Michael Cole

[8.0] "I have some bias for cole because he was the commentator I felt I always heard growing up. He isnt the greatest commentator ever, but he does a really contagious level of passion. It seems some people just think hes the best or the worst, I cant see a case for either, but for me he is a pretty great commentator"

[6.0] "He was one of the first wrestling commentators I was regularly able to hear, commentating on Smackdown in the late 90s. I didn't mind him at all back then, there was a genuine side to him, he seemed new and enthusiastic. Nowadays I tend to find him slightly arrogant and certainly patronising - he's someone who I think would like the audience to believe that WWE is the only show in town, which now having watching wrestling for 30 years I know is absolutely not the case at all and thank God for that."

[3.0] "Absolutely horrible at commentary whilst also somehow having a job for nearly 30 years doing it. He speaks in emotionless corporate speak, tries way to hard to have 'iconic soundbyte calls', constantly calls the moves wrong despite his experience and gives away the ending of every match by the way he calls pinfalls. The only reason that he isn't 0 is because he did have good chemistry with Tazz and JBL and his commentary in the mid 2000s was at least bearable as a result. But in the Attitude Era with Lawler he's kinda bad and then with Lawler in the PG era he's downright horrendous. People say 'he's good now because he doesn't have Vince screaming down his ear' but he's just as awful in my book - so bad that I often switch to the foreign commentary on PPVs so I don't have to hear him. He's also really bad in the ring but that's understandable - he still had one of, if not the worst Mania match against Lawler though. Michael Cole is a lot like Vince McMahon in the way he commentates, the main difference though is that Vince's commentary feels kinda crappy, but very genuine. Cole just feels fake. Plus with Vince you at least have the inherent comedy of the booker being forced to sit right in front of the horrible mid 90s shows he booked and watch everything on camera. Cole should have been gone years ago, but he seemingly has a job for life because everyone is too nice to fire him, and legions of fans who grew up with him and don't know what good commentary is would complain. But I doubt any other wrestling company would ever hire Cole at any point in his career if he got fired, because of how bad he is. He was a pretty good backstage interviewer though, unremarkable but got the job done. But since he's spent most of his career as a commentator, I'm grading him on that."

[4.0] "Personally, his voice and style has always irked me. Sounds too sanitized most of the time. But he can't help that part. What he can help is how often he messes up even the most basic of calls and thus interferes with the storytelling. A lot. I don't this he's the worst thing ever, but he sure does not help the product at all in my eyes."

[7.0] "Easily the earner of the #1 most-improved commentator award now that he doesn't have McMahon screaming in his ear. You can tell that he has a new desire to work now that he no longer answers to Vince, & his commentating has vastly improved, & he just seems like a generally overall happier worker. He was pretty cringe in the mid 2000's & we just won't mention any times he's ever wrestled, but once Vince left, he really did just get gobs better. He clearly has a love for what he does; if he hadn't, he certainly would have quit long ago."

[4.0] "Borderline unbearable at points. Very early on when he was covering for JR it makes you realise how good Ross is. His most bearable work was when he was paired with Tazz and even with Kevin Kelly on Heat and Jakked. When he was a heel commentator he was incredibly irritating and you lacked any play to play, since Booker says anything he wants, appropriate or not. His worst form might actually be now, the goofy, elderly Michael Cole who desperately tries to convince us he's a normal guy who isn't around wrestling 24/7 and who isn't rich either. Nostalgia shouldn't play a part in your rating. I've never found him good only tolerable."

[7.0] "Michael Cole and Taz are the voices of my childhood. I don't remember seeing Cole wrestle besides the one match he had with Jerry Lawler (Wrestlania 27 I think? ). He maybe used the "vintage" term too often."

[10.0] "Michael Cole is an amazing commentator and has shown true passion in his work. I feel he is underrated and deserves more respect for his years and dedication to the sport. Something that gets forgotten about when it comes to Michael Cole is that he has had many peaks and valleys throughout the course of his twenty-five year career in WWE. The greatest play by play commentator of all time due to his longevity and his ability to call matches with unmatched enthusiasm as well as constantly keeping the audience's focus with quickfire commentary as well as unmatched energy. Anyone saying that Michael Cole is not a great commentator should be ashamed of themselves."

