WWE WrestleMania XXVII: Michael Cole Vs. Jerry Lawler Is What You Paid to See

The current feud between Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole has been the beginning of a climax to a brilliantly slow burning heel turn of Michael Cole. 

Cole, who is unassuming and often dubbed annoying as a neutral play-by-play commentator, is the perfect cast for a heel character.  Honing his naturally unlikable qualities into a well oiled talking machine whose unpopularity became an addiction in and of itself, similar to Bobby Heenan, Cole has manufactured a refreshingly villainous character.

Coincidentally, this character is being booked exactly like Vince McMahon was when he evolved from a hard working play-by-play commentator to a maniacal emperor, which was arguably WWE's most pivotal heel turn as it coincided with a boom period in WWE as they took control of the Monday Night Wars. 

Vince McMahon's adoration for the announcing aspect of WWE is one of the unsung love stories in pro wrestling lore.  Had he not shared such adoration for a headset, McMahon would have never been a broadcaster for years of his long pro wrestling career.  In fact, the only thing McMahon appreciates more than announcing is an announcer who carries out his specific bidding in carrying out a formulaic virtuoso of announcing that brings to life his very own interpretation of his life's work. 

Jim Ross, while a legend, WWE hall of famer, and unmistakeably popular with high ranking WWE talent and fans, was far from McMahon's vision of the perfect broadcaster. 

Hall of fame accolades be damned, Ross was too Southern to fit the complex and ever changing bill of the Vince McMahon produced commentator.  Ross was too rough around the edges.  Too fat.  Ross was 'rasslin' in its truest form, and nothing irked McMahon more than when his sports entertainment empire was compared to petty 'rasslin'. 

In fact, it can be argued that there have only been two play-by-play announcers who have been fully appreciated by McMahon in his ongoing efforts to propagate the WWE universe through the wonderment of commentary - Vince McMahon himself, and Michael Cole. 

Desperate to replace Ross and his old-school feel, McMahon was unsuccessful in his efforts to rid his announce table of the gold standard in pro wrestling commentary for years.  Joey Styles knew too much about pro wrestling and treated it like a sport.  Mike Goldberg stuck with the UFC.  Even Michael Cole, who had replaced Ross following Ross' first bout with Bells Palsy, was too green and was poorly received by fans when he initially attempted to replace Jim Ross. 

But in the broadcasting booth, as has been the story of McMahon's life, McMahon braved through a litany of damning failures before he struck proverbial gold.  With Ross being unceremoniously shoved out of the door in 2009 after being unexpectedly shipped to Smackdown the year prior, Michael Cole was to replace the Hall of Famer permanently on WWE's flagship show - this time, it was whether the fans liked it or not.

Of course, they didn't like it.  And what casual fans don't like, the Internet abhorred.  The reviews on Michael Cole's attempt to replace a legend made critical responses to the Chaperone look like that of Raging Bull. 

The harder Cole tried, the more he was despised. And although Cole had inherent talent as a broadcaster it can be easily argued that the biggest complaint aimed at the defending three time winner of a meaningless and imaginary Wrestling Observer Award for worst announcer was that he wasn't Jim Ross.

Cole uncharacteristically began to embrace his heel character in 2010 as WWE tested the waters of Cole accepting his longtime repugnance to the WWE Universe.  The test came at the expense of the comparatively diminutive Internet crowd on the poorly TV rated turned Internet broadcasting of WWE developmental show of NXT.   

Cole's foil for his heel turn would be none other than the personification of wrestling Internet fans in Daniel Bryan.  While the collective Internet will cringe at the thought, when it's all said and done, Bryan's greatest WWE accomplishment could very well have been helping to get Cole over as a heel. 

One particular episode of NXT saw Daniel Bryan assault Cole during a frustrated tirade after he was eliminated from the show.  The ensuing chaotic scene, peppered with WWE officials, was reminiscent of Vince McMahon's physical altercation with Bret Hart during an episode of RAW in Canada. 

Once Cole got over as a heel at the expense of the eternally dissatisfied Internet crowd, who erroneously disguised their dislike for Cole as 'go-away heat', the momentum was used to put plans in place for a full blown heel turn that would engulf his then part time labor as an obnoxious antagonist rarely seen in the play-by-play role.

Cole cultivated his heat, rubbing the proverbial dry sticks together with his constant praise of the Miz.  Miz, a rising star in his own right is also unpopular with WWE fans.  Once the Cole/Miz marriage took off, there was no turning back as each week Michael Cole, the man, aggressively transformed into Michael Cole, the character. 

Cole's ubiquitous exuberance for the Miz eventually allowed him to cross paths with his own broadcast colleague, longtime WWE employee and legend Jerry 'the King' Lawler.  Like his former broadcast colleague before MIchael Cole, Lawler is a pro wrestling lifer and a well traveled veteran who is well received by the general WWE fanbase.

On one particular episode of RAW, Lawler came within an eyelash of capturing his first WWE Championship despite being in the late stages of his wrestling career.  What would follow was outside interference from Michael Cole that would set the stage for the WrestleMania match nobody though they wanted. 

But did. 

Internet fans tend to pride themselves on their jaded nature, reveling in their own inability to be sucked into the incessant work that is World Wrestling Entertainment.  The Internet cheers the heels.  They hate the babyfaces.  They don't do as their told. 

However Michael Cole transcend heel heat to the degree where even the Internet Wrestling Community, a community that is usually so staunch in its approval of what was otherwise designed to irk more casual fans, despise him as a heel.  And for those who wish to pridefully argue that the general hatred of Michael Cole is of the go-away variety, don't forget to check the ratings during segments featuring his likeness. 

Jerry Lawler challenged Michael Cole to a WrestleMania match on the 2/21/11 edition of Monday Night RAW.  The challenged sparked a positive reaction from the fans, in the Save Mart arena in Fresno, California, that diffused any residual concerns about Michael Cole as a heel.  Cole's heinous acts as an early and unlikely candidate for the Wrestling Observer's pretend heel of the year award have garnered a high amount of interest in his inevitable comeuppance. 

Cole and Lawler's current feud is being compared to Lawler's own legendary feud with the late, great Andy Kaufman, and rightfully so.  Andy Kaufman was the master of getting reactions out of people, and his impeccable timing and overall brilliance always coordinated successfully in getting a rise out of audiences worldwide. 

The similarities between Lawler's feuds with Cole and Kaufman are far from coincidental, making it highly possible that WWE temporarily lifts its ban on the pile driver so that Lawler can use it on Cole come WrestleMania XXVII just as he did Kaufman. 

Cole's ensuing antics in a neck brace for six months will be sure to once again transcend today's genre of heel by borrowing from successful instances of the past  which has been the calling card of sports entertainment for decades. 

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