WWE: Is Michael Cole Too Much of a Distraction?

A good announcer can make an average wrestling show or match seem much better than it is, and a great announcer can take a good match and turn it into a classic. 

That’s exactly what someone like Jim Ross does. He shows such real emotion and energy that the fans almost have no choice but to be sucked into a match that he calls. 

Conversely, there are announcers who can be so bad that they make you want to mute your TV. That’s where Michael Cole comes in. 

Once just a generic announcer who wasn’t terrible but was far from good, Cole started developing somewhat of a personality early in 2010. At first, I liked that he was more than simply a talking head, but my enjoyment quickly turned to aggravation. 

Seemingly overnight, Cole went from just another announcer to this over-the-top, talkative mega heel who just won’t shut the hell up. 

Vince McMahon may think that Cole has turned into a legitimate heel, but he’s not the right type of antagonist. He’s not the Mark Henry or Christian-like heel—fans can’t stand them because they actually know how to play the bad-guy role. 

Rather, Cole is that douchebag that you just want to go away. He's that guy who is so bad at what he does that he generates what is known in the wrestling business as “X-Pac heat.” Much like John Laurinaitis, people just want him to keep his mouth shut or leave the WWE altogether. 

Cole has become what you never want your lead announcer to be.

He's a distraction. 

Wrestling announcers are supposed to be secondary figures on TV and pay-per-view broadcasts. Much like news anchors, they are supposed to tell the story and report the news rather than be a part of it.

However, Cole has not only become a part of the WWE’s major angles and storylines. In many ways, he’s become the focus of Monday Night Raw. 

From his “Michael Cole Challenge” to his “Cole Mine” to his undying love for the WWE’s top heels, Cole has forgotten that he’s there to add to Raw’s broadcast, not take away from it. 

Yet, that’s exactly what he’s done. 

This is not to say that Cole should not show some sort of personality—he should. He is the WWE’s lead play-by-play man and the so-called “Voice of the WWE,” yet you wouldn’t know it by the way he acts on TV. 

Instead of calling moves and engaging the fans with the way he talks about what’s going on in the ring, he bickers with Jerry Lawler, mocks Booker T and rambles on about Twitter. It has to stop. 

I realize that it is probably Vince who’s calling the shots and making Cole’s character the way it is, but there has to come a point when he realizes that what was once a good thing has turned to complete and utter crap. 

Yes, Cole’s character is a flaming pile of doggie doo-doo. 

He’s like that bothersome fly that flies around the room and makes that outrageously aggravating buzzing sound. You hear it, you see it and it prevents you from being able to do whatever it is that you’re doing. 

However, there’s nothing you can do to stop it. Or is there? 

In my opinion, there is.

Maybe that doesn’t mean you can kick Cole off TV or legitimately fire the man—because I doubt that’s happening anytime soon—but you can tell him to do what his job title entails. That is, actually announce. 

Good ol’ J.R. isn’t going to be remembered in wrestling history because he had a good character. He’s going to be remembered because he was phenomenal at calling the action in the ring. 

At this rate, Cole is going to be remembered for the exact opposite. He's taking away from it.