[0.0] "This rating is about him in ring. As a commentator he's an 8/7.5. But as a wrestler my lord. Maybe the worst Wrestlemania match ever in his catalog. If it weren't for that match Jerry Lawler might be a 10/10 wrestler and the other 3 real matches (according to this site) don't do him much better. That being said he isn't a pure 0 more like 0.5 soley for the 2011 rumble. I still have no idea what vince was thinking putting commentators in matches in the pg era cole couldn't wrestle man. I don't have anything else to say as a wrestler cole stinks"

[7.0] "In the ring (well, metaphorically speaking), Michael Cole excels at being the voice of WWE's brand voice. He knows when to hype up Roman Reigns, when to gasp in disbelief at a finisher, and when to awkwardly segue into a sponsor plug for Snickers or Mountain Dew Pitch Black. He's mastered the art of WWE-approved excitement--a skill that's as impressive as it is occasionally robotic. Of course, we can't forget Heel Michael Cole, that weird phase when he was paired with The Miz and a glass box during the height of his villain arc. Watching him cheer for the bad guys was like seeing your high school principal suddenly start skateboarding--it didn't quite fit, but you couldn't look away."

[4.0] "Has a very good run alongside Tazz on Smackdown in the 2000s, but ultimately very unconvincing as a lead commentator for a major television show."

[7.0] "Micheal Cole is fine. He ain't the worst play by play guy like people make him out to be. Cole was sadly restricted to say whatever Vince thought was right. Cole before the PG Era alongside Tazz was underrated imo. Then came the PG Era, the time when Micheal Cole became the worst heel character who had a huge boner whenever The Miz decided to grace the WWE Universe with his presence. Also, never underestimate Michael Cole's abilty to ruin a surprise return with his trademark "OHHH MYYY" and "HOLY COW". But once you overlook these, Michael Cole overall work is very solid. Nowadays, he is enjoying his job and I can't be more happy for him"

[7.0] "For years and years, the cliche went "Cole would be great if he didn't have Vince yelling in his ear." Well, not only has that borne out to be true in the last few years but it also overlooks how solid he was even during the worst dregs of Vince's megalomania. No one can hope to escape the shadow that JR casts over WWE commentary, but when you look at all the other face and play-by-play guys since WWF/E went national, he's pretty easily the second best and maybe the only person outside of Nigel McGuinness's NXT tenure who brought any real investment in the work once you set aside mandated hashtag boosting and repetitive phrases. Subtly witty and quick-thinking and able to forge a good rapport with nearly anyone else at the table, Cole is a good meat-and-potatoes commentator whose worst attributes are largely not his fault."

[5.0] "He had that really rough spot in the PG era, and Triple H really helped him improve again, until I started to hate his work again. At his best, he's able to call matches in such a great way, being one of the highlights of WWE commentary. But at worst, he's so annoying. Especially now that he's been with Pat McAfee; I know they love each other and they're charismatic, but they're so obnoxious together and sometimes ruin the commentary for me."

[9.0] "I would give him a higher rating, but I have to write a longer review for that, and I don't have that much to say besides this: Cole has gotten so much better under HHH; even before that, he's had legendary calls such as "The heist of the century" and "A miracle on Bourbon Street." Nowadays, we get one of those almost every month. His hate for Dominik is hilarious, and the part he played in Cody's story was legendary."

[4.0] "Has he gotten better? Sure. It was such a low bar to clear he had nowhere else to go but up. He can still be robotic and monotonous at times and now with all the corporate shilling he's got that bland cadence like Jon Anik in the UFC. Michael Cole's best is like Jim Ross' worst."

[9.0] "Michael Cole is an amazing commentator and has shown true passion in his work. The hard part though was saying some bizarre lines and Vince McMahon chewing him out regardless of the delivery. While most like Michael's current commentary, I think his best work was on Smackdown from 2002 to 2008 as he shined with Tazz and JBL. The heel run was a major disappointment and a dark mark on his career. However, he never lost a match at WrestleMania so there's that I guess."

[7.0] "His work before 2008 is amazing but with an out of touch Vince, Cole wasn't forced to be himself until the early 2020s. His commentary after so much control has been getting out of its rust but Cole will for sure age better as his commentary grows into harmony after years of being blocked by Vince."

