Many fans of modern WWE have not known a world without Michael Cole. Often referred to as “The Voice of WWE,” Cole has been the company’s main play-by-play commentator for decades, carrying the torch once held by Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon before him. That said, he’s been one of the most controversial thanks to his commentating style and some of the things he’s had to say on WWE television.
Regardless of how fans feel about him, Michael Cole has enjoyed a successful quarter century in the pro wrestling business, and there’s a lot to know about the veteran announcer. Let’s cover Cole’s career, focusing on 10 things fans — and detractors — should know about him.
10 A Legitimate Journalist
Michael Cole isn’t just some communications major who lucked into a wrestling gig — he’s actually a legitimate journalist.
Born Sean Michael Coulthard, the future Michael Cole worked as a reporter for CBS Radio and covered major events in the late 1980s to the mid 1990s, including presidential campaigns, the Branch Davidian siege in Waco, and the Yugoslav Wars in Eastern Europe, and the Oklahoma City Bombing. But it was his career in radio that eventually got him a job with WWE.
9 Friends With Todd Pettengill
Ironically, Coulthard’s entry into the wrestling business was thanks to a friendship with his predecessor, 1990s WWE host and backstage interviewer Todd Pettengill. Coulthard and Pettengill worked at the same radio station in the 1980s, and stayed in touch even after their paths diverged.
When Todd Pettengill was looking to move on from WWE, he recommended Michael Cole as the perfect choice to replace him, as Cole and Pettengill not only look kind of similar, but Cole was also an avid pro wrestling fan.
8 Started Off As A Backstage Interviewer
Sean Michael Coulthard signed with WWE in 1996, where he got the stage name of Michael Cole, reportedly because of the similarity of his real name to top WWE star Shawn Michaels. Upon signing, Cole literally took over Todd Pettengill’s duties, working as a backstage interviewer, doing voiceovers, and co-hosting LiveWire.
It wouldn’t be long however, before Michael Cole ended up behind the commentary table. Initially starting out as an additional member of the Raw commentary team in 1997, Cole found himself becoming the lead commentator due to Jim Ross suffering from Bell’s palsy.
7 SmackDown Commentator
In 1999, WWE debuted a new major primetime show, SmackDown, and gave Michael Cole the gig as lead commentator for the show, a role that would become his exclusive home during the 2002 brand split all the way until 2008, when he was moved over to Raw.
Initially calling the matches with Jerry Lawler, over the years Cole would have a number of notable broadcast colleagues, including Tazz, Mick Foley, Paul Heyman, and Jonathan Coachman.
6 Managed WWE’s Website
Despite much of his background being in broadcasting, in the spring of 2006, Michael Cole found himself with a surprising new role: managing editor of WWE.com, after boss Vince McMahon expressed grievances with the quality of WWE’s website.
The new role was announced via an article on WWE.com, with Cole stressing that he wanted to improve the website and assuring readers that, despite his SmackDown commentary role, the website wouldn’t favor either brand.
5 Countless Catchphrases
Any given wrestling commentator will have a stockpile of go-to lines and catchphrases that fans will eventually notice. Due to Michael Cole’s long tenure in WWE, he has myriad stock lines, many of which have become in-jokes and memes among wrestling fans.
One of the most enduring is the use of the word “vintage” any time a wrestler does a signature move, exclaiming “Vintage Kane!” for the sidewalk slam or “Vintage Orton!” for the Hangman’s DDT. More recently, every time Sasha Banks comes out, Cole invariably shouts “It’s BOSS time!”
4 Heel Turn
In 2010, while commentating on the first season of game show era NXT, Michael Cole started having a change in attitude, singing the praises of The Miz while trashing Daniel Bryan at every turn. Eventually, this became a full-on heel turn for Cole, a rare and strange choice for a play-by-play guy.
During this run, Cole’s smarmy character would trash the good guys while hiding in a Pope-like enclosure called the Cole Mine to evade attack. Moreover, he would be the mouthpiece for the Anonymous Raw General Manager, reading the GM’s decrees from a ringside laptop.
3 Had A Match At WrestleMania
In late 2010, Michael Cole’s love for The Miz went too far, as he helped Miz retain the WWE Title in a TLC match against Cole’s broadcast partner Jerry Lawler, sparking a full-on feud between the two commentators.
This led to an infamously reviled match between the two at WrestleMania XXVII in 2011, followed by rematches at Extreme Rules and Over the Limit. Notably, this oddball storyline match would be Cole’s first-ever singles match and Lawler’s only-ever match at a WrestleMania.
2 Trains The New Announcers
Michael Cole doesn’t just devote his time with WWE to calling matches on TV and pay-per-view. He also has a hand in the development of future generations of commentators, as Cole’s years of experience with what the higher-ups at WWE ask for in their commentators is surely invaluable to those new to the company.
WWE’s Performance Center has facilities to help train these commentators in honing their skills, and Cole actively works with them in doing so.
1 Hearing Loss
In 2021, Michael Cole was a guest on his SmackDown broadcast partner Pat McAfee’s radio show, The Pat McAfee Show, during which it was revealed that Cole has roughly 65% hearing loss. In order to hear his partner as well as communication from backstage producers, Cole wears special earpieces underneath his headset.
During the show, Cole and McAfee mused that the hearing loss could have come from explosions during his journalism days or from decades of Cole’s work as a commentator wearing headsets.