10 Weakest Links In WWE Right Now

9. Michael Cole

Randy Orton Shinsuke Nakamura
WWE.com

There isn't a more cringeworthy full-time performer in WWE than Michael Cole.

The company's lead announcer is the absolute pits, regularly sucking the life, emotion, and gravitas out of every big moment that goes down on his watch. He is the lead perpetrator of 'WWE Speak.' When someone returns unexpectedly, we get an elongated "ohhhhh myyyyyyy." If a veteran wrestler executes a signature move, it's always "vintage." Nicknames, too, have been done to death. We know Braun Strowman is 'The Monster Among Men,' Cole: you don't need to repeat it a dozen times a show.

Cole's colleagues are complicit too, but not to the same extent. Sadly, WWE's top play-by-play guy is no more than a catchphrase-spouting marketer whose obnoxious sloganeering pollutes every narrative, exacerbating a sterile environment in which each new development feels artificial.

This is primarily down to the way Cole is produced, as this year's UK Championship Tournament proved he's an excellent announcer without Vince McMahon in his ear. Regardless, Michael's negative contributions to the product can't be ignored, though it'd likely take more than a mere personnel change to solve the company's longstanding commentary issues.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.