[9.0] "I am very surprised the low rating for Michael Cole. I would think he would be at an 8 or 7 at least. The guy goes out of his way to commentate for World Wrestling Entertainment for around 25 years and hasn't missed more than 4 shows. He is quick on the mic and has said some very memorable lines."

[2.0] "He's clearly talented, but man is Michael Cole a tough voice to listen to every week for 20 years. I hate the stuff Vince has him say and how shilly he is. I get that's part of the job, but we never hear him talk about lower card matches as they happen. He's telling you what hashtags to use, talks about the main event story, and reminds you to tune in for the next event. Again so much of this is out of his control, but the overexposure has ruined him for me. Cole also doesn't seem to know how to work with McAfee the obnoxious frat bro."

[7.0] "I understand the Michael Cole hate, but he is not entirely to blame, he was sadly held hostage by Vince during most of his career, screaming in his ear. But now after he left he showed his true talent, and he showed that he is really good, in the last few years, he managed to redeem his whole career"

[8.0] "I understand the hate towards Michael, especially when he was basically being held against the wall by Vince, but before 2009 and after 2020, we saw so much of how great he actually is without as much of that direction. And even in that dark period, when he was more free in DVD commentaries alongside Mick Foley, we got to see a more introspective side. He's good at putting over silly moments, serious moments and epic moments. Glad he dropped that "OH MY! " thing, though."

[9.0] "I absolutely don't understand the hate towards Cole's commentary. I think he is great, I don't really remember a period where he was really bad, surely there were times where it wasn't awesome. But he was here for a very very long time, you can always count on him."

[4.0] "I used to be really down on Cole as a commentator but ever since Vince left Cole has shown he can be a pretty okay commentator. It's a shame he wasn't able to show that talent for the majority of his career but I'm glad he's finally getting the chance to redeem himself somewhat in the eyes of fans. Sadly I can't really give him that high of a score since his run during the 2010s was one of the worst of any commentator I've ever seen. And the whole feud with Lawlor was downright unwatchable."

[9.0] "For a long time, Michael Cole was the whipping boy of wrestling fans. I believe a lot of that stems from him replacing JR in the 90s (for a short while) and permanently in 2008. I really enjoyed his work on SmackDown, he was great alongside Taz and later JBL. At that point, he obviously wasn't amazing but he did have great chemistry with those two and really added to the show. His move to Raw in 2008 was pretty awful, I must admit. Doesn't help the matter that WWE was about to start an awful period (PG era) and Cole had to go into clown mode every week alongside a clearly past it Jerry Lawler. He became absolutely unbearable, and whilst I thought his heel turn was a little fun at the start, it clearly went on too long and became an absolute slog to listen to. However, once you realise he was only doing what Vince asked of him, then you begin to feel a little sorry for the guy. There's a clip online somewhere of him complaining about having to repeat the same thing over and over again, so you could tell even Michael Cole was sick of the constant bs Vince was feeding into his ear. He began to improve quite a bit in the mid 2010s after the whole heel turn being over, and since Vince left, he has taken his commentary to a different level. He had shown signs of what he was capable of doing on commentary whenever Vince wasn't around (Japan show) and you could definitely tell the guy knew wrestling and cared about it, but Vince and whoever else was in his ear really made him a poor commentator. Now, he is pretty damn fantastic and dare I say, iconic of this generation. Sure, he doesn't sound like the great JR (nobody ever will) but he definitely has that ability to make the shows that little bit better with his ability as a commentator. Will go down as the voice of WWE from 2010 until he retires. Really happy to see how he turned things around."

[10.0] "Michael Cole is a legendary commentator. He has been the color commentator since I watch WWE for the first time until now as I'm about to go to university. He is the voice of WWE. One thing I love about Cole is the fact that he always improve even after more than 20 years in the business. He also gives excitment for the match and his reactions for the OMG moments has been one of the most vital thing in WWE. Since Triple H took over WWE, Cole has been doing his best work and he is really enjoying it."

[10.0] "I stopped watching WWE back in 2018 because of the slob that was put out on a weekly basis, and Michael Cole's robotic commentary was a part of that slob. I tuned back into pro wrestling as a whole in 2022 WrestleMania season, and saw how much a lot of things had changed. Especially after Vince left and HHH took creative control, you could see the delight and passion in Cole's commentary. I have loved his chemistry with Corey Graves, Wade Barrett and especially Pat McAfee; and his ability to get wrestlers, items or storylines over to the audience watching on TV.He is at the top of his game right now as the Undisputed Voice of WWE, for me at least."

