For the longest time, Michael Cole was not a popular figure among pro wrestling fans. As the voice of WWE, he was also the voice of Vince McMahon, and it was relaying the disgraced former WWE Chairman's thoughts on air that led to many turning on him.
In a fantastic new profile by The Ringer, Cole speaks out on the experience as do many of his colleagues, including WWE Hall of Famer and AEW commentator Jim Ross.
"I’ve been cursed out [by Vince McMahon] on the headset many times," he says. "You say, ‘Well, that’s disconcerting.’ Of course it is. That’s the idea. The old man tries to rattle you, and he wants to see if you’re going to hold up."
Michael Hayes, a longtime WWE match producer, adds, "I’ll be honest with you, I would tune the announcers out. Because they were telling Vince’s story. And they should—he’s the boss. But, sometimes, I don’t think they were telling the story that the people wanted to hear."
For Cole, while he remains grateful for the opportunities McMahon gave him, he's also glad to be free from those pressures. "Vince could feed me a couple of words and I would be able to expand on that and make it paragraphs," he recalls. "I’m not going to lie. There have been times where he has said things to me that were inappropriate."
"I would go back to Gorilla after the show and get in his face and tell him, ‘That was bullshit.’ He respected that I did that," Cole continues. "Over the next few years, people still didn’t accept me because they looked at me as being a puppet for Vince. And I think some of that probably was true."
"Listen, I’m not a rebel. I’m here to make money and take care of my family and provide myself a good living. And when your boss asks you to do something, you do it. I still think, at that time, I was a hell of a good announcer."
He's an even better one now, though, and Cole credits Triple H with that. "Ever since Paul took over, he’s allowed me to have this freedom," he explains. "I’ve heard so many people over the past couple of years [say] that they enjoy my commentary so much more now."
"The first 24 years, Michael Cole was out here. I was playing a broadcaster. The last three years, Sean Coulthard, that’s who you’re seeing."
"That personality I’m bringing out now is who I really am," Cole adds. "I’m bombastic. I’m sarcastic. I’m a prick. But I’m also a hell of a good broadcaster."
To that, Triple H says, "Watch him do what he does now. And how much fun he has. He’s on the front edge of his seat the whole time. He’s jumping up. He’s f***ing saying, ‘Oh my God!'"
Adds Ross, "He does his job today better than I did my job then."