Michael Cole

The self-proclaimed “Voice of WWE” and “future WWE Hall of Famer” Michael Cole is the play-by-play announcer for Monday Night Raw and a color commentator on Friday Night SmackDown. Though he has been a fixture on WWE TV since mid-1997, only in 2010 did the WWE Universe realize exactly how loathsome Cole can be.

Before joining the wild world of WWE, Cole was a standout in the field of broadcast journalism, working for CBS radio and building a résumé one wouldn’t expect of an announcer who currently causes his broadcast colleagues and WWE fans to stock up on headache remedies.

While working for CBS Radio in 1993, Cole covered the entire 51-day standoff at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. In 1994, he traveled to Sarajevo for what was supposed to be a six-week assignment covering the siege of the city by Serbian forces. The assignment turned into a nine-month, life-changing experience that saw him report daily from a war-torn city, ducking snipers and mortar shells at every turn. His documentary, "Voices of Bosnia," was critically acclaimed and won several major awards. With experience in reporting the most tragic of events, Cole was dispatched to Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995 to cover the horrific bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.

Cole also covered three United States Presidential elections; in 1988 with Michael Dukakis, 1992 with Bill Clinton, and 1996 with Steve Forbes and then Bob Dole. One year after his final stretch of election coverage, Cole entered sports-entertainment.

In 1997, Cole brought his talents to WWE and sat alongside a litany of broadcast partners that include Jim Cornette, Tazz, John “Bradshaw” Layfield, Jim Ross, Kevin Kelly, Jerry “The King” Lawler, Jonathan Coachman, Mick Foley, Matt Striker, Todd Grisham, Josh Mathews and Booker T.

However, in early 2010, the largely objective former journalist slowly showed signs of negative outspokenness while calling WWE NXT. The interviewer who once entertained the WWE Universe by receiving a wedgie by DX and getting humiliated by The Rock in verbal tirades slowly said and did things to make him more reviled by WWE fans.

Insulting the likes of Jim Ross and former Divas Champion Eve, Cole’s incendiary comments and aggressive support of The Miz got the announcer out from under the headset and into a bright orange singlet on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

At WrestleMania XXVII, Cole faced Raw announce team colleague Jerry Lawler with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was signed as special guest referee. It simply wasn’t pretty but not just because of Cole’s ludicrous ring wear. The Voice of WWE took a much needed beating in front of millions but left with a highly debatable victory by disqualification – a fact Cole is quick to recall on air almost weekly on Raw.

In the months that followed, Cole tasted “de-feet” in the form of a Kiss My Foot Match he lost to Lawler and the contemptible commentator ultimately apologized to both The King and the rest of the WWE Universe for his actions. This hasn’t stopped Cole from offending and irritating viewers with his one-sided brand of broadcast journalism. The multiple-time Slammy Award winner’s subjective commentary still remains reason for WWE fans to cherish the “mute” button on the TV remotes.