[9.0] "An all time great commentator, from 2022 on (triple H taking over) He's been great, good at putting over serious moments, and even comedy especially with pat, much improved from before turns out maybe he wasnt all that bad, more blame on vince than him"

[10.0] "Just to be clear this rating is only for Cole as a commentator. Especially since Vince has left Cole has been on top of his game. His chemistry with Mcafee is great too and really has reinvigorated his career. Looking back now you can see the influence of Vince in the past, but I think you have to respect that he has been the voice of our generation, one of the most consistent people in wrestling, being there every night, and putting up with some absolute nonsense. I think that right now, he's the best he's ever been"

[10.0] "Now that Vince isn't screaming in his ear, he actually is fun to listen to. Him & Pat is a perfect combo. They work so well together. Those 2 are amazing together. He's been commentating for over 20 years, and he deserves to get inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame. He's probably the most overhated commentators of all time. He's great at his job. No Michael Cole slander allowed from me. Absolutely nobody can disrespect this man. He's been one of the most loyal commentators in the WWE. He's great. 10/10"

[8.0] "He is a good commentator. Obviously nowhere near Jim Ross's level as a commentator, but good. I appreciate his voice and energy. Sometimes he botches lines, and repeats the same phrases too often but I think that was Vince's fault. He's still better than a lot of other commentators."

[10.0] "Since Vince left, you can tell Cole has fallen in love with wrestling again, he no longer has to say what Vince tells him. His commentary with Pat has been well received by everyone, understandably so. Being with Wade was a bit odd at first but it has been great, and still has great chemistry with Corey as well. He's one of the very best, believably on par with Good Ol' JR and Bobby Hennan and I'm happy he's been given his flowers by the community, throughout the last handful of Vince-free years."

[8.0] "I speak only as someone who started watching in the last third of 2023 - Michael Cole is fantastic, easily the best announcer in WWE at the moment. His genuine passion for the industry - now seemingly free of Vince - makes him the real voice of the company. Whilst I'm not as fond of him as the announcers over at AEW, I'm never sad to hear to his voice on Raw or any of their PPVs. Though, considering how bad I hear 2010-2020 Cole is, makes me have a bit of trepidation about watching WWE's back catalogue."

[8.0] "Most of Coles' issues stem from Vince McMahon's direction of him. Now that Vince is no longer directing him, I think it's safe to say that Michel Cole is a good commentator. Most of Coles' issues stem from Vince, and it certainly shows nowadays. His chemistry with McAffe and Graves is, at the very least, solid. Even his dynamic with Taz and JBL back in the Ruthless Aggression Era was solid. While he is not as good as Jim Ross in his prime, he's not godawful."

[2.0] "I apologize but I really dislike Michael Cole as a commentator, I know people really enjoy him nowadays but I can't with him and Corey, they just talk way too much and don't bring any insight like you'd want from a solid announcing team. Cole just doesn't know the moments where to let the atmosphere of the arena speak for itself."

[4.0] "My trauma from listening to Cole from 2010-2020 is too deep to say hes a great announcer, hes improved but the revisionist history is crazy. He was good with Tazz but thats about it. Nowhere near JR in his prime despite what WWE might tell you."

"If this was 2020 I would have agreed with most of the negative comments. However, with Vince no longer being in his ear all night, and with his chemistry with McAfee, I have come to realize how good he is when he is allowed to be himself."

[1.0] "Horrific commentator with an awful voice. Recently began breaking kayfabe which is just strange. The oh my and can it be nonsense for every great return. The voice of the worst era of wwe and now parades himself around like some legend. Awful. Its hated but he peaked as a heel commentator as a miz fanboy as he could actually get some heat and wasnt painful to listen t. now he just reads the internet and says that in order to get brownie points. Does have a tough job following Jim Ross to be fair to him but theres so many better"

[9.0] "Michael Cole is great. Michael Cole was great even when Vince McMahon was yelling in his ear. He made it to the top for a reason, he knows how to convey what's going on int he moment while also bringing his own personality into his commentary. In my opinion, his work with Jerry Lawler holds up just as well as the work he is doing today."

