it laughing to yourself for a second or so then forgetting about it moments later because they went back to calling the match? That's the reaction it got from me. Cole's "VINTAGE" is different in the sense that I'm watching a match, hear Cole do his vintage thing, it makes me roll my eyes and/or cringe. It's annoying and can make what might have been a cool spot in a match be ruined by the annoyance factor.
"Vintage" used to mean something old, such as an antique. Cole first used his "Vintage" only with guys like Taker or Michaels. The rope walk from Taker would get "Vintage Undertaker!" and Michaels' flying elbow would get "Vintage Shawn Michaels!". In the past couple of years, he has begun using Vintage for really meaningless moments. Anyone else remember him saying "Vintage Bragging Rights!" at the PPV last semester? How can the first edition of a PPV litterally be "Vintage" when it's first time is going on at that same second? Then there's "You're watching the longest running episodic television show in history". There is no way I can ever take that seriously, it has turned into a game of guessing what part of the show he will randomly throw that line out during.
I don't hate Cole but I do dislike him for the cheesiness of the "Cole-isms" because they are annoying and do not add a positive feel to the current match the way commonly used lines by JR, Styles, Lawler, etc always did.
The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh
Tell me what's on ur so called mind
J.R.s catchphrases were all part of his character. He's an Oklahoman Football/Wrestling enthusiast and proud of it. I found banging on about BBQ sauce far more annoying than 'slobberknocker' or 'beaten like a government mule' but far less annoying than 'Vintage'.
Cole uses 'Vintage' when talking about people who debuted like 3 weeks ago or used a new move for literally the third time. Kofi debuts the S.O.S instead of just using his lame ass spin kick (sorry, 'Trouble In Paradise') finisher, and then the next time he uses that move 'VINTAGE KINGSTON!'
Christian does his falling reverse DDT, do we get a 'Vintage' there? No, of course not, why would we use that term for a consistently used manouvre by a guy who's been wrestling for mainstream promotions for at least 13 years? That would be ludicrous! Instead, let's call it a Twist of fate, even if there's not a Hardy for miles around.
Joey Styles would shout 'Oh My God!' because he was commentating for the poorest, least recognised in mainstream media, but contrastly the most violent and controversial promotion of all three main promotions at the time. It had a purpose. Not only was it helping to sell whatever ridiculous spot that was happeneing at the time, but it gave ECW that spontaneous unpredictability that was essential for success in that era. They weren't doing live shows whre anything can happen at any time, so they had to make it seem as unpredictable as possible. So not only was he shouting 'Oh My God' as in 'Oh My God, Funk's 63 and he's moonsaulting off of ladders! That's fucked up!', he was also shouting 'Oh My God!' as in 'Oh My God, I'd never have thought that i'd see a 63 year old man moonsault of a ladder. What the hell is going to happen next?'
Him screaming 'Cat Fight!' was far worse than shouting 'Oh My God!', but regardless of that, Joey Styles catchphrase could have been 'Well, that's my momma!' and he'd still be considered one of the top 5 announcers ever.
BECAUSE-HE-ACTUALLY-KNOWS-THE-CORRECT-WRESTLING-TERMINOLOGY-FOR-EVERY-SINGLE-MOVE-HE'S-EVER-SEEN. You'd never hear Styles mistake a falling reverse DDT for a swinging cutter, or calling an obvious spinebuster a powerbomb.
Cole spouts his crap in order to try and elevate talent and fails miserably, and as a result has actually created even more heat than he had previously, which i really didn't believe was possible.
Cole uses 'Vintage' when talking about people who debuted like 3 weeks ago or used a new move for literally the third time. Kofi debuts the S.O.S instead of just using his lame ass spin kick (sorry, 'Trouble In Paradise') finisher, and then the next time he uses that move 'VINTAGE KINGSTON!'
Christian does his falling reverse DDT, do we get a 'Vintage' there? No, of course not, why would we use that term for a consistently used manouvre by a guy who's been wrestling for mainstream promotions for at least 13 years? That would be ludicrous! Instead, let's call it a Twist of fate, even if there's not a Hardy for miles around.
Joey Styles would shout 'Oh My God!' because he was commentating for the poorest, least recognised in mainstream media, but contrastly the most violent and controversial promotion of all three main promotions at the time. It had a purpose. Not only was it helping to sell whatever ridiculous spot that was happeneing at the time, but it gave ECW that spontaneous unpredictability that was essential for success in that era. They weren't doing live shows whre anything can happen at any time, so they had to make it seem as unpredictable as possible. So not only was he shouting 'Oh My God' as in 'Oh My God, Funk's 63 and he's moonsaulting off of ladders! That's fucked up!', he was also shouting 'Oh My God!' as in 'Oh My God, I'd never have thought that i'd see a 63 year old man moonsault of a ladder. What the hell is going to happen next?'
Him screaming 'Cat Fight!' was far worse than shouting 'Oh My God!', but regardless of that, Joey Styles catchphrase could have been 'Well, that's my momma!' and he'd still be considered one of the top 5 announcers ever.
BECAUSE-HE-ACTUALLY-KNOWS-THE-CORRECT-WRESTLING-TERMINOLOGY-FOR-EVERY-SINGLE-MOVE-HE'S-EVER-SEEN. You'd never hear Styles mistake a falling reverse DDT for a swinging cutter, or calling an obvious spinebuster a powerbomb.
Cole spouts his crap in order to try and elevate talent and fails miserably, and as a result has actually created even more heat than he had previously, which i really didn't believe was possible.