[6.0] "Michael Cole is like NASCAR on NBC's Rick Allen (I know it's like comparing apples to oranges when it comes to the different topics they cover, but I feel like both are similar in commentary style), you are either going to love his commentary or dislike it a lot. I feel like Michael Cole can come off annoying at times, but he is very solid for the most part, he's even better when he gets excited about something, like his commentary when Rey Mysterio was hitting Dominik with a belt at Wrestlemania 39, that was a pure gold reaction from Michael. His obsession with heel Miz in 2011 was not really that good but it was somewhat funny, but also obnoxious at times. Overall, Michael deserves a 6, but he isn't close to the best commentator in Pro Wrestling history."

[10.0] "He is the most consistent commentator of all time. I dont get the hate, I never did, he fits his character perfectly. He never lets, like, blank scenes without commentating, cause there are commentators who just dont talk all the time. He always knows what to say and makes a show entertaining by himself. Why do you think raw suddenly started getting better in 2022-2023. I think he is the best example of a play by play commentator. I really dont know what to say bad about him. Maybe sometimes he gets too into not breaking the 4th wall but thats just how his character is"

[8.0] "Michael Cole's career from the PG era & onward had a lot of down moments with a few good commentating here and there. However, during his run with Ruthless Aggression SmackDown, he genuinely seemed like he cared about his job & clearly was having fun and a lot more energetic calling some classic matches during this time. Even in his small stint on Raw during the Attitude Era was decent. He doesn't get a rating higher than 8 though because he was one of the few individuals who severely got worse when the PG era came into fruition."

[4.0] "People keep seemingly going on about how Michael Cole has turned a new leaf after his ear has been McMahon free but I don't think he's good still. Most of his commentary sounds like it's played back from a WWE 2K game with occasional extra lines added, and me and my friend have a thing where we go "shut up Cole" when we watch PPV's every time some dumb sh*t comes out if his mouth. And he says enough for that to become a habit. There's commentators that are way way better like Kevin Kelly, Schiavone, Riccaboni, Taz, Excalibur, Barrett and Kevin Patrick."

[8.0] "A legend on the mic he had a lot of bad years cause of the Vince booking of the commentators and mainly of him and JR. His run as a heel was a disaster but when he is allow to do his job like his been allow right now under Triple H he showing why he is showing he is one of the best like he showed some moments before once he was allowed."

[7.0] "Cole was a trope, a very generic play by play commentator and the matches he called were void of passion. He did his work well but still he was dull without personality. Things have changed though after he started calling with Pat Mcafee, he has become more free, more fun, more passionate and less predictable and tedious. Even after McAfee quit, he kept the passion he had with McAfee going. He is no longer bounded by the shackles that had held him down and is so fun right now. He isn't completely free from making mistakes but still, his work is so much better now."

[10.0] "He's been getting so much better since he's had Pat's company. The Show with him has a completely different vibe, just compare it to the other narrator for example, who is still miles away from Cole. I feel he is underrated and deserves more respect for his years and dedication to the sport... Having to put up with Vince's voice in your ear for over twenty years couldn't have been easy. At the end of the day, he is the best that the Company (WWE) has to offer us, great to know that he now does Smackdown and RAW! This will give extra credibility to the shows every week, you can be sure of that."

[9.0] "It's funny how people immediately changed their mind about Cole when Vince stepped down. He has been going solid through his whole career, just delivered some fresh stuff without old man screaming to the earphones. Michael is living legend of WWE and his voice alongside JR, The King, The Brain and Gorilla will be recognized with most memorable moments of this company."

[9.0] "If it comes to commentary, he's the GOAT. You can hear that he loves what he's doing. Amazing career."

[10.0] "The greatest play by play commentator of all time due to his longevity and his ability to call matches with unmatched enthusiasm as well as constantly keeping the audience's focus with quickfire commentary as well as unmatched energy. Anyone saying that Michael Cole is not a great commentator should be ashamed of themselves"

[10.0] "The undisputed GOAT of commentary. Get so much unnecessary criticism because he "didn't start in the business" or because they just miss Jim Ross. His enthusiasm, delivery and passion as well as being able to give information for newer viewers makes him perfect as the main play by play commentator for WWE."